See

Snow by Ella E. See (no date)

50.8 x 66 cm (20 in × 26 in)

Oil on Canvas

Snow is one of those works where the style of art perfectly illustrates the subject. Ella See’s pointillism, a painting technique using dots of color to construct the image, mimics the large, wet flakes of the falling snow. The heaviness of the snowfall partially obscures and blurs the scene behind it. An evening sun shines off the flakes, mixing a very pale yellow and pink of the sunlight with the snow’s pale blue and white. Since these are near-complementary colors shimmer and sparkle against each other. Because the daubs of paint look randomly applied, to me they make the painting move. I can imagine the flakes falling to earth.

In the lower half of the scene, people and machines move through the heavy snowfall. Since the street, sidewalk, trees, and buildings are still bare, that tells me that it has only just begun to snow. I like the contrast this causes. The snow drops in a leisurely vertical while the people move in a quicker horizontal to get out of the weather. Even though the human activity is more dynamic, the snow still dominates. Its large blue-pink curtain quiets the sounds of the city. Anyone who lives in regions where it snows regularly understands how thick, fresh snow can muffle sound. It can be quite eerie sometimes.

I think See’s use of color is interesting. At the extreme bottom, she used deep red and darker blue to define the human figures and contrast with the light blue and pink. These figures are small and few, however. They contrast enough so they can be seen but are small and don’t overpower the scene. The red continues upward in the composition to outline the fence line and posts. Red is a powerful color. Too much would overwhelm these pastel colors. Those “feel” almost weightless, like the snow. The red continues in the fencing, but notice how as the painting ascends, red is used less and less, until finally, just above visual center, it disappears entirely. See put red at the bottom of the canvas to anchor the painting visually. It gives the work substance and balance, but she gradually phased it out so that it didn’t dominate. This work is about the snow, not the people.

Now look at See’s composition and forms. Look how the tall rectangular buildings in the background sit behind the long rectangle of the fence. Notice how the corner fencepost juts up into the buildings’ space. Also, the trunks of the tall, narrow trees begin off the top of the canvas, descend through the center, and blend neatly with the slats of the fence. Pointillist art can seem patchy at times, but See arranged her multicolored daubs to form shapes and forms that meld together or interlock like puzzle pieces. Snow is unified and balanced. Color, light, shape, and brushstrokes all combine to create a calming mood for this busy urban scene.

This painting is cared for by the Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Rochester, New York, USA.

© October 12, 2024