“Old Money” By Melanie G

 

 

This piece was inspired by the novel, The Great Gatsby. I decided to make my piece based off of this novel because the main discussion that I remember having in my class was whether Gatsby truly loved Daisy or if he loved the idea of her such as her wealth and status. The certain scene that I wanted to depict was the time Gatsby and Daisy reunite in Nick’s home. I used vibrant colors to portray the magnificence of a peacock with acrylic paint, and  watercolor to imitate the rainy weather that is depicted in the scene. I was also inspired by the scene in the movie which is filled with various species of orchids so I used acrylic paint to the orchids. Finally I used color pencils to emphasize the feathers on the peacock as well the petals on the orchids. I used gold acrylic paint to paint a frame around the peacock to portray the elements of the 1920s which is the time period in which the novel is set in. The whole idea behind the piece was to paint my interpretation of Daisy through the perspective of Gatsby. I painted a peacock because of the extravagance that they naturally exude which immediately reminded me of Daisy. Gatsby loved Daisy because of her natural extravagance, she came from old money, she was desired by many men, she was described to be on top of the social ladder which is the complete opposite of Gatsby who came from nothing. Her social value is what made her so alluring, similar to a peacock. My interpretation of Gatsby being reunited with Daisy was supposed to invoke a feeling of fireworks, hence the vibrant colors used in the piece.