House with Native Tree 1991

Howard Arkley made this painting, "House with Native Tree" using acrylic paint, a medium strongly associated with the Pop Art movement. Arkley's choice of vivid, synthetic colors gives the work a distinctly artificial feel. Note how he emphasizes hard outlines, almost as if the house and tree are stenciled into existence. It is as if he is isolating the elements of suburbia and presenting them as a flat, graphic composition. Acrylic lends itself well to the clean, crisp lines that define this work, a characteristic that distinguishes it from the more traditional medium of oil paint. This choice reflects a broader shift in the art world, a move away from the subtle blending and layering of traditional painting towards a bolder, more immediate aesthetic. The use of acrylics, along with Arkley's rendering style, speaks to the influence of commercial printing and mass production. This piece acknowledges the manufactured nature of our environment, and the way that shapes our perception.