When signing up for this particular class, I was afraid. In fact, I figured it would be my hardest class against
my other courses: speech, calculus, and psychology. It, instead, was an interesting class that I enjoyed taking.
My favorite part of intro to visual arts was finding an artist of which we liked and visiting his or her artwork at a
gallery. Throughout the course, we were shown a wide variety of art from Kim Piotrowski to Leonardo de
Vinci, but in this project, we were able to select a design we corresponded with the most, whether it was done
by a painter, a tattoo artist, a photographer, etc. The style I most admired was by Rolley Bateman III.
Rolley Bateman III is a 56 year old artist that lives in Palatine, Illinois. He travels between 13 states for his job
as a Midwestern technical sales representative for Philadelphia-based Stretch Devices Inc, which makes
screen-printing equipment. He once compared Palatine to these other places by saying, “It’s just as beautiful
here as anywhere else, maybe better.” Bateman has a wife named Marianne, along with three children. All
have some sort of interest in art. Bateman, himself, studied at Harper Community College in Palatine, and then
got his bachelor’s degree in fine arts at Northeastern. As I continued to speak to Bateman about his life, an
interesting fact came up. This was that when he was younger, he used to draw at a mental asylum. However,
with starting a family and traveling for his job, the free time that allowed him to keep up with art started
diminishing. In 2000, luckily, his family pushed him to start back up his talents in art.1 Along with his family, a
major inspiration that goes into his art is from the famous quote of Robert Frost, “Two roads diverged in a
wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."
The main purpose in Bateman’s artwork is to create an atmosphere of serenity for his audience. When I spoke
to Bateman at his art show, he talked of the majority of Americans that are unappreciative of nature. When he
once visited Europe, he found everyone there would go on walks rather than in America, where we drive
everywhere we need to go. He continued to talk about how Americans are always in such a rush that we do
not take time out to take a walk and enjoy the beauty of the environment. He included that his favorite place to
do this is White Pine State Park.2 This is why he paints and sculpts the works he does, to “offer a spiritual
retreat to the viewer,” as well as to invite the audience, “to be inspired by the metaphor of the mystery and the
journey of life.” With all of the texture he puts in his pieces, he hopes that the audience will feel like they can
walk into the painting and continue on the path.
The Morton Arboretum was where I had the pleasure to catch a sight of Bateman’s work. I could not think of
anywhere more perfect for this certain artist. The Morton Arboretum held a gallery called Harvest Showcase:
Portfolio, which was an exhibit of fine art inspired by nature. Here also was Peter Vagt, a photographer of
nature. He, as well as the couple of other artists that were there that day, is similar to Bateman due to his
appreciation of nature and his attempts to share this admiration with his audiences. During my visit to the
Morton Arboretum, it was fall and the leaves were beginning to change colors. After I observed Bateman’s
paintings, I went on a walk. The view reminded me of his work, and it was clear to me after this walk that
Bateman was successful in his art. His purpose was to get his audience grateful of nature and to take walks
more often, and that was exactly what happened when I went to the Morton Arboretum.
After viewing Bateman’s artwork at the Morton Arboretum, it is very apparent what creates the unity between
each of his paintings. Most of his paintings consist of assorted sceneries, including all sorts of trees. In fact,
when walking into his art gallery, there is a quote about trees and their impact. It goes, “Trees shelter us from
the storms. They teach us beauty grows with age. They give us the air we breathe. They explode in colors we
never thought possible. The nature of trees reminds us that there are bigger things in life than us.” The
majority of his paintings correspond with the seasons. In fact, when looking at his gallery on his website, there
is a category for each season, along with a category of ‘grapes and vines.’3 Because of his fixation on
seasons and nature, his paintings share a similar color pallet. This color pallet includes colors of green, red,
orange, yellow, and violet. As mentioned earlier, Bateman wants to show the importance of appreciating
nature. Hence, it is common for his paintings to include a path that can be walked on, acting as a focal point.
