LIFE FROM THE INSIDE OUT - Article Example

Shelley Newman Steven: of Journey: Life from the Inside out On exhibition at the Rankin Art Gallery, Ferris University is Journey: life from the Inside Out. This is an exhibition of paintings by Shelley Newman Stevens, an award-winning artist that began on Thursday, November 1 and set to run through up to Tuesday, November 20. Shelley Newman Stevens earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2000 and later on earned a Master of Fine Arts in 2004 from the Kendall University. She is also an assistant professor at the Central Michigan University, the Fine Arts Department and is also a studio artist at the Mount Pleasant Golden Apple Studio.

Stevens is also director of the Golden Apple Art Residency located in Harrington, Maine. The following paper seeks to describe one painting from these paintings, in addition to what the painting means. The painting chosen for this paper is Slipping into the Velvet Past. This painting is shown in the picture below.Painting: Slipping into the Velvet Past, an oil painting by Shelley Newman Steven in her series of paintings Journey: Life from the Inside out Slipping into the Velvet Past is a painting created in 2011 whose medium is an oil painting on canvas.

The painting is a large-scale painting from the series of paintings Journey: Life from the Inside out, measuring a height of 48 inches and a width of 60 inches width. The painting is a visual metaphor that describes various psychological stages that happen in a journey that persons embark on. It is a unique narrative that is also figurative. A woman referred to as Annara, a female figure who depicts the hope experienced during a journey, is telling the story narrated in this painting. She is seen resting with a white mask on her face and wearing a white dress.

She rests curled up in the middle of dried velvety fallen leaves in a jungle. She depicts a sweet, innocent girl. Annara is seen in this painting with her eyes closed, as she peacefully awaits the unfolding of her life (www.ferris.edu, 2012). The young girl describes youth and the anticipation of life as it unfolds, waiting to experience the endless possibilities that await her. As a young person, Annara has little personal history of her life or any past failures that could stand in her way or discourage her.

She is also a young person with no sense of danger to warn her of her wonderful future. All she has is her imaginations to impel and propel her to her future ahead. She is, therefore, in a pure and clean state and surrounded by hope and promise. This is demonstrated by her surrounding, an environment of natural coexistence that is not polluted by modern technology. As she lies down curled up like a baby, Annara describes fragility and delicateness in innocence. In Slipping into the Velvet Past, this innocence is portrayed.

Life has numerous possibilities, and the best way to explore this was through an innocent girl with hope for a bright future of endless possibilities. This painting is among a series of paintings known as Anara’s Journey that capture a vast range of psychological states. These are experienced as a person seeks to move further and further into the journey known as Life (www.ferris.edu, 2012, p. 1-11).Works Citedwww.ferris.edu. Rankin Art Gallery to Feature Exhibit by Award-Winning Kendall Graduate .

http://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/archive/2012/october/stevens.htm, 2012.