Beautiful (The Erasure)

Beautiful

Daybreak, sunset, night

Desolate, hopeless, dead-end

Over the edge.

Time, kill, watching girl

Creeping; alarming the speed of it.

Time lapse.

Discomfort, lonesome.

Flicker blue warm.

He, “Let’s talk about this; paused, kid.”

Surprised sight, how could I.

Again, frame by frame.

Demoted back, bad eight.

Days, pictures you take; rocks in your pocket.

Life, living; I want to be.

A hundred feet below. I used to be OK.

He doesn’t know the problem

I don’t know him.

A few years in, bullshit.

I confess. Pass through.

Fire, light changes; luminous.

I say this time.

Narrative wonders and labyrinths of time.

No distress.

Eyes up close, I realize on this ledge you can see the real.

White inside. This is what we are; flesh.

Ugly, sullied, beautiful, real.

Paradise yearning; a stab in the gut.

Breathe, wanting someone to carry off the ledge.

Remove, stabilize, change, restored.

Beautiful.

Beautiful

Beautiful: Medium: Acrylic, mini paint roller, stencils, construction paper

This particular piece is one of the most personal stories that I have created. Originally when the assignment was given I had no idea where it was going to take me. While taking basic design 2, we were given a story. The first time we read it we were to take the reading and come up with a photo that represented what we read, simple enough. The second time was different, after we read the story we were to transform it. Yet again we were to create an erasure. This form of art has been seen throughout my work, and I was so excited that I was getting another opportunity to do it again. 

I had recently separated from my fiance of 8 years, instead of trying to deny what I had been through I channeled it though my work. Coming up with the story was easy enough, words seemed to melt right on the page and into my notebook. I was so pleased with myself, because in this really clever way it all made sense to me. The really hard part I hadn't even began yet. The rubric for the  given assignment was extremely challenging for me. For someone that was so use to painting with a paint brush, using heavy detail, my loving relationship with my paint brush for crying out loud; all these tools were to be chucked right out the door. Not only couldn't we use a paint brush, no detail. We had to use only stencils, that we made ourselves. We had to use at least four and the color we choose had to be touching in two places. All these elements we had previously used earlier in the year, was now being put to the test; literally. This was our final assignment, which also meant we needed to spend at least twenty hours on it. Spending the twenty hours to create a piece of art was not hard for me, I in fact spent way more time than that. The difficult part was combining all the skills we had learned that year, and then telling myself to let go. Working with acrylic is one thing, cutting out tiny little stencils was a whole other demon. We also had to use a mini paint roller to apply the paint, and the paper was super fragile. At the end of it all I was happy with the work that I did. Mostly because this piece had a lot of meaning behind it. Regardless of what the class took from it, I think I needed to release that hurt from with in me. This is the main reason why I like to use my own personal baggage in my art. It gives me the opportunity to explore my situation, create something meaningful, share it, and then ultimately close the door. Creating art is just good for the soul.

Ode to Eric

Ode to Eric

Medium: Standard paper, magazine cut outs, photographs, rubber cement.

 

This piece was created for a Women in Art History Assignment. Part of attaining an associated Arts degree, you are required to take History in Western Art. In 2013 I was lucky enough to be one of the first students who got to take a new class being offered as an alternative to History in Western Art. I really enjoyed the emphasis of  learning more about the many women who stepped before me to be heard. Often times when you do take a course like History of Western Art you only get to learn about a handful of the women. For me as a women, I just felt like it was really nice to know about so many, in the many different eras throughout history. Women really have always been that fiery spark underneath it all. A voice that would not be silenced and it's quite interesting to watch how that voice evolved. 

While we were studying the period around 60's - 70's we learned about Audrey Flack. A woman famous for her photorealism with painting. She would create the massive murals, often times by looking at a photograph. She created images so immaculately clean, they created a painting that looked just like a photograph. A lot of these painting were memorials for loved ones or famous people that had passed. They all had key components that were almost always found in each painting. Objects that centered around time, jewelry, a calendar, food,  and something personal. They looked like a scene stolen right from the subjects personal spaces. For our assignment we were to created a Audrey Flack inspired piece of art, using magazine cut out, and photos. Our subject was to be about someone we had lost that meant a lot to us. I chose my childhood friend Eric Moore who died in a horrible car crash with three other friends. When his family has his memorial, I wasn't able to attend. I felt like this was my way of memorizing Eric even more. I really enjoyed this project, and to this day Audrey Flack is one of my favorite artist that we learned about. I enjoy her work most of all because this is what I strive for. To someday in my life, be capable of creating an image so beautiful and spot on that it looks real.  I truly believe that if I had taken History of Western Art  I would have never been subjected to such a vast catalog of talented women.

Karaoke Night at the Chinese Bar and Grill

Medium: Large Bristol, graphite pencil, watercolor

 

    This piece was created for a drawing II class. We were to draw a figure from a still-life set. Our model, a very well dressed skeleton.

I began by drawing him in stages, first sketching out various shapes. After I had created more of an outline I began focusing in on more detail. I really struggled with the hat. I tried to give it so much detail, that in fact the hat was straw. I soon found out it lost some of it's value after I painted watercolor over the pencil. Although you can't see with the final photo, I actually went in over he watercolor later with more pencil. I liked making this piece because I gave him a little more character than was given. As you can well see, he has a mustache. I also changed the color of the guitar and interrupted the background with my own artistic variation. I thought I was done as one point, thinking to my self, I was really proud of the work. The colors I used for the bone color; to me gave the skeleton the look like he might have been a real person, and not some plastic imitation of a bone structure. Well, then I looked at it closed and noticed the fingers were all wrong. I really panicked, oh my #%&@; what am I going to do now. The really great thing about water color is sometimes you can go back and pick up color, and that is exactly what I did. I reworked the piece, fixed my mistake; and no one would be the wiser. It just goes to show you, that even if you think you have royally jacked up your work, you CAN fix it; and this isn't just for school work, but the work you would do professionally or otherwise. Sometimes mistakes end up being the best thing you could create anyhow. Just don't be afraid to fail, there is beauty in everything.

As you can see the fingers are getting fixed here.

Abstract Love Affair

Abstract Love Affair  Medium: Bristol paper, acrylic paint, paper cut outs, rubber cement

 

Abstract Love Affair was an assignment done for Basic Design; color theory. We were to design a scene, it had to be the same creation, except the background changed; each representing either cool or warm.The design also needed to be made without using anything representational objects. Giving the students the opportunity to see first hand what a different colored background can do for a piece; so choose wisely. Although I did not use any objects that were nameable, this piece is still representational of two subjects. One subject is love, and the other fondly represents Jack and Sally. The violet black swirl is the most powerful icon from The Nightmare Before Christmas, although I feel like if someone didn't know the movie they could still see the underlining tone. Two also most moon look spheres, which seem to be kissing among fallen diamond shapes. I really enjoyed making this piece and I feel as though this is one of my better assignments in from the class.