Bateman’s purpose is to also create a calm feeling. This is incorporated in his paintings by using these similar
attributes.
My favorite piece of Bateman is called ‘Fire.’ In this work of art, there are both visual elements and principles
of design in order to get Bateman’s intentions across to the audience. A visual element that is used in order to
give the spectators an idea of direction and movement, as well as for outlines of objects is lines. In ‘Fire,’ the
trees form lines with their trunks and large branches. The trunks produce a straight line upwards, which gives
the suggestion that Bateman wanted of how tall and massive these trees really are, such as in the quote.
Diagonal lines are found in the large branches, which give direction leading in the middle of the painting. Lines
were also used to show an outline of the path continuing in the distance. The shape and mass of the picture
include organic forms. These are considered organic figures because the shape of the trees, the path, and the
grass can be found in nature. In Bateman’s work, there is mass. The trunk and the leaves of the trees have
dimension. At the gallery, Bateman used external light to increase the mass of his piece. He mentioned that
each type of light whether the sun or a light bulb causes different shadows and enhances the piece differently.
2 This brings up the element of light used in Bateman’s piece, which is emphasized by the use of shadows and
the shine of white. With this, it is implied that the sun is behind the leaves right above the path. By the use of
shadows and light, it is determined that the time of this piece is during the day, as well as during fall due to the
colors utilized. I consider the most profound element in this piece to be the color. The hues heavily found in this
precise painting include red with orange and pink tints. These colors are warm colors. The red, specifically, as
well as the blue and hint of yellow in the background are primary colors. The red-orange and red-violet are
considered tertiary colors. In general, though, the colors applied are considered an analogous harmony
because they are found adjacent to each other on the color wheel. When observing ‘Fire,’ the audience would
notice that the closer the colors are to them, the more the value is considered a shade. The colors farther
away or in the distance are tints. The color with the highest intensity is the red leaves at the top and the red in
the middle of the painting. The texture of Bateman’s work is another element that is very interesting. It was, in
fact, provoked by his granddaughter. When his granddaughter was little, she used to touch his paintings all the
time. As she would, she would scream, “Trees!” Therefore, to enhance his paintings more to her senses, he
started to sculpt the trees in order to make it feel more real. I learned that he first paints the background,
keeps adding layers, and then sculpts the trees to pop out. 2 Because he does this, the texture of the trunks
look rough like an actual tree, while the grass and leaves resemble the texture of a soft, puffy cloud. The
space of the painting is done by an atmospheric perspective, which was invented during the Renaissance era.
The atmospheric perspective makes the background of ‘Fire’ look less distinct. The most visible color in the
background is blue. This is due to blue being the color on the spectrum that scatters light the most, making the
objects take on a blue color in the distance. The principles of design applied in Bateman’s work include unity.
The unity of ‘Fire’ is done by the excess amount of red and by the immense number of trees. The focal point of
this piece is very obvious to find. It is the path. Bateman showed this as the focal point by having the
background dull (subordination), the path lit up, and the trees hovering over. The proportion of everything in the
painting is shown to be accurate. This is because in nature, it is true that grass stands a little higher than the
ground, as trees stand much higher than the grass. The scale of how tall the trees really are was meant to be
shown by Bateman when he sculpted smaller trees right next to them. It shows that, as the quote hints, the
older a tree gets, the taller they become, and the bigger they are compared to us.
Criticism of Bateman’s work was said during an interview with Amy Amdur. Amy Amdur runs the most
successful juried art shows around the Chicago area. She also owns her own gallery in Glenview. Bateman
once said that, “She has been a mentor to me over the past few years and has helped bring both my art and
show participation up to a higher level! She is not afraid to voice her opinion on art.” 2 Her opinion was that
Bateman is a unique artist and has created an identity through the years she has known him. She feels that he
has created a body of work, pieces that all pull together. Amdur backed up this statement by saying, ‘You
could mix up his pieces with other pieces, and you would be able to easily pick out which ones are his.’ As he’s
continued to refine, she believes he has had a huge growth, not only in his paintings but in his manner of
presentation. When I brought up the path used in most of his works, she explained that the path is a device
drawing us in, a symbol of unconscious, a metaphor, and shows the passing of time. Amdur used the word
“dimensionality” to sum up Bateman. At one point during the conversation she even declared that, “…Through
use of texture, he brings the viewer into the painting… Without this texture, he would be just another landscape
artist.”
