In his painting, Guston was trying to depict his emotions and experiences. What do you think Guston was feeling when he painted Native’s Return? What leads you to this conclusion?
In Guston’s early paintings he often included people and other recognizable objects. He began to paint abstract paintings much later in his career. Why do you think he made this choice? Do you like paintings that are realistic or ones that are abstract? Why?
Guston was painting around the same time as the artist Mark Rothko. Compare Guston’s Native’s Return to Rothko’s Green and Maroon. Although both paintings are abstract and are made up of color, how are they different? Does each painting have a different mood? How so?
Guston created this painting by layering different colors of paint. Make your own abstract painting by experimenting with color. What happens when you paint a light color over a dark color? What happens if you paint on top of wet paint with a different color? What happens if you let the color dry first before painting on top of it?
Guston painted bright, dark colors in the middle of his canvas. He painted lighter colors, called tints, on the outside edges of the painting. Experiment with making tints and shades. What happens to the color red if you add a little bit of white? (Adding white to a color creates a tint.) What happens if you add a little black to red? (Adding black to a color creates a shade.)
How many different colors did Guston use in this painting? Count the different colors you see. Make a picture using exactly the number of colors Guston used.
Then make another picture using half the number of colors in the Guston painting. Describe the differences made by more or fewer colors.
Guston created this painting after he returned to the United States from a trip to Italy. Why do you think he titled the painting Native’s Return? What might this have to do with returning home after a trip? Discuss.
Have you ever visited a foreign city? Or city different from the one in which you live? How did it feel when you came back home? Write about your reactions to returning home from another place.