Kyle Staver, Andromeda, 2013, oil on canvas, 68 x 52 inches
In this piece, the viewer’s attention is first drawn towards the lighter colours of the female figure, mainly towards the bright contrasting hair and the outline of the female figures arm, shoulder and breast, in the painting which mostly consists of darker murky cool colours,. This point of focus is then led up towards the darker toned male figure, outlined by the brighter backlight from behind, before moving on towards to the lower left, which the viewer would then take note of the figure of a winged horse that the male figure is perched on. With the female figure curved pose and the position of the bright contrasting line that is the winged horse’s harness, this composition consists of a triangular composition, which is one of the most effective and popular ways of composing harmonic imagery in many artworks. For this background in this piece, Staver has also effectively used the colours and the mass of the clouds to enhance the painting’s areas contrasting darks and bright streaks of light.
Kyle Staver, Trapeze, 2012, Oil on canvas, 68 x 58 inches
Similar to the previous painting, the main focus of attention is again centered towards a female figure, however the female figure is positioned in the background whereas, the male figure is positioned in the foreground. Staver’s use of colours for the lighting help define depth and positioning of the human figures. Also similar to Kyle Staver’s “Andromeda”, the painting’s composition features a floating vertical chaos which propel the figures into flight, but with the viewer’s eyes moving downwards instead of upward. This is aided with the curve and positioning the male figure’s body, leading the viewer towards the net at the bottom. The bright fleshy tones accompanied with the cyan outfits on the trapeze artists help them stand out from the pure black background, giving the painting a sense of awe, thrill and slight disarray.
Kyle Staver, Pandora’s Box, 2014 Oil on canvas 68 x 54 inches
In this piece, contrasting colours and a female figure is present again. However she is accompanied with a larger intimidating figure. Both figures are painted with murky darker colours with bright highlights from a light source to define their form and silhouette. The viewer’s eyes are guided from the female figures face to downwards along the back before moving back up along the monstrous form, giving the painting a circular composition. With this composition, the viewer first focuses on the dominant element, before moving around the image to notice other elements in the painting, which are the animals for this piece. It is also noted that the intimidating figure on the left nearly fills up the top corners of the frame and takes up most of the space of the painting , giving the figure a sense of domination and fear.
