Section 1: Finished Artwork
Embedded Files
Title: Lady Justice
Size: 18 x 24 in
Date of Completion: 3/26/23
Ideas: Being able to portray one of the themes of the SDG (justice) by using watercolor or guache
Materials: Watercolor, Ink
Processes: Watercolor for basic layer painting and shading. Ink for emphasizing the oil (shadow parts).
Section 2: Planning & Practice
At first, we had to decide upon an SDG theme. We chose 4 at first, but by slowly eliminating choices, I was able to concise it into one SDG theme. The SG Mood Board helped me choose the vibe of what I wanted to do for my final piece.
I had a couple of ideas for creating aspects of "going out of the borders". All of them consisted of the idea of justice but in different areas. but I chose idea 2 because not only was I more passionate about the specific theme of justice in that idea, but also, I felt like I could portray more watercolor skills, consisting of depth, volume, and colors.
We first had to test out on how to use watercolor and guache. Watercolor was more easier to blend, but harder to control. And guache was easier to control but too bold for my liking. Thus, I decided that I should use watercolor so that I'm able to have softer features on specific areas, while I could go bold on others. I also think that watercolor is just easier to use and carry around when painting. Watercolor is also able to have multiple layers stacked on top if you let it dry enough, but it wouldn't turn out too harsh (unless you intended it to).
This was my draft of what the painting would look like on my ipad. But in the end, I decided to choose a couple of elements.
Firstly, the sword's pieces wouldn't be falling to the ground. The bottom area would have too much stuff going on, and the area of the bottom area was too cramped. So, I decided to show only a broken sword on the beginning part, which can easily insinuate how the sword is broken.
Second, the statue was going to be staring at the viewers, but this was a statue of a greek god. And all of greek god statues barely had any pupils staring. Therefore, I decided that the statue wouldn't have any lashes or pupils, but instead have a more natural and elegance look. I also had to change the pose to show more grace, since this was a greek goddess. Having a person look upward can show more confidence and power.
Third, the snakes were going to wrap around the statue, but I thought, instead of having snakes all around the statue, I should put snakes engraved in the frames. The snakes would've covered too much of the statue, so by having it within the frames, it's a very small detail, but interesting if you realize its implications and how relevant it is to the idea. I also wanted to create a customized frame so that I wouldn't had to use an actual frame to use grid technique on. But still, having customized frames, I could put in as much story I want to, but it'll be considered as just a fancy frame.
Section 3: Experimentation
For experimentation, I tested different color values and how I would actually paint if I were to paint it onto the final paper.
The first image shows my experimentation on how I would shade and color my statue. But on the final paper, I decided that I liked a darker tone on the statue so that there would be more contrast when contributed with other colors in the background. I decided that I would not use ink for the statue section because I think the ink would look too harsh against the tones of watercolor that I used. Instead, I used a deeper shade of the color I was using and traced it, not having to fully blend it out so that there is a harsh shadow edge and a softer one.
The second image shows the different gems and the oil spill. I tried out different colors of gems and their unique shapes of gems. Although I do think that the bigger gems came out nicely, I do think that I have to go with the designs of the smaller gems since they fit the vision that I imagined. But it was still fun to create the shadows and shines of it. For the oil, I only tested out the base color layer of what I would be using for the oil. But on the final paper, I think I incorporated some ink into it since it's harder to get a bolder black color when using watercolor. By having ink, it can create a more pop-out version of the ink spilling on the frame.
The third picture shows my testing of shading for the golden areas of my paintings. Although the experimentation wasn't fully finished for some aspects, I still had a clear(ish) idea for how I would be shading the golden parts. I was mainly focused on how I could create shines and volume.
These were all the reference photos that I've based my painting on. For the statues, I had to see how their presence are like, I made sure to make them have grace or a sense of elegance. The gem and oil were drawn without having a clear picture, but I did reference and analyze how the shadows and highlights work.
Section 4: Process
Day 1-5: I spent days sketching and fixing the statue and the details around it. Although a picture wasn't taken, but you could faintly see my sketch from before, and how the statue was originally more buff. But after receiving feedback from people, they prefer if a goddess was slimmer and showed elegance rather than a muscled, healthy-looking person. One person commented on how all goddess looks sick in a way rather than looking healthy. So I decided to adjust certain areas, making her look more graceful and not too muscle-toned. But overall, I had to look up human anatomy for me to get a general sense of the proportion of the statue.
Having to create a customized frame was difficult since it had to stay with the theme, but also having other complicated designs so that it would look intricate enough that it would portray a sense of the value of the "painting"
Day 6-14: I spent even longer on trying to paint the final piece. The reason why it's taking longer was that I need the watercolor to fully dry in order to add more layers or to fix a mistake, but waiting for the paint to dry takes while-especially when it's watercolor. It was also difficult on having to paint when the papers would curve due to the amount of water I was using. And this type of paper was not suitable for ONLY watercolor, hence why there are some dark spots all over the painting when inspected carefully. Since it's also a very large canvas, having it smoothly look blended across the paper is very difficult, having some areas lighter or darker than expected. It felt like a lot of "trust the process" whenever I was painting onto the final paper.
Section 5: Artist Statement
Out of all the sustainable development goals I could've chosen, I chose goal 16; peace, justice, and strong institutions. I wanted to choose a goal that I felt very passionate about, and I knew that there are issues within the justice system, so I went ahead to choose goal 16.
I wanted to create a figure popping out of the painting to match the theme, "out of the border". I also thought the painting would add a more fancy and renaissance feeling since the idea of "justice" has been created a long time ago.
I decided to put my focus on the statute of justice (Lady Justice) since that is usually the figure that many law-structured locations have. For example, in front of the court buildings. Lady Justice, or Justitia, is the goddess of Justice in Roman mythology.
It is known that Lady Justice has a blindfold, a sword, a balance scale, and steps on snakes. The blindfold represents impartiality, the ideal that justice should be applied without regard to wealth, power, or another status. Basically, justice will be served without developing bias when deciding the verdict. The sword represented authority in ancient times and conveys the idea that justice can be swift and final. It was also to show how justice defends the weak. The balance scale symbolizes the pursuit of equitable justice. The scales show the importance of a balanced decision that serves all involved in a question of justice. Lady Justice is also stepping on snakes because the snake often depicts as they're stepping on "evil". As in justice always prevails.
As much as we wish the justice system will be fair, many times, in reality, the justice system is corrupted. So, as a way to show corruption, I depicted the statue as contradicting her actions, which wouldn't match what it was originally designed as. The blindfold is loosened, showing her eyes, meaning that she has bias affecting her verdict. The sword is broken to show that justice cannot protect the innocent or the weak. The scale is tilted, spilling ink, to show how corruption overweighs the value rather than justice itself. Snakes are all over the artwork to show the evil spreading around and not being defeated.
Not only that, but I also added details on the framework. On the top left border, I added a person pointing at a group of fists, in order to portray BLM. This was a period of time when people focused heavily on race, and many court cases used bias and appearance for their verdicts. The bottom left corner has money falling down with a hand reaching it. This showcases people's greed for money, affecting their choices and decisions. The bottom right has arrows shooting at a dove, basically, destroying "peace". The top right depicts a gun and skulls piled in a group. This shows how people kill one another, and the justice system is unable to protect the weak.
Therefore, as much as we talk about how justice will be served, unfortunately, there's still a lot of corruption in the world.
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