"Influences"
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Meaning of the Art Piece
My piece depicts myself in different scenarios,being in the country I used to live in, being in the country I currently am in, and how I express myself. The painting on the far left depicts myself as what I try to be in the U.S. Knowing that I'm different but trying to express myself the way everyone in this country expresses themselves. I made the hair color different from mine because Americans, as a stereotype, are known to have blonde hair, which I illustrated to give the feeling of feeling American, free country, free to do whatever that pleases you, as long as it's legal of course. Also, I included the factor of beauty and labor to characterize myself as a hard working person that's trying to change and fit in, a fruits of labor kind of phrase. Beauty is illustrated to show that I'm going against all my values and culture to dress up and show the unforgivable beauty a woman is capable of carrying yet forbidden to.
The piece on the far right is a depiction of myself as I am bound by the culture and values, covering me from head to toe, note that I did not cover my face because each country is different and my country did not have such a thing as covering the face, I know Saudi Arabia did, but we don't. The color of the clothing is a mix of different variations of black and gray to give it depth and contrast and give life to the fabric. The flowers in the background depicts blood. When I was young, I lived in my country, Iraq, which was at war with the U.S. and many other countries. I saw dead bodies everywhere, it became an everyday thing, it did not bother me at all, I was born into it after all. Therefore, those flowers represent the blood that I've felt latching onto my body, a part of me, the blood and all those unforgettable memories. That is what my country is right now, bathing in blood and injustice. It's sad to know that there are people out there living such lives and knowing I got away from all that, taking shelter in another country makes me feel like I've betrayed them somehow. But I've done what I've done to survive, and I'm where I'm at right now all thanks to the U.S.
The painting in the middle conveys myself as the artist. The artist I am, The artist I yearn to be, and the artist I will become. The image conveys freedom to live and choose a successful life that I would not have had normally if I was in Iraq. Imagining myself in Iraq right now frightens me very much, not becomes of the evil and murders that happen everyday everywhere, but of the future I would've missed out on and the opportunities that'd help bring shine to my life.
The piece on the far right is a depiction of myself as I am bound by the culture and values, covering me from head to toe, note that I did not cover my face because each country is different and my country did not have such a thing as covering the face, I know Saudi Arabia did, but we don't. The color of the clothing is a mix of different variations of black and gray to give it depth and contrast and give life to the fabric. The flowers in the background depicts blood. When I was young, I lived in my country, Iraq, which was at war with the U.S. and many other countries. I saw dead bodies everywhere, it became an everyday thing, it did not bother me at all, I was born into it after all. Therefore, those flowers represent the blood that I've felt latching onto my body, a part of me, the blood and all those unforgettable memories. That is what my country is right now, bathing in blood and injustice. It's sad to know that there are people out there living such lives and knowing I got away from all that, taking shelter in another country makes me feel like I've betrayed them somehow. But I've done what I've done to survive, and I'm where I'm at right now all thanks to the U.S.
The painting in the middle conveys myself as the artist. The artist I am, The artist I yearn to be, and the artist I will become. The image conveys freedom to live and choose a successful life that I would not have had normally if I was in Iraq. Imagining myself in Iraq right now frightens me very much, not becomes of the evil and murders that happen everyday everywhere, but of the future I would've missed out on and the opportunities that'd help bring shine to my life.
Artist Inspiration
Once again I've decided to use Art Nouveau, just because it's a beautiful art movement and I cannot resist it. I made a three piece painting and for one of the paintings, I use the pose from Mocha's, The Seasons painting. I used that pose because it appeared to cover the woman, even though it was meant to conceal the body because of the cold weather, however, I added another purpose to the pose and the fabric, therefore, it was a perfect pose and image for me to use as a reference, and it's because I love Mocha's art and would never allow myself to stray away from it, maybe to experiment with other movements, but I'd probably end up coming back to him. I was also going to use the far left image of the painting in one of my paintings, however, it did not aid in depicting what I was trying to explain through my piece, therefore I let it go, sadly, but I found another great picture I was able to use.
The image I found gave me a sassy feeling, one I wanted to show within my painting because it helped in illustrating my growing attitude with me being in a different country and having control over my life and future. Also, when I think of America, I think of Marilyn Monroe, and the way she conveys herself, sassy and full of life, an object of desire. The fact that men cannot show desire to a woman within my culture unless she was his wife, is a strong reason why I chose this pose, showing her beauty and alluring feeling.
Also, the fact that it is a woman, which is regarded as an object, is a strong reason this picture was chosen, because in Art Nouveau, women were used as tools for the advertisement world, therefore, no matter what, woman are used as tools and objects to satisfy their needs and gain profit. And when I use that theme, it helps to convey most of the reason why my culture is strict on the women and wanting them to cover themselves. It is all because they want to protect their dignity and stay away from shame. However, in my art piece, rather than discarding my covers to show my beauty, I'm not looking for shame, I'm merely looking to find a way to express my thoughts and what I want people to see in me.