Personally, I like his art pieces for many particular reasons. One reason of why this is, is because I can picture
them in my home. As I said to my dad when walking through the gallery, ‘If I had my own house, I would put
that one (‘Winter Pond’) in my living room above the fireplace.’ When he asked what my reasoning was, I
explained to him that it reminds me of a calm winter day, where I’d be under lots of blankets having hot
chocolate near a fire. That is what I love about Bateman’s paintings. For each person, the pictures tell a
different story. For me, his artwork reminds me of multiple times I took advantage of the environment and had
fun. This could be when I took a picnic with my boyfriend or when I took black and white photographs with my
family as it snowed; both being great memories. Bateman’s work shows he has talent. Not only does he get
his purpose to the audience to value nature, but he also has talent in making you believe you are a part of the
picture by his use of texture and vibrant colors. When I visited Morton Arboretum, I was surprised at how well
Bateman’s paintings came alive. He is a true artist.
Bibliography
Amdur, Amy. Telephone interview. 20 Nov. 2007.
Bateman, Rolley III. "Bateman Fine Art." 9 Oct. 2007 <http://www.rolley-art.com/>.
Bateman, Rolley III. Harvest Showcase: Portfolio. 2007. Morton Arboretum, Lisle.
Bateman, Rolley III. Personal interview. 13 Oct. 2007.
Finley, Jeffrey K. "Palatine on Canvas." Pioneer Press 25 Jan. 2001, sec. 7.
Vagt, Peter. 2007. The Morton Arboretum, Lisle. Photographs of the Natural World. 11
Nov. 2007 <http://petervagt.com/>.
my other courses: speech, calculus, and psychology. It, instead, was an interesting class that I enjoyed taking.
My favorite part of intro to visual arts was finding an artist of which we liked and visiting his or her artwork at a
gallery. Throughout the course, we were shown a wide variety of art from Kim Piotrowski to Leonardo de
Vinci, but in this project, we were able to select a design we corresponded with the most, whether it was done
by a painter, a tattoo artist, a photographer, etc. The style I most admired was by Rolley Bateman III.
Rolley Bateman III is a 56 year old artist that lives in Palatine, Illinois. He travels between 13 states for his job
as a Midwestern technical sales representative for Philadelphia-based Stretch Devices Inc, which makes
screen-printing equipment. He once compared Palatine to these other places by saying, “It’s just as beautiful
here as anywhere else, maybe better.” Bateman has a wife named Marianne, along with three children. All
have some sort of interest in art. Bateman, himself, studied at Harper Community College in Palatine, and then
got his bachelor’s degree in fine arts at Northeastern. As I continued to speak to Bateman about his life, an
interesting fact came up. This was that when he was younger, he used to draw at a mental asylum. However,
with starting a family and traveling for his job, the free time that allowed him to keep up with art started
diminishing. In 2000, luckily, his family pushed him to start back up his talents in art.1 Along with his family, a
major inspiration that goes into his art is from the famous quote of Robert Frost, “Two roads diverged in a
wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."
The main purpose in Bateman’s artwork is to create an atmosphere of serenity for his audience. When I spoke
to Bateman at his art show, he talked of the majority of Americans that are unappreciative of nature. When he
once visited Europe, he found everyone there would go on walks rather than in America, where we drive
everywhere we need to go. He continued to talk about how Americans are always in such a rush that we do
not take time out to take a walk and enjoy the beauty of the environment. He included that his favorite place to
do this is White Pine State Park.2 This is why he paints and sculpts the works he does, to “offer a spiritual
retreat to the viewer,” as well as to invite the audience, “to be inspired by the metaphor of the mystery and the
journey of life.” With all of the texture he puts in his pieces, he hopes that the audience will feel like they can
walk into the painting and continue on the path.
