Triptych
Title: No Choice
Size: 92cm x 61cm Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Date: March 2018 No Choice is a triptych painting with a landscape comprised of vivid colors and a fantasy night sky, inspired by the 11 million undocumented people, but more so the dreamers, who had no choice in coming to the US and their struggles which include identity and not having a clue of what the future looks like because of factors like their legal status and the current politics. |
Inspiration
I needed something in my triptych to symbolize a large quantity, therefore I thought about stars and their countless qualities. With stars came vivid colors that draw your attention forming a vibrant night sky.
In this artwork, the light from the sky shining onto the water, painted with horizontal brushstrokes inspired me to paint the shining light onto the water in my piece. The arc shape the stars take is something i didnt put into my art piece because i wanted to keep the consistency of stars dabbed randomly around the canvas, freely with no purpose.
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OlgaTsyhypkoArt. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2018, from https://www.pinterest.co.uk/cigipkoolga/olgatsyhypkoart/
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The technique used to paint the land around the body of water in this artwork influenced me to dab my brushstrokes instead of blending them to give them that texture that the earth isn't smooth, but rather bumpy with different textures.
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Both these paintings are a metaphor for imagination and curiosity, as well as calmness because of the landscape around them. Impressionism is an art movement from the late 1800s that captures a moment, a feeling, and an experience instead of accurately painting things. Starry Night by Van Gogh is an Impressionistic painting that uses vivid colors and different techniques. The technique Van Gogh used to paint Starry Night is called Impasto which is when theres so much layer of thick paint that the brushstrokes are very visible. I used this technique for my sky and planet by using numerous layers of paint, and for the planet i used thick layers of oil paint to the point where it took forever to dry but the strokes are very visible.
Impressionism Movement, Artists and Major Works. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from http://www.theartstory.org/movement-impressionism.htm
The Starry Night - Vincent van Gogh - Google Arts & Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-starry-night/
Impressionism Movement, Artists and Major Works. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from http://www.theartstory.org/movement-impressionism.htm
The Starry Night - Vincent van Gogh - Google Arts & Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-starry-night/
The Starry Night - Vincent van Gogh - Google Arts & Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-starry-night/
Planning
Process/Technique/Experimentation
At this point, i started with layering paint, and different lines to guide me later. As my painting progressed i found it easier to instead of mixing paint to get a certain color in the little cups, why not mix it on the canvas for convenience. With experimentation i realized i needed much more red than blue, and a little bit of white to give it an illuminated color. I would dab the paint arbitrarily around the canvas then i blended all the colors. Also, in these pictures i already had the backwash for the grass done which was a foundation of green. After all the blending of vivid colors for there night sky i realized i had made a backwash for what was coming up next on the canvasses.
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What happened her was, the edges of the grass peninsula were darkened to give them a gradient as the reached the water for a more realistic look, this was done by mixing green black and brown as we got closer to the water and in the middle just acrylic green. Secondly the river running by was just blue at this point running near the land, made by blending blue around. The sky was made by dabbing the paintbrush with paint hundreds of time to get a thick rough layer which is the galaxy that we see in the background. Lastly the planet is Mexico because thats my origin which i have no memories about and could risk being sent there. One canvas's night sky was darker than the other, this is due to the surplus of blue paint on the canvas
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I painted the sky by putting blotches of red blue and white to make a light purple and light pink color when mixed. At first i blended the 3 colors which gave the sky a smooth vibrant feel. But, then i experimented with dabbing the paint to give it visual texture to look closer to a night sky of the galaxy which is overwhelmed with stars and their colorful aura, and varying colors as you look around the canvas.
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On the left here, we have me in the middle and other people around me, because we live in a diverse culture where its normal to be around people from different backgrounds and ethnicities.
On the right, theres me as an alien looking at 'home' which i don't know much about and barely have memories about. |
Reflection
No choice is a triptych painting inspired by immigrants made by using vivid colors and impressionistic techniques. On the left it shows my face being illuminated by a screen, basically this shows how my culture as a teen is greatly influenced by electronic and how honestly we have our eyes stuck on our phone screens most of the time. The second part is me amongst many other people, these people are from different races or background and remain anonymous. Me amidst these people depict how I'm unique in my own way, but yet i take a step back, look at the bigger picture and realize I'm one of many billions of different people and that makes me feel kind of insignificant in a way. Lastly the third picture is me as an alien (because thats my the term used to describe me and the other 11 million undocumented people used by politicians) looking at the planet of Mexico where i immigrated from when i wasn't even 3 years old with tears in my eyes, because at any moment i could be swept up and sent back 'home' because thats where I'm from and thats where i belong in the eyes of many people. Another tear for leaving the country i grew up, the country that i call home. To capture all this in 3 canvases i saw in various other paintings techniques that dabbing the paint and letting it blend like that rather than smoothly letting the brush blend it was somewhat common and I used that technique to paint the vibrant night sky that's meant to catch attention and for people to see that first from far away. Somethings that went wrong were trying to get the same average color of the night sky in every canvas. Since i was painting on three different canvases it was difficult to recreate the same color on every canvas, especially since i was blending on the canvas itself. If you take a step back and look at the bigger picture, the color tones of the sky don't all match for the three canvases , some are lighter purple, other have more blue or more red, white, or etc. Another challenge i faced was making crisp thin lines around the edges of circular objects like the faces or the planet. The problem's source could've come from the needles of the brush being damaged or something else, but making thin accurate lines was a problem. I could used other objects like tape, a paper, or a stencil to guide the paint into a crisp line next time. A thing that went well was painting the night sky and giving it texture even though the hues were unbalanced. Overall I'm pleased at the result because even though there may be a couple mistakes, and the symbolism could've been communicated in a better way, i still got the results i wanted.
Connection to ACT
1) Clearly explain how you are able to to identify the cause-affect relationships between your inspiration and its affect upon your artwork.
Components like painting techniques and color schemes that make up the artworks and they sky are what i based the visuals like the sky of my triptych on.
2)What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Very informative and not biased. Formal display of examples and thorough analysis of the examples that exemplify techniques from both art movements.
3)What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
People tried to capture feelings, and moments in a painting and can project their feelings onto the canvas.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
Immigration and how it can affect one's conscious.
5)What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
Art movement are linked through passed down techniques and can sometimes be opposites. I also inferred that art movements can depict whats currently going on around them whether it be war, despair, industrialization. Therefore art tells a story.
Components like painting techniques and color schemes that make up the artworks and they sky are what i based the visuals like the sky of my triptych on.
2)What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Very informative and not biased. Formal display of examples and thorough analysis of the examples that exemplify techniques from both art movements.
3)What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
People tried to capture feelings, and moments in a painting and can project their feelings onto the canvas.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
Immigration and how it can affect one's conscious.
5)What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
Art movement are linked through passed down techniques and can sometimes be opposites. I also inferred that art movements can depict whats currently going on around them whether it be war, despair, industrialization. Therefore art tells a story.
Bibliography
Art, T. S. (2017, January 12). Fantasy Landscapes. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/666955026035846762/
OlgaTsyhypkoArt. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2018, from https://www.pinterest.co.uk/cigipkoolga/olgatsyhypkoart/
The Starry Night - Vincent van Gogh - Google Arts & Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-starry-night/
OlgaTsyhypkoArt. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2018, from https://www.pinterest.co.uk/cigipkoolga/olgatsyhypkoart/
The Starry Night - Vincent van Gogh - Google Arts & Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-starry-night/