Scholastic Works
Artist Statement:
I am a lizard, repeatedly shedding my skin onto anything I touch.
My battle with stress-induced eczema has persisted for five years. I am able to quell its effects through moisturizing, but like an ex-lover, it keeps coming back.
My inquiry is: what are the seemingly insignificant methods by which humans cope with stress? All the artworks relate to my tics; they connect personally. They stand as events that I have done to myself, and actions that I am familiar with. It follows the methods by which I deal with stress. Hands are also an apparent theme in my works.
# 1,2,4,5,6 depict hands as vessels that cause irritation. #1, 4,5 use vibrant unrealistic colors to distract the viewer from the hangnail & torn skin. Unrealistic colors show intrusive thoughts but not realistic actions. # 1,3,6 are more realistic as they are true actions. Piece 1 combines both ideas by showing a realistic subject surrounded by abstract mouths. This piece conveys my actions whenever my parents argue. Piece 2 shows myself picking my face, an everyday routine in regards to my appearance.
I am a lizard, repeatedly shedding my skin onto anything I touch.
My battle with stress-induced eczema has persisted for five years. I am able to quell its effects through moisturizing, but like an ex-lover, it keeps coming back.
My inquiry is: what are the seemingly insignificant methods by which humans cope with stress? All the artworks relate to my tics; they connect personally. They stand as events that I have done to myself, and actions that I am familiar with. It follows the methods by which I deal with stress. Hands are also an apparent theme in my works.
# 1,2,4,5,6 depict hands as vessels that cause irritation. #1, 4,5 use vibrant unrealistic colors to distract the viewer from the hangnail & torn skin. Unrealistic colors show intrusive thoughts but not realistic actions. # 1,3,6 are more realistic as they are true actions. Piece 1 combines both ideas by showing a realistic subject surrounded by abstract mouths. This piece conveys my actions whenever my parents argue. Piece 2 shows myself picking my face, an everyday routine in regards to my appearance.
Piece 1:
Title: Shut Up!/Please Be Quiet
Acrylic Painting on Canvas
Realistic elements present.
The form of stress/self-harm is represented through hair pulling. The mouths represent my parents/people who yell at each other or me. The subject in the middle is myself. Could be called a self-portrait.
Title: Shut Up!/Please Be Quiet
Acrylic Painting on Canvas
Realistic elements present.
The form of stress/self-harm is represented through hair pulling. The mouths represent my parents/people who yell at each other or me. The subject in the middle is myself. Could be called a self-portrait.
I want to convey an impressionistic style in the background to represent chaoticness. I am trying to be loose with my strokes to give a more messy feeling in the background, but it's not working. Maybe I should add more mouths in the background and broader brush strokes.
Process: I started with a reference image and then transferred it to my primed canvas with a grid drawing. I loosely sketched the background with red paint. Then I started working on the darkest parts of the image, my hair, and then started my hand. I then moved onto the background by painting mouths very loosely and based on my imagination. I then alternated between the main subject and background, adjusting the borders and colors of the hair and hand.
My final piece has a messier background.
Piece 2:
Title: Imperfections (11x14) Materials: Acrylic paint on illustration board Idea: Convey a intimate type of stress. Subject is shown in bathroom mirror for an up close personal action. Piece merely shows skill and technique accompanied with idea. Popping pimples/picking my face is something I do when I am stressed. The weight of the finger is very evident. Process: First started with a grid drawing and then moved on to painting from dark to light. I painted my hair and nostrils first and then moved on to my eyes and skin. Background done after. Highlights and water droplets in mirror done last. In progress: |
Piece 3: 11x14, Acrylic paint on canvas, Gouache on illustration board. Idea: Represents a form of stress - binge eating. The mouth is open and quite large compared to the fruit. Size differences symbolize how the food can never fully fill the person and they keep on eating. Process: I printed out my image and then started using the grid technique to make sure the sketch on my paper matched with the picture. Once I did that I put a red wash on the canvas. I first started with the darkest areas on the picture which were the mouth shadows. I then alternated to the skin. Then I moved onto the lips. During this process I would repeatedly switch between doing the inside of the mouth to making other painted parts look better. I had redo several parts like the lips because I wasn't satisfied with the texture. Once I had filled out the whole piece, I used white paint to outline to highlight the lights reflecting. The fruits were painted separately and then cut out. In progress for Background available under Art 4 tab. |
Piece 4:
Hangnail (11x14), Acrylic paint and Gouache on watercolor paper. I used very cheap, not deeply pigmented acrylic paint. This created the pink, warm, childlike colors. Since the colors were not that dark it created a light mood/effect. However the image depicted in the painting is not nice. I did a deep red color to draw the blood area as a contrast. This creates the idea of appearances are not what they seem. This act of stress is shown by picking the skin until it rips off. In progress: |
Piece 5: Eczema, Gouache paint on watercolor.
Stress-induced eczema is shown here. This was my first time using gouache and I wanted to make a watercolor effect when painting. Since gouache is usually light, this makes the whole image light and not overbearing. The colors are light enough to highlight extreme colors, like the red blood. Through revision, I was able to come up with more features for the background of the hands to draw the viewer in. The bugs and blood made the background less plain and added more to the piece so it wouldn't be boring. I opted out of including the rest of the arm for one hand because it looks more cohesive when it disappeared behind the scratching hand. Process: I started with a grid drawing to get the proportions right and then started with the darkest areas with dark brown and black. I then when with filling the lines and adding blue for shadows. I used red to the palms of the hands and the lighter areas for more dimensions. When I filled in the skin I started with the scratches and added bugs and blood. In progress: |
Piece 6:
Acrylic paint on canvas (8x10)
Idea: Shows an outlet to relieve stress, through not harmful self-harm/body modification. Somebody may get multiple piercings, tattoos, or dye their hair when they're going through it.
Process: First, I started with a few sketch drawings so I could get an idea of how I would position the ear. Then I took a reference photo, primed my canvas with a red acrylic wash and then did a grid drawing. After that I started painting the darkest areas of the picture such as the hair and shadows. I then continued with the rest of the painting, doing the needle and highlights last.
Acrylic paint on canvas (8x10)
Idea: Shows an outlet to relieve stress, through not harmful self-harm/body modification. Somebody may get multiple piercings, tattoos, or dye their hair when they're going through it.
Process: First, I started with a few sketch drawings so I could get an idea of how I would position the ear. Then I took a reference photo, primed my canvas with a red acrylic wash and then did a grid drawing. After that I started painting the darkest areas of the picture such as the hair and shadows. I then continued with the rest of the painting, doing the needle and highlights last.