The Morton Arboretum was where I had the pleasure to catch a sight of Bateman’s work. I could not think of
anywhere more perfect for this certain artist. The Morton Arboretum held a gallery called Harvest Showcase:
Portfolio, which was an exhibit of fine art inspired by nature. Here also was Peter Vagt, a photographer of
nature. He, as well as the couple of other artists that were there that day, is similar to Bateman due to his
appreciation of nature and his attempts to share this admiration with his audiences. During my visit to the
Morton Arboretum, it was fall and the leaves were beginning to change colors. After I observed Bateman’s
paintings, I went on a walk. The view reminded me of his work, and it was clear to me after this walk that
Bateman was successful in his art. His purpose was to get his audience grateful of nature and to take walks
more often, and that was exactly what happened when I went to the Morton Arboretum.
After viewing Bateman’s artwork at the Morton Arboretum, it is very apparent what creates the unity between
each of his paintings. Most of his paintings consist of assorted sceneries, including all sorts of trees. In fact,
when walking into his art gallery, there is a quote about trees and their impact. It goes, “Trees shelter us from
the storms. They teach us beauty grows with age. They give us the air we breathe. They explode in colors we
never thought possible. The nature of trees reminds us that there are bigger things in life than us.” The
majority of his paintings correspond with the seasons. In fact, when looking at his gallery on his website, there
is a category for each season, along with a category of ‘grapes and vines.’3 Because of his fixation on
seasons and nature, his paintings share a similar color pallet. This color pallet includes colors of green, red,
orange, yellow, and violet. As mentioned earlier, Bateman wants to show the importance of appreciating
nature. Hence, it is common for his paintings to include a path that can be walked on, acting as a focal point.
Bateman’s purpose is to also create a calm feeling. This is incorporated in his paintings by using these similar
attributes.
My favorite piece of Bateman is called ‘Fire.’ In this work of art, there are both visual elements and principles
of design in order to get Bateman’s intentions across to the audience. A visual element that is used in order to
give the spectators an idea of direction and movement, as well as for outlines of objects is lines. In ‘Fire,’ the
trees form lines with their trunks and large branches. The trunks produce a straight line upwards, which gives
the suggestion that Bateman wanted of how tall and massive these trees really are, such as in the quote.
Diagonal lines are found in the large branches, which give direction leading in the middle of the painting. Lines
were also used to show an outline of the path continuing in the distance. The shape and mass of the picture
include organic forms. These are considered organic figures because the shape of the trees, the path, and the
grass can be found in nature. In Bateman’s work, there is mass. The trunk and the leaves of the trees have
dimension. At the gallery, Bateman used external light to increase the mass of his piece. He mentioned that
each type of light whether the sun or a light bulb causes different shadows and enhances the piece differently.
2 This brings up the element of light used in Bateman’s piece, which is emphasized by the use of shadows and
the shine of white. With this, it is implied that the sun is behind the leaves right above the path. By the use of
shadows and light, it is determined that the time of this piece is during the day, as well as during fall due to the
colors utilized. I consider the most profound element in this piece to be the color. The hues heavily found in this
precise painting include red with orange and pink tints. These colors are warm colors. The red, specifically, as
well as the blue and hint of yellow in the background are primary colors. The red-orange and red-violet are
considered tertiary colors. In general, though, the colors applied are considered an analogous harmony
because they are found adjacent to each other on the color wheel. When observing ‘Fire,’ the audience would
notice that the closer the colors are to them, the more the value is considered a shade. The colors farther
away or in the distance are tints. The color with the highest intensity is the red leaves at the top and the red in
the middle of the painting. The texture of Bateman’s work is another element that is very interesting. It was, in
fact, provoked by his granddaughter. When his granddaughter was little, she used to touch his paintings all the
time. As she would, she would scream, “Trees!” Therefore, to enhance his paintings more to her senses, he
started to sculpt the trees in order to make it feel more real. I learned that he first paints the background,
keeps adding layers, and then sculpts the trees to pop out. 2 Because he does this, the texture of the trunks
look rough like an actual tree, while the grass and leaves resemble the texture of a soft, puffy cloud. The
space of the painting is done by an atmospheric perspective, which was invented during the Renaissance era.
