Acrylic Landscape

This is a piece that I did from looking out the back window of the school. I love the movement that this view gives me, and I tried to use mildly realistic colors, but not realistic enough to make this a boring piece. I'd like to do more of these studies.

Timed Self-Portrait

This was an in-class activity done with graphite and gesso. I gave myself 10 minutes to get as much information on the paper as possible, using full-length mirror. After the time was up, I began to go in with gesso to accentuate the piece. I would like to start to use different medias within this piece, maybe acrylic paint.

From-Life Figure

This is a loose sketch from life of my figure. I tried to keep it loose and stylized, while still getting across the message of what was being shown. I went in with Sharpie as an overlay and stylized it even more, as you can see below:



I think I like the sketch better without the ink. I may take this larger scale, but I haven't decided yet.

Cord Mummy Sketch

This sketch was don

e with my concentration in mind. I came up with the idea that a cord wrapping around someone's head and neck, (or body for that matter) looks a little bit like the image that we all get in our head when we hear the word "mummy." The cord is more or less strangling the subject, which ties into my concentration about how technology has negative effects on us. I began a larger scale work of this sketch on canvas board with a projector, pictured below:

Sink Pipes

This piece was a part of the concentration I started originally at the beginning of the semester. A gesso layer was covered with ink and a slight watercolor wash, along with some Sharpie accents. I definitely want to go back into this piece and improve it. I like the looseness of it, regardless.

Laptop and Backpack

I really like the way this piece turned out. It is another one that goes along with the theme of my concentration, showing that the laptops our school has given to us have almost overtaken the importance of any paper we might have in our backpacks.I used gouache again in this piece with Sharpie accents, and I think it turned out really nicely.

iPhone Charger and Backpack

This piece would fall under my concentration at this point. I included my backpack and my phone charger to show that our phones and our technology is almost as important in school as our backpack is these days. I used gouache and a Sharpie overlay for this piece, and I enjoy the loose red undertone.

Sneaker

I have always had an inclination toward shoes, and I love painting them for some reason. I pulled out a pair of Vans and went to it. The background for this piece is a layer of gesso with blue and green watercolor concentrate mixed with water and pushed around by a hairdryer. I like the effect it had. I'm excited to continue this piece, as it seems to be attracting a lot of attention.

From-Life Chandelier

As the title says, I did this piece from life, looking at the chandelier hanging in the foyer of my house. Again, I used a gesso base with an ink border, and added a light watercolor wash. Gouache and acrylic paint were used for the rest, as well as Sharpie.

Telephone Pole

This piece started with a border of India ink over a field of gesso. The random ink strokes looked to me like a telephone pole, so I went with that concept. Using a palette knife, I filled in only certain areas with color, providing more interest in what wasn't being covered. I enjoy the product as it seems to present a printmaking feel.

Faceless Self Portrait

In lieu of my college portfolios upcoming, I decided that I certainly need to start working on a number of self-portraits, since I have not done very many in the past. I used a ground of gesso, which was covered by a  loose layer of concentrated watercolor, then another light wash of gesso wiped in certain areas. Ultimately the figure was done with a palette knife and acrylic paint.

Woman With Eagle On Her Head

I had the idea late at night after seeing a woman who was going through chemo at work, and decided to combine a strong bald woman with another bald thing that also represents strength in our country, as well as a lot of others characteristics, the bald eagle. I covered the woman's bald head with the wing of an eagle in the back, and the head and wings of an eagle in the front, replacing where her hair should be.

So far, this has just been done in pencil, Sharpie and gesso, but I plan to go back in with either acrylic or gouache paint.

Updated Artist Statement for 9/23

In recent weeks, I have changed and edited my artist statement to read as follows:

I would like my body of work to encompass the theme of the current addiction to technology that our country and the world is showing. It seems as though the majority of us, especially those in my age bracket, cannot leave home without at least 3 electronic devices filling our hands. Though technology has made incredible advances in the past few decades and even years, it seems as though one of the main downfalls of it lies in the lack of personal communication face to face. I have noticed that people my age now have a hard time making eye contact with each other, and an easier time faking their feelings over social networking and texting. Through my artwork, I would like to portray this theme in a way that shows the viewer about the downfalls of technology.

My recent work has been focused more on the breadth portion of my portfolio, as I believe just simply producing work at random will help to spark ideas for my concentration.