Franklin's Fear
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Yuri | Shirley |
Shirley: Yuri, I'm really enjoying checking out all your art, and I'd like to ask you some questions about this one in particular: Franklin's Fear. Can you tell me how you came up with the idea for this painting?
Yuri: Right, this one came up with a few sketches I did on just a very tiny piece of paper, and roughly an idea of what I wanted to do. I want to play with the sky a lot, the color, especially playing with contrast color which are vibrant color. They actually can really catch your attention.
Shirley: And ... cause I love the contrast between these blue mountains and this really yellow sky. It's fantastic. I mean, where do you get the idea to make blue mountains?
Yuri: I don't know, you just go with the feeling. You paint with feelings, OK, and sometimes you put a dot of color on there. It looks nice, and you really go with it, and it just goes there by themself, so it's beautiful really.
Shirley: And this kind of building at the front is really interesting with these four towers. Is that from your memory?
Yuri: Right, this one is from an album from Pink Floyd because when I paint I constantly listen to music. Pink Floyd is one of my favorite groups, so I had the idea to put something real in this surrealistic painting, and I thought of the building themself.
Shirley: Does this building exist?
Yuri: Yeah, it's in London. I actually saw it once from the train. I loved it. I almost jumped out the window.
Shirley: So then the title, "Franklin's Fear", how did you come up with that title?
Yuri: It just struck me that Franklin was famous as a scientist, and he also work on this advice to protect the houses (from lighting). That's where the name is from.
Shirley: Which scientist?
Yuri: Benjamin Franklin.
Shirley: And this one to me looks like a lake or something in the background.
Yuri: Yes, it is, yeah. I like the reflection on the mountains on the lake.
Shirley: And what did you paint on?
Yuri: Actually, it was wood. A piece of wood.
Shirley: Why did you paint on wood and not canvas?
Yuri: It's nice, the texture of the wood itself and also the shape is irregular. You can really work out something weird from it. It's nice.
checking out
I’m really enjoying checking out all your art.
When we check something out that means we look at it. Notice the samples:
- Let’s go to the mall and check out some new fashions.
- I’ll check out what’s playing at the cinema and call you later.
roughly
It is roughly an idea of what I wanted to do.
We use the word roughly to talk about information that is not exact but close enough to be clear. Here are two samples:
- There are roughly 380,000,000 people in the US.
- I finish school at 3:00 and get home at roughly 4:00 or 4:15.
catch your attention
The painting can really catch your attention.
Something that catches your attention causes you to notice it. That something can be any situation involving any of the five senses. Notice the sample sentences:
- The barking dogs caught the attention of the security guard.
- Yuko’s Punk Lolita outfit caught everybody’s attention.
go with it
You really go with it.
When we ‘go with something', we do it without much planning and because it feels natural. Notice the following:
- Don’t be afraid to dance. Get out on the floor, feel the music and just go with it.
- English is my second language, but I don’t worry much about grammar. I just start speaking and go with it.
jump out the window
I almost jumped out the window.
We use the idiom 'I almost jumped out the window' when we are very excited. Notice the following:
- I first saw Monique standing outside a coffee shop. She looked so beautiful I almost jumped out the window.
- When I saw the first signs of spring outside, I almost jumped out the window.
Vocabulary Quiz
go with it • jumped out
Tom and Jess both talk about things they could not live without.
