My initial intention for this project was to honor where my inspiration comes from. Through this semester I created many pieces which are derived from nostalgia and the serene scenes I saw when traveling with my family as a kid. The idea of honoring my family for their support first was touched on in my photo essay, but I wanted to expand on this in a painting. For this project my path is to capture my mother by painting from life. I want to capture the essence of her, which could be the only problem. I want to feel proud of this work and feel that this is an accurate depiction.
As for materials I intend to use paint. I have used paint throughout this whole semester in this course, and I feel like it best serves my vision. I don’t want this to be just a painting, but an object too. I have stretched the canvas inside of an embroidery hoop to continue the use of an unconventional canvas like in Project 2. The colors I intend on using are deep greens which represent my mother’s childhood growing up in South Carolina, and our trips to upstate New York as a family. Since my mother is the only subject I want to put emphasis on her by centering her in the composition. The rest of the space will be taken up by the background and foliage. The use of foliage as a background in my work this semester has been recurring and I think it represents my artistic vision well. I want it to evoke lush eden-esqe fields and long car rides through upstate. Something about it is so untouched and whimsical which is why it interests me. This sentiment can be seen in my other pieces from this semester which use these colors and concepts as well.
When creating my work this semester I struggled a lot with setting a framework. While my work has concepts behind it, most of the art I create is just art for art’s sake. When translating the work I was doing in my sketchbook for Project 1 into a bigger piece I couldn’t really think of why I was doing what I was doing other than just loving to do it. Due to this I felt my work was lacking something in comparison to peers which had delved into topics that are important to them. There is so much art I could make from my life experiences, but art has been an escape for me. I use as a source of joy rather than to focus on the issues I face. In my seminar class I did some work which delved into my own life, but it felt very stark from all of the other art I create. While my art isn’t directly about my experiences it is still genuinely me, from the color choices to the way I name my works. This was a major turning point for me and when I started to weave familial relations into my art. I still haven’t gotten it all figured out and often feel like the work I create doesn’t come out how I want it, or isn’t as representative of me as I want it to be. The media is use is quite a range, and I tend to mix mediums which I think is prominent in my sketchbook work, this is one thing which connects the two.
I think I’ve made progress this semester in terms of unpacking why I make what I do. Art making has been such a natural and needed process for me. It comes instinctively and as a result I don’t always understand why I’m doing what I’m doing other than “liking it”. I think that this semester, and this course specifically have been great jumping off points for the spring. I know what my challenges are, and I intend to continue making art as I always do to push myself to understand my process better. I am already thinking about the type of work I want to create for next semester, I will continue to make work in similar ways, but add more subject matter to it. I want to be unafraid to talk about my life and issues that I think need to be spoken about.