Visual Research Journal- Personal Directions by

Artist #1: Anthony Cudahy

diana444 — 2025-09-20 22:37:30 UTC

I really love this artist for the way he uses paint. There are areas of soft, flat colors, areas of thin paint uses as a sort of glaze and areas with lots of color blocking and variations of shapes. I appreciate how expressive it is.

Artist #2: Amy Dury

diana444 — 2025-09-20 22:41:28 UTC

I love her color combinations and the different ways of laying down paint in one piece. They feel so soft and delicate as if they're fading in her memories.

Artist #3: Shane Berkery

diana444 — 2025-09-20 22:52:35 UTC

I love this color combo ( green/pink) it's so beautifully done. The abstract background is amazing, I love this artist interpretation of a story.

Artist #4: Doron Langberg

diana444 — 2025-09-20 22:59:03 UTC

Love these colors!! Feels intimate yet distant

Artist #5: Buket Savci

diana444 — 2025-09-20 23:06:40 UTC

I love her compositions and how colorful and fun these pieces are. The colors feel very nostalgic. Love the diversity in figures.

Artist #6: Arghsvan Khosravi

diana444 — 2025-09-20 23:38:43 UTC

I really appreciate the themes of politics and the personal weaving together. I love the 3D elements to their work.

Artist #7: Kehinde Wiley

diana444 — 2025-09-20 23:45:05 UTC

One of my favorite things of Wiley's work is the sheer scale of his painting, they're so massive and in doing so, it really amplifies his message and storytelling in a way that viewers can't avoid it and I love art that demands attention. His colors are also *chefs kiss* incredible

Artist #8: Naudline Pierre

diana444 — 2025-09-21 00:03:01 UTC

I love the themes she works with and her oversimplified figures that just work well together. Love the colors in this piece

Artist #9: Louise Bourgeois

diana444 — 2025-09-21 00:07:38 UTC

She's primarily a sculptor but she's one of my favorites so I had to add her. Her spider series is absolutely incredible both in scale and in the psychological meaning behind it. I saw this small spider at the women's museum in DC a few months ago.

Artist #10: Arturo Kameya

diana444 — 2025-09-21 00:15:02 UTC

I love his idea of creating these sort of "sets" for the paintings to be displayed like if it was a movie set. I love the painting on wood and this sort of ghost like quality of painting its beautiful and sad its emotional

Artist #11: Jennifer Packer

diana444 — 2025-09-21 00:25:38 UTC

One of my all time favorites, I love love this half finished/ underpainting sketchy type painting. I think it's so intimate and intuitive. It's not trying to look perfect but rather tell a story.

Artist #12: Kudzanai-Violet Hwami

diana444 — 2025-09-21 00:30:57 UTC

I love how she color blocks and decides which areas get more details while others are more flat. I love her themes of family and identity.

Artist #13: Victoria Dugger

diana444 — 2025-09-21 00:39:26 UTC

I feel so overstimulated looking at her work but I love it. There so much color and materials to look at. Great craftsmanship and attention to detail. its stunning on a visual level

Artist #14: Kent Monkman

diana444 — 2025-09-23 01:22:28 UTC

I think his paintings are so badass and unique, I love his goal of retelling narratives, etc. He blends figures together that you don't expect to be in the same space. I love his colors and attention to detail.

Artist #15: Howard Pyle

diana444 — 2025-09-23 01:24:53 UTC

I love his depictions of pirates and mermaids, they look so majestic.

Artist #16: Anne Von Freyburg

diana444 — 2025-09-23 01:34:43 UTC

I really love this textile work, it's so creative and colorful. It feels so full of life, almost this child like energy with the colors and shapes. I want to explore with textile and fabrics

Artist #1: Sophie Pearson

diana444 — 2025-10-11 17:09:30 UTC

I absolutely love the way she paints to tell stories of childhood trauma, absence, insecurities, etc. Colors feel very rich and brushstrokes look intentional.

Artist #2: Narsiso Martinez

diana444 — 2025-10-11 17:10:20 UTC

His work is absolutely incredible and so powerful. The use of material is crucial in his storytelling and overall message and it works perfectly with his images and colors. I appreciate his focal point with bringing attention and a sort of humanization to the immigrants of this country that work so hard but are often treated poorly.

