When you go to the park, you see trees, people, and pets. But one of the highlights of a park is the skateboarders. Tony Parson’s painting, “Trick Shot”, shows a kid doing a trick on his skateboard. The theme of the painting is that skateboarding is like being free to fly from life’s boundaries and burdens.
Tony’s position of the skater gives you a sense of flying, communicating a subject of freedom. Also through his color placement, having a bluish halo around the skater and grey strokes in the background, he communicates a peace from chaos. Through Tony’s position/placement and colors he gives this sense of a dream-like state of peace and freedom, being set apart from life’s plagues.
Skater tricks are incredibly cool and for the skaters themselves, it’s like flying. In the piece, Tony places the skater in the middle of the canvas, showing us that he wants the skater to be the focal point of the artwork. Next Tony places the skater above his board, not even touching it. This portrays the theme because it shows the skater seemingly flying, and being free like a bird. By having the skater alone within the piece, Tony emphasizes being free and set apart from everything, not only from boundaries, but also from burdens such as: people and their opinions, and criticism.
Tony also sets the skater free by placing a halo of blue around the skater, protecting him from the grey background. By doing this, Tony again communicates being set apart from issues of everyday life. Rather than being plagued by the boundaries of society, the skater is set free, doing what he wants: skateboarding. It’s like being in a dream, where you can be separated from all the miseries and boundaries people try to pour and hold on you. The grey that Tony uses seems to be scattered and chaotic, so this portrays the craziness of life outside of being at peace. By having this grey and the blue halo he emphasizes the skater as well as emphasizing that there is nothing surrounding him, and he is able to be alone, and have peace and harmony.
We believe that Tony used these aspects to emphasize his theme: skateboarding is like being free to fly from life’s boundaries and burdens. One reason he might have wanted to communicate this theme in this type of piece is so that he could connect to the youth. By connecting with the youth, he shows that adults relate to some of the same issues that teens face daily. This piece portrays that through the focal point being a skater; not many adults skate, but many teens do. Then, to further connect with the youth, his colors connect to the burdens. Another reason he might have used these aspects to communicate this theme could have been that he wanted to portray the feeling of freedom he feels when he boats. (Tony is lifeboat helmsman.)
Overall, Tony did an effective job communicating the theme of skateboarding feeling like being set free from the boundaries and worries of life. His piece really captivates you with composition and colors, expressing the theme beautifully.
Works Cited
Parsons, Tony. “Tony Parsons.” BritishContemporary.art, www.britishcontemporary.art/tony-parsons/.
By: Britalit