#d.e.a.d.

My painting final on the topic of “IDENTITY”. I used a lot of symbolism in this piece. and it took a lot out of me, but man am I proud of it. Took three days collectively to compose and complete.

My writing assignment:

Two 16x20 Canvases

This project was a lot of time and effort but I sincerely enjoyed it and I love the outcome! It took me hours to think of the composition because of all the things I had on my identity list and got excited when I came up with this. It feels like surrealism / contemporary meets collage in a sense. I was evidently inspired by four artists.

Mariko Mori’s “Ring” from her rebirth collection as the collection in general really drew me in due to the minimal, light and cozy feel her work gave me. “Minimal” was one of the words on my list two weeks ago and I really enjoy the way opal looks in the light which “Ring” captures beautifully. I did my best to put together the pastel blue and yellow to mimic the lit up opal look, and instantly I knew I needed to make this a moon in my painting. I realized how much I gravitate to a cosmic aesthetic in my work so it paired well with my idea of depicting the origin of my name. Roman Goddess Diana was the Goddess of the moon and animals (amongst other things) as she is subtly represented.

Alvarado Gaitan Barrios’ “Nostalgia De Paraiso” is a beautiful highly saturated painting depicting a variety of wildlife and botanicals done by a Nicaraguan painter. This piece inspired me to include my favorite flower, the tulip, as well as represent my nationality with Nicaragua’s national bird, the Guardabarranco (also known as a motmot finch). I wanted to make sure to keep a majority of the painting highly saturated as well, with contrasting pigments.

Frida Kahlo’s “Self Portrait Along the Boarder Line Between Mexico and the United States” is the piece that I could not get out of my head while painting this assignment. I felt a strong connection to that piece because although I was born here in the states in New York, I yearn the simple and humble lifestyle in Nicaragua. Kahlo shows an American side along side a Mexican one, which inspired me to put the Statue of Liberty’s crown on top of the Guardabarranco. This puts an emphasis in my prominent New York roots as well as my pride in my Nicaraguan roots. I kept this painting in mind as well when painting my self portrait. Keeping my image involved in my identity just as Kahlo has. (Just with an anxious expression to represent my anxiety).

Will Cotton’s “Candy Clouds (Hannah)”  had the most notable influence on my painting. I wanted to mimic the light airy looking cotton candy clouds as a way to convey sensitivity, vulnerability and intimacy. HSP (highly sensitive person) was on my list and is something I recently found out I was. It has been something I truly struggled with my entire life. The neon pink screams feminine which is something I also struggled with showing pride in most my life. These clouds are an ode to my newfound self love in my sensitivity and not being ashamed to show I love obvious feminine representations.

Aside from the artists who inspired me, I wanted to depict other words from my list.

I strongly identify with my zodiac, so the Aries constellation is depicted in the night sky.

i arranged the tulips with purpose. I wanted four of them ( 4 ) in total, one at the top ( 1 ) and three at the bottom ( 3 ) symbolic to my birthday 4/13.

The third eye on the self portrait ties in with “intuition” which I got without a doubt from my mother, and so I made the eye the same color as her actual iris because her eye color is so unique.