Piece Title: Safe Place
Research:
Thomas Cole’s landscapes, the realistic and peaceful aspect of them, reminds me of my childhood when I used to hide in beautiful landscapes in Switzerland just to feel alone with myself and appreciate life.
Also this sky through the trees:
The dark cold colors of it would make me think it has a pejorative aspect to it however it makes me feel surprisingly peaceful.
Idea development / sketches:
For this project I want to show what walls may hide. I want to make the usual ‘safe spaces’ the unsafe ones to break the set ideas of people. I want to create a a window with depth to let us into the piece and have a soothing peaceful landscape as a background. The inside of the window would show a dark and lonely bedroom as the landscape would give a sense of safety and nature.
For the landscape I inspired myself from landscapes I have captured and photographed. As a person who grew up in nature it is important for me to show it in a positive way.
For the window I first deigned a little template which I had a lot of fun with because I carried it around the city looking into it creating that slight distance between me and the world. It also made focus on some angles in a different way that I would if my vision wasn’t limited by the paper.
Process pictures:
I cut out the window through the canvas, stuck transparent plastic as glass and stuck another painting under for depth.
Final Piece:
Overall I was very happy with my idea, what didn’t really come out as expected is the realistic aspect I wanted in this painting. I also don’t necessarily agree with the way the colors turned out. I am however very impressed by this window and the way I made the inside look so familiar.
It was my first time painting a landscape and I didn’t use any reference image for the final display, I simply added what I wanted and where but I should do it again I would create a template in photoshop or use a real landscape to have a base to look at, that would also help me make it more realistic especially if I’ve never painted one before.
I am somehow happy with the perspective, how I added more details to the front than to the back, and the brightness of colors, but I could still give it some practice.
Poem in class reflection:
I am walking on soft warm grass and as I look around I only see the purity of nature, no humans, no buildings, just these beautiful views and this calming silence. But not so silent, silent from any toxic sounds, only birds singing, the sound of the wind in the trees, the melody of the water currents, the vibrations of the insects wings, the deep shivering sound of the mountains, the sound of life, what seems still is moving, we can feel it in our feet and it goes all the way up to our heads and into our souls. A feeling of power and greatness. The smell of the grass that escapes every time we step on it, the smell of the minerals in the water, the smell of flowers, earth and air. Freeing smells that heal our lungs, that energizes. And then this house, this house full of responsibilities, full of judgment and of barriers, full of decisions. I dont want to go into that house, I want to fall asleep under the stars, not have to think about tomorrow, just enjoy the moment and reconnect with what was here before us, with our roots, this thing we often tend to forget.