Also, the fact that it is a woman, which is regarded as an object, is a strong reason this picture was chosen, because in Art Nouveau, women were used as tools for the advertisement world, therefore, no matter what, woman are used as tools and objects to satisfy their needs and gain profit. And when I use that theme, it helps to convey most of the reason why my culture is strict on the women and wanting them to cover themselves. It is all because they want to protect their dignity and stay away from shame. However, in my art piece, rather than discarding my covers to show my beauty, I'm not looking for shame, I'm merely looking to find a way to express my thoughts and what I want people to see in me.
Tools
Step 2: Gather all the materials that you need to create your canvas and your painting.
Begin Drawing/Painting
Step 3: Use a projector to transfer image you want to paint on the canvas, or you can free hand it, either works.
Reflection
When I began this project, I was extremely excited, one, because I love painting, two, was because I loved the idea Mr. Chad helped me gather up. As the project progressed, I procrastinated during my winter break, therefore, I did not finish my project on time, perhaps three weeks after.
I can confidently say that I see myself progressing with painting methods, however, I can say even more confidently that I became lazy and messed some parts of the paintings, I was angry, tired, didn't even want to work on it, just wanted to be done and over with it, thus I rushed in some areas while the others, I took my time to make them as pretty as I can make them.
I began this project with a smile, halfway through I wanted to drop art and drop life in general, and at the end, I want to cry in relief, but I can't cry just yet, I have other art projects that I really need to catch up on.
Some thing I found very annoying and intolerable is trying to fill in the canvas and covering any white space in the painting. I try to shade and give depth and perception to the painting but I neglect the fact that I have to color the background in order to conceal any unwanted space and give it a better look than it would'e had with the annoying space.
I found some things about painting a little difficult. for example: I free handed the drawings, I did not use the projector, maybe if I had used the projector, it would've looked much better. Also, at first, I drew the face, but then I painted over it and lost the features, therefore I had to free paint it by memory, which is why it turned out looking really crappy.
My favorite part of painting was detailing the flowers, I loved working on that and really liked how it turned out, although you can see negative space, not fully painted through areas, which really angers me because I take my time detailing it and then these spaces appears which forces me to go all over to fill it through, very annoying. However, it taught me a lesson, to fill the painting. and under coat, to keep from doing such a mistake. My least favorite part about painting were the stars, obviously it appears like I can't draw a star to save my life, secondly, actually no, this is my number one most repeated mistake, the face. I dislike working on the face so much that it hurts and I try to avoid it yet it's inevitable. I hesitate while I'm working on the face, causes me to think that I'll create an irreparable mistake.
All in all, it was fun working on the paintings, I enjoyed every part of it. I did struggle and faced procrastination, yet somehow, I got it finished thank god.
I can confidently say that I see myself progressing with painting methods, however, I can say even more confidently that I became lazy and messed some parts of the paintings, I was angry, tired, didn't even want to work on it, just wanted to be done and over with it, thus I rushed in some areas while the others, I took my time to make them as pretty as I can make them.
I began this project with a smile, halfway through I wanted to drop art and drop life in general, and at the end, I want to cry in relief, but I can't cry just yet, I have other art projects that I really need to catch up on.
Some thing I found very annoying and intolerable is trying to fill in the canvas and covering any white space in the painting. I try to shade and give depth and perception to the painting but I neglect the fact that I have to color the background in order to conceal any unwanted space and give it a better look than it would'e had with the annoying space.
I found some things about painting a little difficult. for example: I free handed the drawings, I did not use the projector, maybe if I had used the projector, it would've looked much better. Also, at first, I drew the face, but then I painted over it and lost the features, therefore I had to free paint it by memory, which is why it turned out looking really crappy.
My favorite part of painting was detailing the flowers, I loved working on that and really liked how it turned out, although you can see negative space, not fully painted through areas, which really angers me because I take my time detailing it and then these spaces appears which forces me to go all over to fill it through, very annoying. However, it taught me a lesson, to fill the painting. and under coat, to keep from doing such a mistake. My least favorite part about painting were the stars, obviously it appears like I can't draw a star to save my life, secondly, actually no, this is my number one most repeated mistake, the face. I dislike working on the face so much that it hurts and I try to avoid it yet it's inevitable. I hesitate while I'm working on the face, causes me to think that I'll create an irreparable mistake.
All in all, it was fun working on the paintings, I enjoyed every part of it. I did struggle and faced procrastination, yet somehow, I got it finished thank god.