There's this book from when I was a kid called, If You're Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow. It's honestly one of the most beautifully written and illustrated children's books I've seen, and one of the pages has a quote that I've always wanted to make into art. It reads, "If you find your socks don't match... stand in a flowerbed." That line got me thinking, and I decided to make this piece. The person is standing in a field of wildflowers wearing socks that are obviously mismatched. Some of the flowers are wrapped around the ankles, and even though the ground appears to be all dirt, there are little bits of grass popping up around. If you couldn't guess already, these are symbolic. The plants wrapped around the ankles are meant to show nature trying to keep the person from leaving, or changing, in a way. For a lot of people, change can be seen as something really scary, and the idea of staying in one place is comforting and makes them feel safe. The fact that the socks are mismatched represents the "rebellion" of the wearer, and how even if they may want change, the plants are determined to keep them safe and in the same place. I think that the fact that the grass appears to be growing anew from the barren ground shows the idea of renewal and, like the last piece, healing. I think there are different ways to look at this piece. Maybe for some, it has a deep meaning, and the different aspects are symbols for greater things. Maybe to someone else, its just someone wearing mismatched socks in a flowerbed. Who knows.
This piece marked my very reluctant return to acrylic paint. I am, mostly, morally opposed to acrylic paint. It drys so fast and is hard to blend and work with. When you have to do a piece in just a few days, however, it can prove to be your best friend. That was how I looked at it, at least. I actually didn't hate using acrylic again, and it was reassuring to me that not all of my experiences with acrylic have to be terrible. Learning how to appreciate acrylic again was definitely a positive of this experience, but more than that, I just had fun with the piece. It was simultaneously very high-stress (due to the time crunch) and kind of therapeutic. It wasn't a full portrait, or even a portrait at all, so there were no crazy proportion errors to think about, and painting the different wildflowers was really fun. I enjoyed knowing that it is possible for me to get a piece done quickly and still like the outcome. I do think, of course, there is lots of room for improvement, but there always is. It's not the cleanest piece I've ever done, and it could definitely be a lot more realistic, but the colors are really pretty, and I actually feel really happy when I look at it. I guess that's all I can really hope for with a piece that was done with so little time and so much pressure.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
May 2018
Categories |