My story, Over the Mountain, which happened in France in the 19th century, is about a girl, Elaine, from a rich family in Paris who comes to a small village in the countryside for vacation. She meets a shepherd boy, Hugo, and builds a friendship with him. Hugo takes Elaine to herd sheep with him, allowing Elaine to enjoy the beauty of nature on the mountain. However, as the vacation is over, Elaine has to come back to Paris, but she doesn’t want to leave the beautiful village and Hugo. The scene I illustrated from the story is their last time to herd together. Elaine is tired and rests, a lamb lies on her knees, and Hugo stares at her from a distance. I used Photoshop to create the poster. During the process, different brushes were used to illustrate the poster in order to create an effect of an oil painting.
The artist I chose to explore is Jean-Francois Millet and I chose one of his most famous paintings, The Gleaners. Millet is a French realistic artist from the 19th century. He is part of the Realism art movement and most of his artworks are set against the background of the rural life in France. The Gleaners not only highly praises the tenacity of the working people at the bottom, but also reveals the hard life of the farmers in France. Millet’s artworks which show the serene and peaceful nature in the rural area, appealed to me and prompted me to write a healing story. In my art, a resting lamb and clouds in the azure sky have been chosen to be in this poster to give a sense of relaxation and peace. In addition, from his paintings, I have a better understanding of the hierarchy in France in the 19th century, that is also my reason to create a friendship that cross the border of class in the story. The name, Over the Mountain, not only means Elaine comes over the mountain to arrive the small village where Hugo lives, but is a hope for people to pass the mountain of class as well.
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