In the left half of my piece, the moon washes into a brighter, less distinct sphere that the reader can hopefully interpret as a sun or eclipsed moon emitting light into a cloudy, but bright sky. Unlike Shelley’s piece, where the movement of the clouds is the representative of change, I represent mutability from night to day as the bright two-sided sphere is balanced between the left and right skies, which contrast just enough and little enough that they could switch at any moment. The clouds still mingle to form the “streaking” movement mentioned in “Mutability” and further instill the uncertainty of the skies’ lighting shifting with the already shifting clouds (3). The transition from night to day as the primary image of the world’s mutability–in this case, the daily change from night to day that seems more fluid in my piece–was inspired by the order of dramatic lines nine and ten: “We rest–a dream has power to poison sleep / We rise–one wandering thought pollutes the day,” (9-10). The bridge between these lines and consciousness solidifies my painting's human connections if the viewer sympathetically notes it, though, unfortunately, this congruence with Shelley's poem in my painting relies on the subtle allusion to certain lines to textually define mutability within people.
Though creating my piece, I was heavily influenced by my mission to convey mutability in a single snapshot of time and support my intuitive agreement with Shelley’s proposal for mutability as all that “may endure,” throughout the world and our lives, my artistic efforts led me to another, more broadly applicable understanding (16). As I decided how to contrast and balance the light and dark skies before finishing the undertones of the planetary body with some red paint, I hoped to add elements of artistic interest. Momentarily beyond regard for my plan based on any literary analysis of “Mutability,” I felt the need to add elements to my piece that conveyed movement, color change, or different depth. Upon reflection, these are all artistic elements that entail depictions of mutability like those in Shelly’s poem–the suggestion of a tendency to change position or color especially. In attempting to create an interesting and beautiful piece of art, then, in addition to depicting a completely agreeing literary analysis, I’ve become committed to the idea that people (including artists) view mutability itself as beautiful or sublime. Elements that conveyed mutability were after all, what my piece of art “needed” to be aesthetically appealing or interesting. Beyond supporting Shelley’s understanding of mutability as a constant in our lives, I believe this suggests mutability is overall a welcome constant in the world, even if sometimes sorrowful or dissuading.