The Island by: Steve Chmilar

The painting the Island was done by a musiscian/artist named Steve Chmilar. He was born in Grande Prairie, Alberta (Canada) on Decemeber 25, 1979. He began painting at age 2 but put that dream on hold to pursue his interest in music. Then in 2007, he moved to Vernon, B.C. to focus on his painting. Chmilar does neosurrealism or modern surerealism, which illistrates the complex imagery of dreams or subconscius visions in irrational of dreams or subconscious visions in irrational space and froms combinations (wikipedia). In the painting there is an island with a huge tree in the center. On one side is a fat, white man with all kinds of food and wine and he is looking in a mirror just staring at himself. On his side of the tree leaves are growing showing his life is fullfilled and lively. On the other side of the tree has no leaves and there is a Native American family with nothing, they are naked and skinny.

The tree reprsents life and knowledge, on the one side with the white male the tree is alive and on the side with the family it is dead. We believe that the man with all of the belongings represents wealthy cultures, especially white people and how they only care about themselves and their possesions. But just on the other side of the earth there are starving families with nothing like the Native Americans in this painting. They may be as close as on the other side of a tree and the wealthy people are too busy worrying about themselves to even notice.