Sustained Investigation #9

Artist's Statement:

Jillian Wight

Medsker

AP Art and Design 

6 February 2023

I had the idea for the piece a while ago, and I’ve been excited to see how it translated onto paper!  I wanted this work to illustrate the feeling of growing up by juxtaposing a motherly expression and gesture with a sense of self-sufficiency.  The figure in the piece represents both a nurturing mother and a maturing daughter.  I wanted the piece to have a feeling of lovingness about it, and I tried to accomplish this by using rich, deep reds and blues and emphasizing the concentrated and caring facial expression of the subject.

Something I’ve heard a lot is that I should experiment more with material synthesis and texture.  I decided that both could be done if I fingerpainted this work! This added unique bumps to the project and connected to the sense of childhood that the piece centers around.  I had a lot of fun creating this artwork and love the effect.

I experimented a lot with perspective in this piece, because I’ve found in the past that it can be a great way to add intrigue and bring the viewer into the work.  The two main subjects of my work were the figure’s face and knee, so I used brighter colors and arranged the rest of my composition to frame them.  I’m happy with the result, I think that it’s organic in a way that matches the materials and theme but also cohesive.  At first, I thought the composition would be too crammed at the top and not crammed enough on the bottom.  I resolved this issue by cutting out the outstretched feet and adding another paper layer with a more squished-up, compact arrangement of the figure's feet.

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