2D Mixed Media

Artist Statement

“Splashes of Life”

My piece’s playful animals and faces hidden in the many splashes of color create a crazy fantasy world. It was made in response to a prompt centered around producing a surreal world that has a foreground and background, created out of the ink techniques our class has been practicing. The colored ink I chose to use seems to overlap all over itself, not allowing for any real foreground, but definitely still incorporating a lot of depth. The ink also all sits on a blank white background, which has black pen drawings to make it seem like outer space, with a planet, several stars, and a rocket ship. Everything comes together to make a very busy landscape that ultimately represents my creativity and gives viewers something interesting to look at. 

I began the creation by using a pipet to drop drops of alcohol on yobo paper, and then following them with drops colored ink to make bright blends of color. I then did a combination of rotating my paper and blowing through a straw to make all of the dripping effects. After that, I glued several small and random cutouts from magazines onto the paper. Finally, I finished everything off by using black and white pens to outline all of the lines made by the ink, as well as using small little strokes to create a sort of 3-D effect. I also drew all sorts of little faces, doodles, and random lines in the piece. I didn't think too hard about each action, but instead let the organic ink shapes guide me. 

2D Mixed Media 

Artist Statement

“Fresh Off The Boat”

In my artwork titled, “Fresh Off the Boat,” I wanted to represent a surreal world that goes beyond the capacity of the world we live in today. The main theme for this project was to create an alternate reality that defies the law of life in our current reality. My intention with this piece was to explore a normal setting that we as humans are used to, the sea, and intertwine normal, every-day objects existent in our real lives. I want the viewer to feel familiar with a world that they think they know, but don’t fully understand . 

I was inspired by the show, “Bojack Horseman,” as they had an underground world like this that mixed both land and sea to create an alternate reality that fascinated me.  I first started this painting by pouring a mix of light blue ink and a darker shade ink to create an ombre for the background, and chose to make a collage of different pictures to finalize this surreal world. I chose to complete this painting with a glossy finish and shading underneath the figures.

I started this painting thinking I would lay out the different scenes next to each other almost as a gallery.  After fully fleshing out my idea however, inspired by a similar sketch of two creatures I made in an earlier class, I needed something more compelling.  I was already adding text, so the next logical step was to create a book, and I started to gather images from magazines to put it together. I tried to find nature images that were similar in what they showed, as I needed all 6 pages, especially the last 3, to generally be consistent.  I then wrote out my text, and put it on small ripped pieces of see-through paper. My hope was this was to match the ripped feeling of the collage, and to continue with the “found” feeling I was going for.  Once I had drawn the characters on each page and glued the pictures to match the correct order, I began to put the book together.  I measured out and poke holes through each of the pages, then selected the green thread I would work with.  I experimented with several patterns for the sewing, but eventually decided on a connected dotted line, with two horizontal lines at the top and bottom to signify the start and end.  After signing the project in a white marker, I was very happy with the finished product I had created for the Other World’s Project.

The background was created by combining pink, purple, and blue ink with white paint, diluted with water. Then, I painted the focal point of my piece, a mint green house, using a variety of acrylic paints which were also used to make the lollipop flowers and the clouds. The last step in my creation was the polka dot walkway, resembling gum drops which was collaged with tissue paper. This step tied my piece together by adding texture and creating variety. Overall, this artwork is very nostalgic and reminds me of childhood happiness. I hope the Candyland-inspired scene allows viewers to recall times that bring them joy.  

I first began by deciding what element of art I wanted to play with, which ended up being scale and perspective. I looked up images from a worm’s eye view, then brainstormed ways the piece could “transcend” this world, coming up with different combinations of collage images. Once I came up with my idea, I used colored ink and paint to create my background and the light source, playing with different patterns and colors. Finally, I glued on the collage pieces and used colored pens for the heart and light streaks.