Abstract:
LINE OF INQUIRY: An exploration of my emotional connection with color and pattern as they relate to nature. Primary color forms the base for each of the three paintings. This choice has helped to inform my process through research into the symbols and histories of the colors.
WHERE I'M AT: I have spent this half of the semester working on these paintings in a way where I allow myself to be intuitive of the color palette I use. It took me some time to come to the point where I have been able to give them a narrative:
The red represents the destructive power of nature but it is also life-giving and passionate. I associate this with fire and incorporated a sleeping lava goddess. The blue represents water, flow, dance and the intimate relationship that women share with water and the moon. The figure is in a state of metamorphosis, almost in flight she is neither air nor water but communicates her freedom through removing her mask and righteously leaping towards the stars. The yellow represents all that nature provides, the life and death cycle, bright and sunny, the turbulent and cloudy, harmony and balance, the nature of being a part of a cycle of rebirth. If I feel particularly drawn to work on one it is because I am seeking a place to understand my own emotions through these paintings. Working on them silmutatioulsy is both a struggle and a gift. Because they can often inform each other, I find that going back and forth between them to be a healing process.
WHERE I'M GOING: I will be adding more pattern and detail to each piece and feel confident that I will complete the work on time.
THE PROCESS: The Process has been mostly intuitive but from the beginning I knew that I wanted to work on top of the primaries to see what color combinations I could create, and how they would inform my process. I started with a lot of washes, sometimes in large blotches or shapes and patterns. After that I used a pen to draw out some of the things from my sketchbook that I felt most drawn to according to my emotional state and how it related to the color palette. I then started filling in areas with pattern, color and contrasting hues to give the painting a bit of depth. I enjoy the feel of the unstretched canvas and the raw edges as it makes me feel as though I am a weaver, working on a tapestry that tells a story.
Conclusion of the project was brought about by completing all three of the large paintings and completing a journey of self healing and realizations.
Artist Statement:
Dear you,
I do not want to push any narratives onto my viewer but instead invite them to weave their own story for themselves, with a bit of guidance of course.
I am strongly grounded in nature and believe that all viewpoints are not only important but vital to the creator. Which is all of us. When I make a piece of art, I have my own reasons and own methods where I am healing myself. But this doesn't mean I want everyone to feel the same way as I do. My only demand of the viewer is to take the love I have for humanity and carry it with them always. They do not have to like the image or creation but merely accept that it exists.
As I have come to accept that there is no wrong way to create. But creation through hatred and greed is where I draw the line.
I wish to step away from this all together and become art.
You are art.
Art is creation, and creation is life.
As fluid as water, passionate as fire, unrelenting as wind and steady as earth; I move through all mediums in my practice. I do not seek to settle on just one but rather am happiest when I can use them all in harmony to tell a story of love and life. The most beautiful thing is creation itself, but it is powerful and not to be done half heartedly. With my paintings I seek to not only immerse a viewer in a safe space, but heal them as the practice has done for me, many many times. Each medium and material offers a lesson to be learned through risks and new challenges to be met with boldness and ferocity.
Focusing on what I can do for the heart and soul of the viewer. Their mind is theirs and theirs alone. If they are ready to heal, they will. If they aren't then, at least I have brought some love and happiness, or maybe a vision of hope to a lonely soul. Reminding them that they are never alone, that they are accepted and appreciated for every flaw and every perfection.
True love is infinity, so I ask my viewer to look beyond themselves, and feel deeply, love wholeheartedly and be okay with both that which is dark and that which is light. The practice of facing some of the darker sides of ourselves is important when moving onto a balanced and fulfilling life not only as a human being but as an artist. We are so open to emotion but learning to process those emotions through reflection is an important and valuable lesson.
View yourself as a work of art, refine yourself and never stop exploring the possibilities for new avenues of expression. Be good to yourself and others and carry a message of healing throughout your practice.
-From Me