Triptych
Tittle: Untitled
Size:
Medium:
February 2017
Exhibition Text
"Untitled" is a composed of three different canvases that create a whole story. "Untitled" was inspired by Brian Donnelly's imaginative work, Donnelly was able to create work that exhibit the concept of oblivion and eternity. Nothing lasts forever and it is time to realize this, in order to live each day to the fullest and not watch our life happen.
The Meaning
At first glance this piece does not look like a whole, but at the same time the contrast between all of the canvases make this piece convert into a whole. My idea was to create three different canvases, each with their own concept which at the end would come together and create a whole picture by uniting the canvases. The most noticeable feature n this piece is the melting of the faces and city, which is also the main point to my meaning that nothing last forever. On the ideal world only the good things would permanently stay and the bad would be abolished, however we do not live anywhere close to the ideal world, therefore I decided to make this a reality and show the viewer than nothing lasts forever and one should realize that sooner or later in order to live life be bold and follow one's dreams, that is why the colors in the background are different from the other two canvases, this canvas is the main piece of this piece because of the strong message and the emphasis of the only head who is melting. The second canvas shows the way that the environment is able to affect someone (myself), I chose to create a dark city because there is no city without sin. The environment around me has a very heave influence on me, most of the time it makes me feel unworthy, not good or smart enough and sometimes it makes me feel the total opposite, but I decided that the environment melted the upper part of my head because that is the part that the environment cares the least about, everything is about the body, the skills and the actions. The main purpose for me is to be strong and always keep on going, but to the eyes of the environment this is not allowed. Finally the third canvas is how I affect the environment. I decided to make this canvas the total opposite to the second canvas because I believe that I am able to affect the environment in a positive way by using my intelligence and my ways of understanding this domain, I do not affect the environment with violence, nor silence, I affect the environment by melting into it and leaving something from where everyone is able to learn a little something to make life somewhat a better place. The skin tone in all of the canvases is the same, but it is much more pale and unrealistic to the ideal tone, I decided to do this because I was not born to be ideal, I do not come from the ideal place, neither is anyone of us, my skin has nothing to do with who I am or how I am, I did not use a very unrealistic skin tone because I did not want to emphasize my skin, I wanted to emphasize the melting in all of the canvases.
Experimentation
The details on this piece were arduous, thus I had to experiment with different techniques to overcome this challenge and create an ideal result. The hair was the most tiresome part of the details due to the many lines and curves that it involved, I experimented by first filling in part of the hair which did not have much detail, but this turned into a disaster because I lost all of the details from the sketch that I have earlier transferred onto the canvas. The second technique that I tried was to paint the lines with black paint, which worked because I was able to see all of the details and the empty spaces where I had to paint with another color, which then lead me to paint the empty spaces and finally go over any missing spaces or some parts that needed more work. At the end this turned out to be the best technique to do the hair because I lost little to no detail, the colors were easier to blend and the ending result became the ideal result.
From the beginning I was starting to gather ideas on how to create the melting effect on the canvases, this made me experiment with different techniques, thus I researched different ways to create a melting effect with paint. The first technique that I researched was Donnelly's since he is my inspiration. I realized that his technique was not going to work on my painting because he used different materials to create his work, he used oils while I used acrylics therefore his technique was not successful.
From the beginning I was starting to gather ideas on how to create the melting effect on the canvases, this made me experiment with different techniques, thus I researched different ways to create a melting effect with paint. The first technique that I researched was Donnelly's since he is my inspiration. I realized that his technique was not going to work on my painting because he used different materials to create his work, he used oils while I used acrylics therefore his technique was not successful.
Process
1. Gathering Ideas
From the beginning I knew that I wanted to involve the country from where I am from, therefore I started to think about how I could incorporate it into my canvases without making it seem really obvious. That is when I thought about the colors of the flag, yellow, blue and red. I had to be very creative on the way that I was going to incorporate these colors into my piece, therefore I started to research different artist and gathering some ideas.
