Triptych
"Feelings"
30.48cm x 60.96cm
Acrylic on Canvas
February, 2017
30.48cm x 60.96cm
Acrylic on Canvas
February, 2017
Feelings is a series that focuses on the presence of feelings within the body, but instead on the outside. The dripping paint along with their color represent the emotions of that subject. For example; dripping pink along the torso would be lust, the green and blue along the legs would be fatigued, the multiple colors along the neck would be confused. These colors aren’t directly or obviously pointed out in the piece itself, allowing the viewer to think and have their own interpretations.
Inspirational Artist/Work
Shane Turner is an amazing modern artist in my opinion. He uses a "dripping paint" technique to give his subjects, which are usually nude women, a sense of form and texture ONLY using that technique. He doesn't use shading or lines with any kind of media or anything, every single aspect using just the visual representation of paint dripping down an "invisible" body.
Brainstorming
On the left you can see an image of an idea I had originally. This was my first thought for this piece. I really enjoyed the concept, idea, and visual appeal in the work of Brian Donnelly. Not long after I started on this idea I found another artist whose work I also really appreciated. This was Yann Dolan.
Once I decided that my previous thoughts were a no, I got the idea and everything for the final decision and began to sketch the layout of how I'd like it and what goes where.
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Process/Experimentation
- Making the Canvas(es) - When I made all 3 frames it was extremely similar to the process for my Self Portrait, I gathered the pieces, slid them into place and stapled them tight. After the frames were done, I cut out enough canvas to overlap the edges and stapled that down as well.
- Applying the Geso - Applying too little geso was a big problem of mine in my last painting project, so this time I made sure to add multiple smooth layers.
- Cropping the Photo(s) - Cropping the photos was fairly easy, I just had to make sure I followed a side length ratio of 1:2 for each one.
- Making the Grid(s) - Using an app on my phone, I was able to add a grid with the squares 3 x 6. I chose 3 x 6 so that each square would only have a width of 4 inches, so it's not to big but small enough to get the details when I draw the image.
- Drawing the Image(s) - Once the grids were on the images I was able to measure and draw the grid on the canvas and begin drawing the image itself square by square. I really enjoy this method because I'm able to get more detailed drawings which ends up making it easier for me once it's time to paint.
- Creating the Background(s) - Before I begin the painting of the body parts I thought it would be best to create a background first, nothing fancy but something that is visually pleasing and compliments the body parts in terms of color.
- Editing the Image(s) - Before I paint the images I used another app on my phone to edit the contrast slightly and make it so that each of the images had a similar skin tone.
- Painting the Part(s) - Each panel starts off with me painting the darker areas and slowly moving towards the lighter shades.
- Outlining - Once the painting of the parts is finished, I sort of improvised a little and gave each of them a black outline, only on the outer edges. I figured that this would give each of them a more smooth, complete, and nice look to them, I was right.
- Paint Dripping - This last step was by far the scariest step. Even though Turner does not actually drip the paint in his work, I knew I was going to have to because of lack of time. I made sure to carefully examine his work and look really closely at where exactly the paint falls into creases or bends around curves. I use this information to apply a large amount of paint to the top of the canvas or top of a part of that body and lift the canvas up vertically and control the direction and speed of the dripping paint with the canvas' movement and angles.
Reflection
The representation of my inspirational artist's effect on my work is probably my biggest success with this project. The delivery of the message being expressed is definitely my struggle with this piece as well. Overall I am pretty pleased with the end result. The realism of each panel also seemed to be decent in my opinion.
ACT Connections
- Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
- What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
- What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
- What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
- What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?