dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

The Potato Famine was between 1845-52 Ireland suffered a period of starvation a fungus spread destroying the potato crop, upon which a third of Ireland's population was dependent for food, they starved.

Vincent van Gogh in April 1885 while living in Nuenen Netherlands and well fed, living in painted, the "Potato Eaters". The image was dark and somber, dark to reflect the mood and also the meals were at 7PM and after dusk, however, perhaps the painting's darkness reflected van Gogh's ever-present depression, inner darkness.

Not all the Irish starved, the family van Gogh painted had abandoned growing potatoes and worked with yarn. They became prosperous dying and weaving yarn. They were part of the Industrial Revolution Britain’s economic development from 1760 to 1840. Lesser known is van Gogh's upbeat painting of the same family "The Yarn Wavers" painted in the manic phase of his manic-depression mental illness.

He utilized Lunapic's Yarn, toned down the colors, with Topaz Clarity, and cloned faces and other parts of a lightened original Potato Eaters painting.

TACOS AND TEA

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dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

This is a copy of the original dark image that van Gogh painted. The details of the pre-drawings and paintings are shown:
https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/art-and-stories/stories/all-stories/6-facts-you-need-to-know-about-van-goghs-potato-eaters

A brief history of the painting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Potato_Eaters

POTATO EATERS AS PAINTED

(Download)

Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

Beautiful work. I like the first one best

tramsey Loc: Texas

This post triggered Don McLean's song 'Vincent.' The video shows many of Van Gogh's works including the Potato Eaters. One of my favorite songs - Give it a listen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxHnRfhDmrk

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

Dark, but a great look into the life of these people 🥇🥇🥇

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

WOW Absolutely amazing results 🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Yes, Curmudgeon, I thought it was time to brighten up van Gogh's depressing work. However, the darkness reflects the dreadful misery of the Irish who were starving due to a fungus that destroyed the Irish common potato. A lot of negative attitudes are against genetically modified foods, but this is an example where selective breeding of potatoes quickly evolved fungus-resistant potatoes we buy and eat now.

The English allowed great numbers of Irish to starve since it was intervention, hampered by the bureaucratic restrictions that slowed down relief, and at times rendered the use of money ineffective. Spending of the money was considered by many to be a waste, much like the indifference to the USA poor during the Dust-bowl period. The Irish were tenant farmers and so the landowners were indifferent to their plight. Christians too often felt that god was punishing them for being lazy and drunken. From 1841 to World War II, [a worldwide period of depression] some estimates conclude that 4.5 million Irish came to the United States. While not all Irish migrants were poor, most were.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Delightfully quirky take on a somber subject. Amazing creativity, Don!

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Thanks tramsey, great link, I have never heard the music and some of the paintings are new to me.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Thank you Joe and Linda. Yes, once I started on it I could not leave it alone, a color change, a tweak here and there and lots of detail restoring the faces from the original [lightened] van Gogh painting.

Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

Wow, it will take me a while to recover from that.

L-Fox

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

I will do a new topic on AI-generated Potato Eaters. I gave the original as an example and asked that the family be happy and well-fed. Man and two children obviously wealthy, healthy-looking, eating green vegetables was the AI output. That result prompted me to do this hand-crafted Potato Eaters with Yarn... closer to the original theme.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Thank you for the thumbs up, I-fox.

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

Nicely done. You have taken dark and somber an changed them mood. As you wrote to Jack (curmudgeon). Also changing the mood of the viewer. Color is a wonderful tool to use to get a feeling across in an image.