Artist #3: Terry Furchgott

diana444 — 2025-10-11 17:11:41 UTC

One of my favorite parts of their work is the intricate floral frame/ border its so visually intriguing. In a way, it feels slightly out of place but at the same time, it enhances the narrative and figures I love it

Artist #4: Liu Xiaodong

diana444 — 2025-10-11 17:13:41 UTC

I really love his series that focuses on refugees and the Mexican/American border wall, I think they're especially important in today's current political climate. I really appreciate his ability to create strong narrative scenes and I like his brushstrokes

Artist #5: Caravaggio

diana444 — 2025-10-11 17:13:54 UTC

Caravaggio is one of my all-time favorites for the obvious reason that he is the master of light and shadow, it's incredible what he achieved with just oil paints. All of his paintings have so much character, contrast and strong sense of movement and depth.

Artist #6: Amy Sherald

diana444 — 2025-10-11 17:14:56 UTC

She work is so so stunning. She is great as deciding what colors go well together as well as what colors best complement the way she paints black skin and the story she's trying to convey. Each figure she paints is independently unique with their own representations and purpose and I love them.

Artist #7: Yoshitaka Amano

diana444 — 2025-10-11 19:19:21 UTC

I love this illustration, it is visually stunning and Im super attracted to the pinks and purples. It feels very elegant and intricate

Artist #8: Antonio Lopez

diana444 — 2025-10-11 19:31:55 UTC

My sister introduced me to this illustrator and I think their work is really cool. I love his color palette and abstract patterns

Artist #9: Faith Ringgold

diana444 — 2025-10-13 16:23:52 UTC

I really appreciate her subject matter and attention to detail on intersectional topics. Her work is always intriguing and full of meaning

Artist #10: Edward Hopper

diana444 — 2025-10-13 16:25:01 UTC

I absolutely adore the way in which Hopper can capture moments of solitude and loneliness in a space that feels so empty yet not at the same time, its very special.

Artist #11: Judy Chicago

diana444 — 2025-10-13 16:25:20 UTC

I'm a huge fan of 70's feminist art and Judy Chicago is one of my favorites. I love the themes in her work but also her style is pretty cool, very eccentric and honest.

Artist #12: Guerrilla Girls

diana444 — 2025-10-13 16:26:42 UTC

I LOVE the guerrilla girls not only for their art but for the entire movement and their actions/goals. They're unapologetically honest and confrontational and I love how they have maintained their identities a secret all these years while still adding more and more women to the movement.

Artist #13: Alison Saar

diana444 — 2025-10-13 16:26:50 UTC

I saw one of her sculptures in person and it was so strong and full of narrative. I love her themes and colors, the way she portrays figures with narrative.

Artist #14: Fabiola Jean-Louis

diana444 — 2025-10-13 16:29:06 UTC

Saw her work at the Women's museum and it was so visually stunning. I love the way she combines photography and painting so seamlessly. Full of historical context that really is the foundation of the visual.

Artist #15: Stephen Towns

diana444 — 2025-10-13 16:33:28 UTC

I absolutely love the way he adds the gold into all his paintings. Beautiful painted, visually soft and endearing but also undertones of sadness and struggle. I appreciate the themes of identity, history, family, etc.

Artist #16: Lydia Pettit

diana444 — 2025-10-13 16:36:31 UTC

I just recently discovered this artist and I am in LOVE with her work omg. It's so visually striking and bold, so raw and powerful in portraying the female nude and underlining themes of identity, emotions, body politics, trauma, etc. I love her style of laying down paint, its nice to see nude figures in a way that feels so contemporary and relatable compared to a nude figures 30-40 years prior where they were portrayed differently and not always relatable.

Artist #1: Tidawhitney Lek

diana444 — 2025-10-14 22:05:41 UTC

Really cool artist I found on Pinterest. I love the spaces she has created, all these different objects and colors that you wouldn't normally see together are painting in the same picture plane thus creating a new environment where they can live in together. I love her focus on the everyday immigrant expereicne.

Artist #2: Antonia V. Showering

diana444 — 2025-11-01 16:45:26 UTC

I really enjoy the overall visual language, not only is it pleasing to the eye but it's also filled with emotion and energy and I appreciate that. Feels very authentic and a sort of therapeutic style of painting.

Artist #3: Nataliia Birchuk

diana444 — 2025-11-01 17:08:42 UTC

I love these abstract shapes and vibrant colors, its visually intriguing.

