Artist Statement

This was the third installment of my sustained investigation, for the inquiry "How do you show emotion through art?" For this investigation, I chose to focus on happiness.

The materials I used for this project were watercolor paints, acrylic, paper towels, and various paintbrushes on watercolor paper. I began my project by using painter's tape around the border. My next step was to take really watered-down paint to create a light sky. I attempted to add more blue (shown below), but it was to contrast with the rest of the art. I kept a simple mix of blue and purple for the sky, and a light wash of blue and green for the ocean to create that separation. I used a paper towel to blend out the harsh strokes in the sky. I then used a less watered-down version of my ocean mixture to create a bolder line across the horizon line to further show contrast. My next step was to go in and add sand and rocks, which I used texture on to create a more interesting look. My final step was to add the people, which was the hardest part of my project. I began by having them more towards the rocks, but it just didn't feel right, so I had to take a whole nother step to cover it up before going back to it. I finally settled on having them more in the middle of the light water to emphasize them.

I took a lot of inspiration from summer because I find I'm most happy then. I really wanted this painting to represent the connection to not only other people but nature that comes with summer. The wide ocean is also meant to convey the freedom that comes with this time of year, as for me I don't have to worry, and I just get to explore. I really wanted my last investigation to be different from the others, so I'm glad I went with a more positive theme, and it might be my favorite solely based on the happy memories associated with it.