Sustained Investigation 4

Artist Statement

For my final sustained investigation, I decided to really push myself to use new techniques, different colors, new mediums, and a smaller format that I haven't used lately. I once more drew the shelf in my house, which has been the subject throughout each of my sustained investigations. I wanted to use an atypical and loose perspective, just sort of letting the lines flow yet I specifically chose the color tones, despite green being a color I do not usually go for. In art, the color green symbolizes harmony, balance, and security, so keeping that in mind I really wanted my last piece to represent the essence of why I chose my subject. Furthermore, I wanted to use this last piece to experiment and not worry too much about the outcome, because although I am generally happy with it, it does not feel like my typical style at all.

This piece took me a while to get going, especially as I tend to use simple pen on paper but really wanted to try something new and outside of my typical style. Once I had a general idea of what I wanted to do, I tested the oil pastels on some paper, and as I have never used oil pastels before I wanted to see how it would be to manipulate colors and lines. I was torn between colors, so without much thought I began to use every color I had. I did not like this outcome at all so I started fresh. With more planning and thought I narrowed my color palette down to either reds and oranges or greens and yellows. I chose the green and just sort of started blending layers of color together. I started with the background, which is also my favorite part of the piece, and worked my way down through the shelf. I wanted to maintain harmony and balance in the colors, however in the end I was not happy how there was a lot of white toward the bottom of the piece. To add contrast and texture, I decided to scratch into the oil pastels with a flat linoleum carver tip. Using a technique that I am very familiar with with my pen and ink pieces, I started to scratch lines into the oil pastel. I felt like the oil pastels looked a little too dull all alone, and when I scratched lines into it, it brought out the white of the paper below which somewhat also unified the piece through color.

For this piece I experimented throughout the entire process, trying new mediums and techniques along the way. From the beginning on I new I wanted to try something new and push myself to experiment with a medium I would typically not go for, however especially since this was the last of the sustained investigations I really tried to let go and try something new. Once I had my basic composition I started trying different colors and combinations and in general how oil pastels worked and what colors blended well together. I also experimented with the texture of the oil pastels, which allowed me to draw or scratch into the surface and add definition to my piece. My general style would not have chosen the color green, so moving forward I would like to used more red and orange tones, and also work on my technique using oil pastels, because I really like the texture and depth you can get with oil pastels.