Artists Statement: Of Paintings, Passion, and Places - Essay Example

Artist's ment: Of Paintings, Passion, and Places To find contentment, I have to create. This has always been the case even when I was a small child. My passion is in creating artwork of places. Paintings of landscape, houses, and scenes of the exterior fascinated me. Portraits of people, objects, and subjects found indoors are an occasional whim but my preference is to recreate the atmosphere and ambience of a place that has locked itself so permanently in my heart, mind, and soul. This oil painting on canvas exemplifies my passion for painting places. An artwork of this particular scene draws me in and takes me there. The sights, sounds, and scents of the location come to life as my memory is jostled and I am whisked to the special place that inspired this creation. Just as an author transports you to places using words, my desire is to whisk you away so that you can savor the places that will allow you to leave your current situation and escape to the location of his/her dreams and imagination every time you view the artwork. This oil painting is from a photograph that I took while entranced in a sun-stricken daze on the powder-white sugar sand of Isla Holbox. Amazed that inaccessible fishing villages still exist where few tourists venture and corrupt, my camera responded by capturing the image of boats bobbing lazily in the crystal clear turquoise water. At that moment I knew that I wanted to hold on to the sights, sounds, and senses of that little island. I knew that I wanted to recreate the feeling of peace that I had gained in a place that seemed to have been frozen in time. I wanted to recapture and share the sense of hard work, pride, and achievement of the fishermen who I watched get up before the sun to haul in the day's catch right after the sun's appearance. The challenge was how I would convey the extreme heat yet ignored by the coolness of the blue sky and sea. The intensity of the sun beating down yet balanced by the calmness of the fishing boats waiting patiently for their owners' return and the serene feeling brought on by such a remote island was something I had to capture on canvas. How to lavish this on to those who view my artwork comprised the greatest part of my decision making in creating the painting. I prefer to use a candid shot (from a photograph) over a posed or setup scene as it gives viewers a glimpse of the selected place. The moment that I considered to be "fleeting" would change as the lighting would change and the serenity would be disturbed. In order to capture the very moment even more precisely, I draw a quick sketch in my art pad of what I see in front of me while adding details that will balance and enhance and deleting what clutters and distorts the message that I want to convey in the final painting. Brainstorming while sketching is a must in capturing what is on my mind, in front of my eyes, and on the photograph in order to achieve the result of luring the viewer to that particular place in time. I must use art mediums to fill viewers' senses and transport them "into the painting" and so that the viewer can experience and reflect upon some of the questions and answers that I did. I choose oils because of their flexibility as the medium takes longer to dry. The paints and strokes can be applied and manipulated in such a way that they can reveal the exact lighting (or lack of), the texture (or lack of), and the movement (or lack of) that I want to portray. Art means something different to everyone. As an artist, I feel that it is my job to choose the appropriate place (picture, setting, subject), medium, tools, style, and lighting in order to help the viewer use his/her mind and recall upon personal knowledge and experiences to try and understand my work of art; in order to use one's reflective thinking process. (DoubleTake, p.1-24, n.d.) During the process of painting, I reflected upon the feeling of peacefulness as there were no cars on the island and no streams of people. The boats appeared as relaxed as the little town. I was happy with my newfound state of relaxation and place in the sun but I was saddened as I pondered upon the fast pace that my life had become; that most of our world has become. I was thankful for places such as preserved little Isla Holbox and its fertile lagoon and I was both happy that the fishermen and their family could live such simple lives yet I was once again saddened as I thought of the poverty that they experienced. I thought of their hard work. Hard work I must mention is not something to be looked upon with sadness and I wondered if the hard work as most of us know it, with the daily stresses of a fast-paced life, is a more difficult way to live than the physical hard work of these fishermen. I wanted the viewers of my painting to ask the questions that I asked myself which involved all aspects and perspectives of the nature of the subject, its cultural, social, and historical context. I wanted to wonder and seek more about the place, the time, the setting, the lifestyle, the temperature, the artist, and the subject (boats, water, and grasses). I sought to create in such a way that they would wonder what I was thinking and how I was feeling when I experienced the setting and also when I created the work of art. My desire was for the viewer to reflect upon their own current lives and place of residence and ask questions such as I did. How different is my life than this place How similar is it Is this an ideal vacation spot Is this a place I would like to visit Is this a place that I would like to dwell Does my culture differ and if so how What barriers would I face should I visit the people of this place Do I like this painting Why or why not Is this what I consider to be art Why or why not The seascape is very similar to the way I experienced it with the omitting of two other boats as I felt the extra would clutter the painting and ruin the appearance and feeling of peace. I used less lines and texture on the water to create the calmness that I experienced. Although there were small waves in reality, the waves were reduced on the painting as I had to convey my message through the use of oil painting. As with other forms of art, it is a decision of what to add and what to delete. As the creator of the artwork, I took certain liberties; however, based upon certain factors such as subject matter, mediums, materials, style, and techniques there were still certain boundaries. The boundaries are set by the factors mentioned. Although there were more lines, texture, and detail in the actual scene and subjects, I had to reduce those, as stated earlier, to convey the message of tranquility, a time long gone, and a life of simplicity. This is just one example of the boundaries that I had to work by. The artwork must be grab the attention of a passerby and yet be pleasing to the eye. As stated before, there must be some "balance and order" (perhaps the only place one can find this is in the planning of the artwork) even if the subject of the painting is imbalance and disorder. This oil painting, along with others that I have created, have helped me to question my own thinking process in order to make sense of the world around me, the task at hand, the goals that I want and need to achieve, and to achieve balance. Currently, I am an architect. This may seem quite different than being an oil painter. However, the process of creating and designing are still the same and that is to design a piece of work that challenges myself and others to call upon the process of reflective thinking, to create balance and order (even if the project and design seems to call for imbalance and disorder), to convey a message, and to serve a purpose. The way I create architectural designs calls upon the same techniques that I use in my oil paintings in order to take one to that special place of purpose and passion. References DoubleTake (n.d.) Pages 1-24. 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