This past week I also worked some on my first painting trying to put some finishing touches. I called it done and put it in the All Student Show on Monday. Although there are a few more things I think need tweaking, I also felt it just needed some space from it.
This first painting happened with much more ease then the one I started this week and I have tried to think about why this is. I think the subject matter is important. Although it is a Mardi Gras parade, the painting still gives a lot of mystery which I very much enjoy. As I think about home Mardi Gras keeps coming up. As a local and child, our Mardi Gras is very different then the one which is portrayed to the rest of the world. Instead its about family, friends, and fun. Its about the anticipation in the weeks leading up to Carnival. Its about the contest you have with your siblings and friends to see who can collect the most beads. I think the term The Big Easy, which New Orleans is often called, not alone applies to the city, but also this time in my life as I child when things were simple and fun. I want to explore the this ideas of how Mardi Gras can represent home because to me it really did define so much of childhood. After Katrina it was so important to all of us from New Orleans that Mardi Gras happened. There were comments from people around the country that we needed to focus on rebuilding and not on a party. They did not understand what Mardi Gras is to the people of New Orleans and how much getting back to normality really was. Having Mardi Gras gave us a sense of hope that everything could be alright again.
This week I want to explore this idea more through more thought but also sketching and starting a few new paintings. Yesterday in small groups it was brought up about working on more then one piece at a time. I think this will help me a lot because when I get frustrated I will not have to keep working and working on the painting like I did this week but instead I can just work on another. All of the paintings being out and visible while I work can help me figure out problems in each of them because they are related.
Because I was frustrated with the painting I was working on this week I did a few quick sketches about me and my brother. I'm not sure exactly what they mean, but I definitely want to make sure I am sketching more about my project.
\
I found an artist this week named Woody Shepherd who does work with landscapes and I just thought his work was absolutely beautiful and smart.
Woody Shepherd - Recent Works 2006-2007
Painting - 22 hours
Artist Research - 1 hour
Sketching - 1 hour
Hey Lauren-
ReplyDeleteI would love to hear exactly what about Woody Shepard you're drawn to-- can you put your finger on certain aspects of his work that you would like to incorporate into your own? I agree that his pieces are great- but I would love to hear some details from you.
I'm glad you're continuing to work when you feel frustrated with your paintings- as you said before- I think it's a really great idea to be working on multiple paintings at once. That way, leaving a painting for a little while won't be a setback.
In terms of the painting with the car and your father- I would love to see this in person. I already notice that you're developing a great atmosphere- and I would love to look at it more closely. Something that I noticed in your Mardi Gras painting was the variation between subtle and vibrant color shifts--In crit we talked about how it would be a great exercise to gain some more control over that- are you interested in incorporating that into the new painting?