The atmospheric perspective makes the background of ‘Fire’ look less distinct. The most visible color in the
background is blue. This is due to blue being the color on the spectrum that scatters light the most, making the
objects take on a blue color in the distance. The principles of design applied in Bateman’s work include unity.
The unity of ‘Fire’ is done by the excess amount of red and by the immense number of trees. The focal point of
this piece is very obvious to find. It is the path. Bateman showed this as the focal point by having the
background dull (subordination), the path lit up, and the trees hovering over. The proportion of everything in the
painting is shown to be accurate. This is because in nature, it is true that grass stands a little higher than the
ground, as trees stand much higher than the grass. The scale of how tall the trees really are was meant to be
shown by Bateman when he sculpted smaller trees right next to them. It shows that, as the quote hints, the
older a tree gets, the taller they become, and the bigger they are compared to us.
Criticism of Bateman’s work was said during an interview with Amy Amdur. Amy Amdur runs the most
successful juried art shows around the Chicago area. She also owns her own gallery in Glenview. Bateman
once said that, “She has been a mentor to me over the past few years and has helped bring both my art and
show participation up to a higher level! She is not afraid to voice her opinion on art.” 2 Her opinion was that
Bateman is a unique artist and has created an identity through the years she has known him. She feels that he
has created a body of work, pieces that all pull together. Amdur backed up this statement by saying, ‘You
could mix up his pieces with other pieces, and you would be able to easily pick out which ones are his.’ As he’s
continued to refine, she believes he has had a huge growth, not only in his paintings but in his manner of
presentation. When I brought up the path used in most of his works, she explained that the path is a device
drawing us in, a symbol of unconscious, a metaphor, and shows the passing of time. Amdur used the word
“dimensionality” to sum up Bateman. At one point during the conversation she even declared that, “…Through
use of texture, he brings the viewer into the painting… Without this texture, he would be just another landscape
artist.”
Personally, I like his art pieces for many particular reasons. One reason of why this is, is because I can picture
them in my home. As I said to my dad when walking through the gallery, ‘If I had my own house, I would put
that one (‘Winter Pond’) in my living room above the fireplace.’ When he asked what my reasoning was, I
explained to him that it reminds me of a calm winter day, where I’d be under lots of blankets having hot
chocolate near a fire. That is what I love about Bateman’s paintings. For each person, the pictures tell a
different story. For me, his artwork reminds me of multiple times I took advantage of the environment and had
fun. This could be when I took a picnic with my boyfriend or when I took black and white photographs with my
family as it snowed; both being great memories. Bateman’s work shows he has talent. Not only does he get
his purpose to the audience to value nature, but he also has talent in making you believe you are a part of the
picture by his use of texture and vibrant colors. When I visited Morton Arboretum, I was surprised at how well
Bateman’s paintings came alive. He is a true artist.
Bibliography
Amdur, Amy. Telephone interview. 20 Nov. 2007.
Bateman, Rolley III. "Bateman Fine Art." 9 Oct. 2007 <http://www.rolley-art.com/>.
Bateman, Rolley III. Harvest Showcase: Portfolio. 2007. Morton Arboretum, Lisle.
Bateman, Rolley III. Personal interview. 13 Oct. 2007.
Finley, Jeffrey K. "Palatine on Canvas." Pioneer Press 25 Jan. 2001, sec. 7.
Vagt, Peter. 2007. The Morton Arboretum, Lisle. Photographs of the Natural World. 11
Nov. 2007 <http://petervagt.com/>.
| ART CRITIQUE PAPER by Lisa Wentzlaff published with permission of the author |
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