Artist #4: Amalia Mesa-Bains

diana444 — 2025-11-10 16:02:22 UTC

I came across her work when I was researching shrines/alters for my senior project last semester and I really love her approach in creating these alters and what she is choosing to say. I love the maximalist kind of attitude that goes into making them and the colors/embellishments.

Artist #5: Caroline Walker

diana444 — 2025-11-18 22:42:00 UTC

I really love her approach in depicting everyday people/activities. They feel like they were painted with a lot of care and precision, understanding the possible responsibility to portray these moments accurately and I love that. Some of the paintings feel like shots from a video game I've played before.

Artist #6: Tommy Harrison

diana444 — 2025-11-18 22:43:13 UTC

I love his "half visible/half invisible" style it's amazing. I love his combination of contemporary styles/objects with traditional renaissances/baroque style. These spaces are uncanny and feel both real and like a dream made out of unconscious thoughts.

Artist #7: Lisa Wright

diana444 — 2025-12-03 00:11:22 UTC

I love the combination of different styles and vibrant color combos. These environments she creates are so cool but don't feel like real places. I like how she's tells stories through these figures and connects them to childhood but also art history.

Artist #8: Maria Magdalena Campos Pons

diana444 — 2025-12-03 00:14:50 UTC

Really interesting artist. She focuses on sculpture, installation art, photography. I love the expression of her cuban heritage and the way she uses historical narratives to tell those stories. Beautifully thoughtful and genuine, it reminds me of Ana Mendieta's work, this idea of connecting with your roots through nature and history it feels very pure so to speak.

Artist #9: Fabian Chairez

diana444 — 2025-12-03 00:15:49 UTC

I really fell in love with this artists work, it reminds me so much of Kent Monkman. His main focus is to create a space to make people that are typically discriminated against based on sexuality, gender, etc, specifically in Mexican society seen and celebrated in a powerful way and I love how he depicts them. They're so visually intriguing, so full of light and confidence. I had a hard time picking 1 painting to post on here because I love them all.

Artist #10: Sid Pattni

diana444 — 2025-12-03 00:16:29 UTC

I think his style of painting is a perfect blend of contemporary style of painting with a post-colonial framework. Great attention to detail and powerful storytelling.

Artist #11: Jenavieve Louie

diana444 — 2025-12-03 00:17:30 UTC

I found this artist on TikTok and I've loved her work since. Its so different from what I usually see online. They're so graphic and poster like yet super realistic and colorful, girly. Good representation of current pop culture. Also, her attention to detail is insane.

Artist #12: V?

diana444 — 2025-12-03 00:18:35 UTC

Found this artist on TikTok, I don't know her full name but she goes by V( or Vanessa). She's a self taught abstract painter. I love her work, they feel so dream like and whimsical. I adore her color combinations and her ability to create these fictional spaces that somehow I want to live in lol.

Artist #13: Jonas Al Sayed

diana444 — 2025-12-03 00:20:26 UTC

I love his brushstrokes and colors omg. I also appreciate his focus on showing the realities of the Middle East due to war, U.S involvement, etc and how that affects the average personal. They're super thoughtful and impactful, sad but also full of hope and resilience.

Artist #14: Ilya Repin

diana444 — 2025-12-03 00:23:27 UTC

I mean what can I say that hasn’t already been said about this masterpiece lol it’s absolutely stricking, daring, sad, intense, powerful, beautifully tragic. The emotion on the fathers face while holding his son is haunting but so so human.

Artist #15: Haley Hasler

diana444 — 2025-12-03 00:25:09 UTC

I discovered this artist randomly and I really like her! Her style of portraits and realism is so unique and lively, it blends these sort of surrealist qualities with nature, fantasy, etc while navigating and depicting motherhood and her identity as an individual I love it.

Artist #16: Stephanie Temma Hier

diana444 — 2025-12-03 00:26:34 UTC

This is this another artist that I found on Pinterest that I feel absolutely in love with. Her work really reflects the kind of work that I’ve been working towards making for a long time, I’ve been wanting to incorporate 3-D elements in my paintings forever but I always get sucked back into the 2d for some reason. I absolutely love how she mixes oil paintings with ceramic sculpture. Everything just looks so visually stunning but intriguing and rich, rich in expression and she’s found new ways of storytelling that feel unique but also fun I love it