More on Van Gogh....He Is Awesome

Vincent Van Gogh is well known among many for his paintings of vivid color. That in itself, is one of the main reasons I love his artwork so much, the color. I really enjoy looking at pretty colors, they make me feel good inside, giving me inner peace. When I see something that is bright and colorful, it really catches my eye and I feel confident in saying that is probably true of most people. Color tends to bring excitement to things and our surroundings. Van Gogh produced a painting entitled "The Cafe Terrace On The Place du forum at Night", this painting is also nothing but spectacular, and also a favorite of mine. The painting is very intense with vivid and rich color. It is an oil on canvas painting , and is not actually known for sure when this painting was created, but my research and evidence shows that it was most likely painted sometime around September of 1888. This was a time in Van Gogh's life, when he was living in Arles, in what he states as the "Yellow House". Van Gogh hardly knew anyone while living there, which in turn he had very little to distract him from his artwork. He created painting after painting while he was there. My first response to this painting is extraordinary. In my opinion, once again, all of his work is brilliant. I feel as if with each piece, he was portraying a story, a thought, or a feeling. This particular painting shows the cafe on a starry night, the sky is a bright midnight blue with many stars shining down on the streets. The cafe stands out because of the yellow color mixed with orange tones. The pavement seems to have so much texture and color that it seems so real, as if you would know exactly how it feels to walk along it bare foot. In the painting, you can see patrons at the cafe, and it looks as if they are enjoying good food or maybe even having a cocktail. The buildings on the other side of the street are dark with very little light, giving the impression that they were closed and it is probably somewhat late at night. The starry sky once again stands out the most in this painting. I believe Van Gogh had an obsession with the stars. The overall color scheme in this painting is magnificent. The colors all blend so well together. In my opinion, Van Gogh was a genius in the world of color. I also think it gave him a feeling of peace within. I get that same feeling when I go out at night and just look at the stars and the sky. It's as if the rest of the world and your troubles in life, somewhat disappear at least for the moment. If I could have an extra room in my home to decorate as I pleased, any way, I would fill it full of Van Gogh paintings such as this one. I would have someone come in and paint the walls deep blue with maybe even a quiet little town scene. I would put stars on the ceiling and a black light to illuminate all the artwork. I would then call it my Starry Room and that would be a place that I could go to escape the everyday troubles and stress of life. A place of my very own.