Jessica Rae

My piece took inspiration from a photo I took while going on a hike in Quebec. It is one of the most gorgeous landscapes I have ever seen and even though the photo is good quality, being there in the moment is unbeatable. When I was taking the photo I knew it would be a good muse and that I would someday paint it; today I am now sharing both-- the image and the painting, both of which I am extremely proud of.

Naturally, I am not a realistic painter but I did attempt it for this piece. However, it did come out more with an impressionist style which I am also happy with since it is more ‘me’. This was probably my biggest challenge with this piece as I didn’t even know how to start or how to even look at it without becoming overwhelmed. I really wanted to convey the same feeling I had when I got to experience this moment--- there was a feeling of serenity, awe, and steadiness.

This piece was inspired by my memories of Alaska. I went on a cruise with my parents and a friend's family; when we got to one of the cities we were told our small tour ship for whale watching was cancelled due to the wind. We were very disappointed up until we got to the next city where we were told they would be able to take us out. When we were out on the open water we saw whale after whale flashing their tail or waving at us and I’m pretty sure everyone was in a state of awe and disbelief. Sadly, all of the videos or photos I got were pretty mediocre and did not capture the feeling of seeing the whale at all so the memory lives on only in my memory.

In my painting, I wanted to try a continuous line to exaggerate the idea of the whales gliding through the water effortlessly and kind of just pass off the graceful feeling that the whales radiate. Also, the single whale in the picture definitely gives off the feeling of them grabbing your attention just as they did in the water when breaching.

My theme is memories based off of travels; this piece is a good memory of mine as it is unforgettable. In Santorini, Greece, people gather around for the sunset and clap when the sun has fully gone down-- I noticed that before and after the sunset there was nobody around to appreciate the natural view.

This piece is to show how the sky and people's feelings change throughout the day; in the first piece I wanted to show how the emphasis was on the people passing instead of the sky. The second piece represents how when the sky blends together and comes down then there is an overwhelming amount of people coming to see it while ironically blocking the view for others. Finally, for the third piece you can see how there is just a single person appreciating the moon and how it is a just as beautiful sight.

This piece has been especially hard for me as I wasn’t really trying to portray a scene but just a feeling. In Rome, there is never a time where nothing is going on--- or so I thought; at 4 am roaming the streets that were once littered with people, there was nothing. No noise, no talking, no vendors screaming at you, it was just completely peaceful.

I wanted to show the emotions I was feeling while seeing the empty cobblestone roads at one of the busiest places in the world. I tried to do this with softer colours and curvy unplanned lines, there is one ‘being’ in the painting that signifies me taking all of my surroundings as they are ever changing.