Sustained Investigation VII

Coming Down

9 in x 6 in

Acrylic paint & ink

For this assignment, we were tasked to create a seventh project surrounding our inquiry question for our sustained investigation. For this piece, I wanted to convey the idea of anxiety or paranoia. Visually, you can see that the subject is looking up and there are four hands coming down towards her. The perspective of this piece in conjunction with the awkward hand positions portrays overwhelm and submission that one may feel while experiencing anxiety or paranoia. This piece relates to my life and I can sympathize with this girl because I have felt extreme paranoia and anxiety, and I think this piece represents that feeling.

This project was made with acrylic paint and ink. I wanted the painting to have heavy pigment and clean lines, which is easiest to make using these materials. Additionally, these materials were used on toned mixed media paper, which I felt was a good choice considering the overall dark colors of the painting.

To create the subject (the girl) in this piece, I sketched it out in graphite from a reference photo. I mixed a palette of skin tone shades with acrylic paint and used them to paint her face. For her hair and clothing, I used black, baby blue, medium blue, and white ink with small paint brushes. For the hands, I also used reference photos to sketch the form and used acrylic paint to add value and shape. For the background, I wanted to make water puddles using acrylic paint, however, they didn't come out as I would have hoped. At the beginning, I wanted the entire piece to be made in watercolor, but I thought that I should step away from that material and pursue others. I think my next steps could be developing the background more, possibly adding a stone pattern or more water references.