Sustained Investigation #1

Sustained Investigation #1: "Jin--Jiyan-- Azadi"

Watercolor and Colored Pencil

8.6" x 12.6"

My painting depicts a female member of the Kurdish YPJ. In Kurdistan, the Yekîneyên Parastina Jin (YPJ) is an all female militia active in the Syrian Civil War. These women from the Iraqi Kurds fight to maintain women's rights within their own society and bring rights their neighbors in Northern Syria who don't have them. She wears the Kurdish military uniform and a Serwin (traditional kurdish headscarf). The text behind her reads "Bijî Efrîn! Bijî jinên azad!", a quote from a member of the YJP, which translates to "Long live Afrin! Long live free women!". Afrin is a region in Northern Syria in which the YPJ has been active in fighting off the jihadist military group ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) and restoring women's rights. I chose to focus on this subject/culture because one of my friends from Kurdistan would often tell me about his life back home and I found this aspect of his culture to be quite fascinating and it was something he was very passionate about.

I completed this piece using Watercolors, Colored Pencil, and Watercolor Paper.

I decided to try a watercolor and colored pencil mix to expand my mediums. I began by putting down some base colors in watercolor. I later went back in and added some detail with colored pencil. Lastly, I gave the background a red and sandy layer before going around the traced words in black to make them stand out. To improve upon this piece I would study proportion more and/or look at a reference as well as use darker values for the face to make it prominent and have more depth.