Inclusion Design

This is my submission for the Maine Developmental Disabilities 2019 Creative Expression Contest. I used acrylics to paint three skiers on a snowy slope with snow-covered fir trees in the background. Instead of canvas, I painted on watercolor paper, and I watered down the paint for the initial layers. I began by sketching the people based on a few combined reference photos from the internet. I then painted the sky a light blue and the ski slope in an off-white tone. I next added the trees, starting with darker greens for the branches and adding light green highlights before layering snow on top. At this point I went over the slope in whispy strokes of white to give the appearance of wind-blown snow. Finally, I added the people so that they would obviously be part of the foreground. My textures throughout the piece are gestural, which I think creates an informality and a sense of playfulness in the piece. I decided to incorporate bright colors in the clothing of each person to make them, as well as their individuality stand out. My composition creates depth by stuttering the people's position on the mountain, while also giving a clear view of each individual.

The major composition rule that I employed was grouping; I grouped the skiers near the bottom, there are trees grouped in the top right, and the sky is mostly contained in the top left. However, I also used a somewhat high horizon line to highlight the slope and the skiers and to avoid creating excessive negative space. This project evolved in that I initially planned the incorporate a chair lift into the background, but decided not to as I think it would have crowded the composition without adding any useful messaging.

In this piece, my goal was to show the inclusion of all people in the community, including those with developmental disabilities. I am part of the skiing community and wanted to showcase the ways that people with developmental disabilities are included there. The person at the front of the composition is a paraskier, and the one at the back has a prosthetic leg. The skier on the left and the snowboarder represent people whose disabilities may be less apparent, but who experience them nonetheless. The piece as a whole represents inclusion of everyone in this community that has become so important to me. I think this piece could be stronger if the highlights and lowlights in the snow were better defined to create more depth for the space.