2. Finding Inspiration
It is essential to find an artist which I could be able to find inspiration. As I was researching I came across with different artists who incorporated the city into their artwork, unfortunately none of these artist were giving me the inspiration I was searching for. Then, I started researching artist who created faces and I came across a beautiful piece of art by Brian Donnelly. Donnely creates amazing pieces on which he uses normal people, but then there is always something different about them, for example, the piece I chose as inspiration.
3. Creating sketches
Once I had my inspiration I decided to sketch some ideas. I knew that I wanted to have my face on one of the canvases therefore I decided to use my inspiration and change it into my own self, I changed the hair color and the skin color but I left the hair style because this way I could be able to represent the complexity on the simplicity of myself. Then on the second canvas I decided to have my face melting on the city so that way it can represent the way that I view the city and how much or how little I influence certain parts of my environment. Finally the last canvas I have the city melting on the bottom half of my face, this way this canvas can represent the way that the environment interacts and affects me, I also only show the bottom part of my face because the environment around me only cares about our appearances, not about our knowledge and intelligence.
From the beginning I knew that I wanted to involve the country from where I am from, therefore I started to think about how I could incorporate it into my canvases without making it seem really obvious. That is when I thought about the colors of the flag, yellow, blue and red. I had to be very creative on the way that I was going to incorporate these colors into my piece, therefore I started to research different artist and gathering some ideas.
2. Finding Inspiration
It is essential to find an artist which I could be able to find inspiration. As I was researching I came across with different artists who incorporated the city into their artwork, unfortunately none of these artist were giving me the inspiration I was searching for. Then, I started researching artist who created faces and I came across a beautiful piece of art by Brian Donnelly. Donnely creates amazing pieces on which he uses normal people, but then there is always something different about them, for example, the piece I chose as inspiration.
3. Creating sketches
Once I had my inspiration I decided to sketch some ideas. I knew that I wanted to have my face on one of the canvases therefore I decided to use my inspiration and change it into my own self, I changed the hair color and the skin color but I left the hair style because this way I could be able to represent the complexity on the simplicity of myself. Then on the second canvas I decided to have my face melting on the city so that way it can represent the way that I view the city and how much or how little I influence certain parts of my environment. Finally the last canvas I have the city melting on the bottom half of my face, this way this canvas can represent the way that the environment interacts and affects me, I also only show the bottom part of my face because the environment around me only cares about our appearances, not about our knowledge and intelligence.
4. Transferring sketches into the canvases
Once all of my sketches were done I decided to create a grid on the canvases in order to transfer all of the details from the canvases. For the two canvases that have my head on them I decided to create a grid on the original work from Donnelly, so that most of the details from the hair could be detected on the canvases. Finally I transferred the cities into the canvases, the only part from the sketches that I did not transfer to the canvases were the melting phase of the whole piece; I did not include this phase because I wanted the paint to be free and organic.
Once all of my sketches were done I decided to create a grid on the canvases in order to transfer all of the details from the canvases. For the two canvases that have my head on them I decided to create a grid on the original work from Donnelly, so that most of the details from the hair could be detected on the canvases. Finally I transferred the cities into the canvases, the only part from the sketches that I did not transfer to the canvases were the melting phase of the whole piece; I did not include this phase because I wanted the paint to be free and organic.
5. Painting
Now that all of my sketches were transferred into the canvases I was ready to start painting. I gathered all of the materials I needed; brushes, paint, the sketches and the original piece. I started by doing the most time consuming part which was the hair, due to all of the details and color mixing that I had to do in order to make it as intricate as possible. I outlined the hairs with dark black paint and then I filled the empty spaces with lighter black paint and then I went back to emphasize the detail on the hair with a mixture of these two tones.
