Sustained Investigation #1

Artist Statement

Although my inquiry question for my sustained investigation is not very concrete, it follows the idea of how I can bring life and realism to my subjects (typically animals). For this specific piece, I chose to recreate a photo reference of loons that I had, especially focusing on developing the background, which I typically miss.

The only material I used for this project was gouache paint. I wanted to use some kind of paint, and I like gouache because the colors can be very opaque or more translucent, depending on how you want to use it.

I first started by choosing to use a photo refference, which I thought would be a safe stepping stool into my sustained investigation. After tracing the initial outlline of the loons' bodies, I began adding layers of paint both to them and my background. After this, it was mostly just adding more layers. I experimented a lot with color and contrast, and went back to try and neutralize some areas that felt too busy or took the focus off of the loons.