New England Fauvism

I'm back in the drawing saddle again, as I create examples of work for students to gauge their own progress in work and to realize they too can draw like this! I'm realizing that if I want to create art, at least for the time being, a cheap, efficient, and just as effective means would be through drawing using oil pastels...I call them paint in a stick and that's as close as I can get to the real deal!
Anyways, I taught my students about Fauvism and how they incorporated bright and bold colors into their work to express emotions. One of my favorite art groups (and so short lived!), I believe what the Fauves had to offer can still be utilized today for those students whose creativty is blocked by stigma, ego, or low self-esteem. It helps them experiment with more colors than just the normal palette as well as to view the world in a completely different perspective!!
I beleive New England autumns are ideal for such creative pursuits as the changing colors provoke the use of brighter colors and seeing such reds, yellows, and oranges in everyday life can help them feel more comfortable when creating an imaginitive scene.
So, this is my example and I like it very much, however, I'm concerned it might look chinsy? Too colorful, or too cliche? I hope that is only my internalized rationalizations speaking out and not my true self!!

These are two other paintings that were in my show back in May, which I never got to post on here. I do not have these anymore! They are living in very good homes in Carrollton and Dallas, Texas! Both stemmed from similar ideas and came out similarly--- creating the grooved circle and then applying oil pastel on top to enhance the quality of that circle. The top image was referred to as imagery of the "beginning of the cosmos" (thank you Dr. Eaker!), even though it has no defining title! However, I was quite pleased with that comment and cherish it as a compliment!

Still Life Drawing

Even though this is an aside from my usual work of abstraction, I enjoy drawing realistically, if not with a flare for fauvism. I had this still life set up for my drawing classes at the summer school and could not ignore the urge to draw it myself. I oftentimes use too many lines when I create an image such as this, but it is an ongoing process of overcoming this sort of "safety blanket" of too many lines to hide my fear of incorrectly drawing the subject. (And I tend to use too many words to describe it, too!)
Anyways, I was pleased with the outcome, and had fun photographing the details to illuminate the build up of lines and colors that shape the subjects themselves.
Also, I have realized that this swelling urge to draw should not be ignored, as it is akin to the urge to show appreciation for gifts you have received and using them wisely and positively.

Senior Exhibit

These are a majority of pieces in the senior show, which sadly came down May 13th. I didn't realize how much of myself was in the show until I started peeling off my name and show title with a razor and flicking the vinyl letters into a garbage can. But I believe the show was beautiful and well worth all the trouble and stress!! Would I do it again, absolutely! (Only wiser!!)

Separation Anxiety

One day, I was feeling extremely nostalgic about my time here at UD, as it has been 4 amazing years devoted to studies and developing strong relationships with my friends. I considered what my feelings were and realized that I had layers of emotions cradled in the arms of nostalgia, and unfortunately pressured by separation anxiety. I began working on a painting, and the first one to come out of this understanding of my emotions was the deep blue-purple piece directly above. I was actually working backwards; these paintings represent the stages of that separation anxiety and the first painting was the last stage of how I would feel --- that of a tranquil acceptance of the changes occurred.

The next painting I engaged in starts from the initial reaction to the realization of separation anxiety (middle red painting). In thie regard, I considered my pain of leaving the UD environment as my life had indeed revolved so much around it. I brought myself to a deeper self-awareness of how my physiology would be affected by separation anxiety and I realized that I would be short of breath, flushed feeling, and literally feeling "cut-off" from the environment. I say "cut-off" because when you realize that you will not be seeing these same people, or doing these things you are accustomed to, the heartfelt bonds feel severed and there creeps into your soul a seemingly irreparable vacuity. Therefore, I created this painting with textured paint (oil paint mixed with wood chips and sawdust), and primarily used my palette knife to create the chopped-up texture. I also tried blending several shades of red to indicate the varying degrees of my emotions and to add some depth to the composition.

The painting I next completed (and last of the series!), is one about memories. I did this painting with my fingers, (don't do it with your fingers unless you have skin barrier cream or gloves on!) as I wanted to actually be in the painting throughout the process. Process is critical for me, as it is in that realm of creating that I understand why I am painting this painting and who I am as a person that is painting this piece. Therefore, the texture and strokes in the paint are created completely from my fingers. The multitude of colors reflects all my memories from UD reoccurring all at once in my mind as I realize that nostalgia cloaked in separation anxiety forces all the emotions out at once, colliding and careening all over the canvas.

Hence, the order in which the pieces will be displayed is "Separation Anxiety: Initial Pain", "Separation Anxiety: Memories", and "Separation Anxiety: Tranquil Acceptance".

"Remembering the Feeling of the Earth"

Occasionally I let my head get too high in the clouds and I need to create something that is more "down to earth" so to speak, and this piece came out of that thought. It's like floating back down to earth and remember the colors that are of the earth, with greens, dark yellows, reds, and browns and how they intermingle.