Now that all of my sketches were transferred into the canvases I was ready to start painting. I gathered all of the materials I needed; brushes, paint, the sketches and the original piece. I started by doing the most time consuming part which was the hair, due to all of the details and color mixing that I had to do in order to make it as intricate as possible. I outlined the hairs with dark black paint and then I filled the empty spaces with lighter black paint and then I went back to emphasize the detail on the hair with a mixture of these two tones.
Once I was done with the hair I decided to paint the background from the first canvas a different color than the other two canvases, as a result I did this canvas first. I decided to use vibrant hues to emphasize myself on top of them, this gave it a range of emotions. Then I decided to change the background of the other two canvases by changing their colors into the colors of the Colombian flag, which is where I was born, I decided to do this to have a contrast between the way that I view myself and the other ways that the environment and I are influenced by each other. Finally I painted the building, I did not want to create emphasis on the buildings, therefore I decided to paint them different tones of black, as the hair; because not the hair or the buildings are the most important part of this piece, the most important element of this piece is the interpretation of the viewer of the melting paint.
Artist Inspiration
The idea of a melting head fascinated me and I rapidly chose Brian Donnelly as my inspiration. Donnelly focuses on creating portraiture, but he is very far away from classics, he was able to invent and create all kinds of distortions and mutilations that reveal the true colors of humans. The way that Donnelly was able to exhibit such a heave meaning on a single piece inspired me to create my own representation.
Donnelly breaks all of the "rules" of painting and the results of his bravery are mesmerizing, from a melting face to giving human bodies animal heads, he is able to give a different meaning to art and he's craftsmanship can be called perfect, Donnelly made me want to make the rules in art and create my own. |
Brian Donnelly
American. 1974-present
American. 1974-present
Reflection
Overall this piece was a success; I was able to create this piece which at the end it was able to portray the meaning properly. The uses of hues and techniques on these paintings were able to bring this piece together and make it a whole, even though this piece changed throughout the process the result was better than expected. Some challenges that I faced in the making of this piece were that I realized that I lack practice with acrylics, thus acrylics is out of my comfort zone and the painting process was difficult, this did not stop me from creating my goals and I was able to achieve a pleasing result. Another immense challenge on this piece was experimenting with different techniques in order to find the perfect way to create the melting effect, this was the most time consuming and tiresome element that I came across in the making of this piece, fortunately I was able to overcome this obstacle and make the best out of it. By creating this piece I was able to exhibit my emotions and thought about myself, my culture and my environment and I believe that using art to share with others is the best way to portray one's thoughts.
ACT Questions
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
My inspiration was Brian Donnelly, which has an immense influence on my artwork due to all the properties these share and the meaning they portray.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author of my research focused mostly on the way that Donnelly broke the "rules" of art and how he was able to embrace his talent to create something meaningful.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I discovered that there is no such thing as good or bad art, nor rules to follow to make something that has a powerful meaning and that everyone, depending on their ideas and culture is able to understand art in different ways.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The theme of my inspiration was about showing individuals that there is more to see than just someone appearance. I focused on ways to show that nothing lasts forever and how we do not realize this.
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
Some inferences that I made were that we take many things for granted, we do not appreciate the time that we are given and focus too much on appearances, perhaps by realizing that nothing lasts forever will help people live each day to the fullest. .
My inspiration was Brian Donnelly, which has an immense influence on my artwork due to all the properties these share and the meaning they portray.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author of my research focused mostly on the way that Donnelly broke the "rules" of art and how he was able to embrace his talent to create something meaningful.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I discovered that there is no such thing as good or bad art, nor rules to follow to make something that has a powerful meaning and that everyone, depending on their ideas and culture is able to understand art in different ways.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The theme of my inspiration was about showing individuals that there is more to see than just someone appearance. I focused on ways to show that nothing lasts forever and how we do not realize this.
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
Some inferences that I made were that we take many things for granted, we do not appreciate the time that we are given and focus too much on appearances, perhaps by realizing that nothing lasts forever will help people live each day to the fullest. .