Spring 

Curator: Looking at "Spring", an oil painting done in the plein-air style, what sensations does the work conjure for you? Editor: It feels…soft. Ethereal, almost faded. Like a memory of springtime seen through gauze. There's a quietness about it, a hazy golden light. It’s very dreamy. Curator: Dreamy is a good word. Though the work's date is unknown, the work’s use of impressionistic techniques, the blending of color to capture the momentary effects of light, reminds us of similar landscapes painted by French artists like Monet. Yet, this painting appears to be rendered with a distinctive emotionality. Editor: Exactly! It’s interesting you say that about Monet. To me, this image evokes something less concrete and defined. Look how O’Neill lets forms dissolve. There’s something about that blurring that evokes a sense of yearning, an almost wistful quality in its portrayal of a revitalizing natural scene. It's not just about what is seen, but what is *felt*. Curator: Precisely! Consider how the artist applies paint in short strokes. Notice that it appears that she did not meticulously blend the colors on the canvas. The individual colors stand apart yet work together from afar. Editor: The overall effect almost feels abstract to me. The light is so diffused. Look at the green and gold mixing in the field—it makes me want to feel that very grass between my fingers. Curator: In terms of symbols, light, especially diffused light, is traditionally a symbolic cue to something spiritual, transcendent. In “Spring,” O’Neill utilizes those cues effectively by juxtaposing shadow, where symbolic meaning tends to remain hidden. She then utilizes open spaces which further prompt curiosity. Editor: So, it’s a kind of beckoning then, to go into nature to seek that something more? A kind of hope? It's intriguing that an image like this, which at first glance can seem simple and light, evokes such contemplation on symbols, spirituality, and nature! Curator: It encourages us to consider our personal relationship with the earth and how light, or the relative absence of light, influences our perception and memories of particular landscapes. Editor: This painting…it has awakened my senses! Curator: Then it appears "Spring" by Rose O’Neill is successful in evoking its intended sense of awakening after the long months of winter.