Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Project 1 - AGUA



For project 1 I choose to explore the subject of water. Originally I became interested in the subject when I started researching different ways of abstraction and representation of the human body. The way water can illustrate translucency and form at the same time. I was also interested in the form of the feeling of water itself and the different ways of portraying it. I photographed the difference in water when it ripples and splashes above water and my hand underwater. I began editing and playing with the contrast and shadow levels on photos I took of people under the water, this got me really fascinated with the contrasting light between the depths of the ocean and the reflection of the waters surface.









Through out the three-weeks of our project, I experimented different ways to illustrate both translucency and reflection of water with my materials. I worked with a mixture of mediums ranging from oil paint, pastel, acrylic, gouache, oil bar, and inks. For my first three works I worked exclusively with pastel and experimented with different colors and line work for representation of water. I pulled a lot of soft lines from these pieces into my final piece. For my next three pieces I experimented more with mixing different mediums. I first applied thin layers of cel-vinyl, which I learned gives a nice flat background, and then slowly applied acrylic and oil paint, and finally added touches with both an ultramarine oil bar and water-soluble conte-crayons. For my next three pieces I was able to use vellum paper and experimented a lot with inks. I first applied thin layers of ink and then was able to mix both use of acrylic and watercolor paint, I also used a little bit of marker as well. For the final piece I challenged myself to use almost all of the mediums I experimented with. I first applied different layers of ink, flash, gouache and acrylic paint. I then applied very thin layers of oil paint and finished with more detailing with an ultramarine oil bar. The overall look of the piece is successful in its cohesiveness.












I was drawn to artists like the Italian Josep Moncada who represent figures in motion through water with simple hue variations of blue. His play with exaggerated lines in contrast to flat blocks of color gives his paintings a dewy like quality. Wangechi Mutu is another artist that inspired me, even though the artist doesn’t specifically portray water, I was really moved by her use of layers and reserves of color and form that bring attention to and highlight certain aspects in her work. Mutu exemplifies a profound sense of control over her medium and the emotion and chaos the audience feels when admiring her work. I was also of course inspired as well by the British artist David Hockney for his mixture of medium use that effortlessly work together. Specifically his simple color bleeding illustrates water in way that even though they are simple gestures it leaves the audience satisfied. In my final piece I examined my own figure into my own work, something that Hockney demonstrated many times though out his work. Which in turn was a little bit more difficult for me to create but reads more compelling with the relationship to the viewer.  

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