Hello Tamales,
I just wanted to show you my most recent painting in my koi series. It may need to be glazed, but I'm calling it done for now. I've been working on it for about a month (I'm a very slow painter). The ducks and fish are a little out of proportion, but I wanted them to be larger in scale. If you can't tell from the picture, the purple object at the top, right-hand corner is an ashtray with two cigarette butts inside. The water was the most difficult part of this painting, since I'm still trying to learn the realistic effects of light and ripples. Trapped and disoriented, the fish is trying to escape the rubber ducks and becoming entangled by the cloth's extensions. Feel free to suggestion anything you might think would enhance this work. :)
~Liz~
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it looks really good. There isn't really anything Iw ould change about the composition and I love the isolated duck! I thinka glaze could help warm up the scene more since everything seems shaded per color if you know what I mean. I wanna know what this is about and what you have in mind when painting these coy. Do you only consider the aesthetic sense of graceful movement and strange composition or is there an underlying meaning to the subject matter?
ReplyDeleteHere's the artist statement I wrote for my Senior Portfolio/Seminar class:
ReplyDeleteMy work is influenced by the diversity of identity despite nature’s organic repetitions, and the impact of outside forces on one’s definition of self. Fascinated by the rhythmic movement and color variations of koi, many of my oil paintings and textile works depict identity as ambiguous and fluid, though often tampered by natural and man-made forces. To illustrate these forces, I surround the fish with water, clothing, toys, patterned plant-life, and other fish, symbols of artificiality or purity. As a collective whole, they create a claustrophobic environment, clashing with one another while enhancing or challenging the distinct vibrancies of the fish. All elements in nature, human, animal, and plant, possess a raw vibrancy that can’t be replicated, yet these essences become lost when replaced or pressured to follow a manufactured version of themselves. In my works, I critique society’s need for sameness and the stresses placed on individuals to re-decorate their image according to marketing standards. Through intense coloration and texture, I highlight the individuality of each element and its struggle in competing for social validation.
The rich and textured surfaces are developed using oil painting techniques, which include layering the fish scales with a concoction of Liquin, Stand Oil, and talcum power, and mixing colors with an unclean brush. As a result, the various tones are all contrived from the same palette and origin, as in nature. In addition to oil painting, I explore other mediums such as traditional embroidery and needlepoint. Since childhood, I have been intrigued by the physical and spatial aesthetics of patterned, hand-woven fabric and how the designs play a major role in defining one‘s character. This interest informs the sketched scenes and stitches I compose. I am drawn to the connections between all things organic and ready-made and rediscovering the voice of originality.
I see what you're saying about the materialistic idea of traditional symbols becoming manufactured to serve as marketing objects. It's kind of sad and I think it's similar to the idea of looking at a real painting vs. looking at a postcard of a painting. I'm not going to go into it because I have a tendency to write a lot.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you create these pieces. I like how you create a philosophical way of painting, by using the same unclean brush because nature consists of a color palette that is shared in all objects and life. Wow!
As I've told you before about this painting: Psycho, but with koi...
I really love it, keep it up!