The first painting I was interested in at the BMA was this one by Matta, called Rocks. First of all for such a complex paining I thought the name was extremely simple. When I looked at the painting, the first thing that caught my attention was the contrast between colors that are very blended together and sharp lines that almost look like pencil scribbles that had been erased and drawn over again. While the paint itself didn't provide much texture on the canvas, I thought this gave the illusion of texture within the work. As for the content, I found that you could find a number of distinct images, and the arrangement of color and lines allows viewers to interpret the shapes differently and see different things. I was also very drawn to the contrast between calming and serene colors and lines as are in the background and the harsh, jagged shapes that are in the foreground. Ultimately the impression that I got from this work was that it seemed almost like a stream of consciousness using oil paints on canvas instead of pencil on paper.

The second painting I was drawn to was Figures and Birds in a Landscape, by Joan Miró. I have always liked Miró's work because he uses bright colors and surrealistic figures and images to convey tragic events in history. I am interested in how is able to turn sad realistic events into images that don't appear to be realistic at all. The use of dark colors in this work along with the expressions on his characters' faces helps make the viewer understand the horrific events that occurred during the Spanish Civil War. His goal of showing the oppressive forces of the time through his work is definitely achieved in this work.

The final piece I chose to focus on was this work by Matisse, called The Pierced Rock. Initially I was interested in this piece because it reminded me of the dot work we did in class and the Monet paintings we looked at first in the BMA, in that up close the brush strokes are very separate and noticeable but when you stand back and look at the painting it becomes much more clear. I was interested in a lot of paintings with the same effect but I think this was one of the most dramatic differences from a distance.