Take One Picture Gerard Dillon

• Art and design
• Primary Education

Take One Picture 

The Yellow Bungalow 1954 

by Gerard Dillon

Let's look at the painting for just one minute

It might help to think of the painting in quarters .Right and left, top and bottom. Mentally name all the things in each part.

How long did that feel?

1. Like a minute
2. Really quick
3. Like hours
4. Ages

A minute can be a long time to look at a single image.  The average in a gallery is approximately 10 seconds. 

What could you see out the window?
(More than one answer might be right)

1. A forest
2. Cottages
3. The sea
4. The night sky

The view out the window is the main street in Roundstone,    County Galway with cottages,  the sea and the island of Inishnee in the distance .

What could you see on the stove?

Teapot, saucepan and kettle.

Notice how the shape of the kettle echoes the shape of the teapot  

What is the main colour in the painting?

Yellow!

Find all the yellows.

What colour do you think is second most important?

No single answer.  Probably blue.  Red is also important 

Probably blue although there are repeated dark tones of browns

Blue is a colour that makes yellow stand out.

Find things that are patterned in blue and yellow.

You could also look for the tiny patches of red (echoing each other).  

Look at the shape of the cat's ears.

What else in this part of the painting echoes that shape?

The fish tails and the hinges on the stove are like the cats ears. Also the pattern on the carpet.  Artists put echoes in paintings - it help to make them 'sing'.

Now try to imagine what the story of the painting.

• What is the boy thinking?
• What is the woman thinking?
• Is the cat really asleep?
• What will happen next?

One of these pictures was made by Gerard Dillon

Which one do you think?

The one on the left 'Yellow Field' was by Dillon.  Made using black ink and crayon. Note blue and yellow combination.

The other is by Nathaniel Hone. 

Well done!  You are now experts on  Gerard Dillon 

Follow up with what the people are thinking.  See if the class can make up a story.