Zach Goodwin -
The accumulation of works that I have created reflects a spectrum of ideas and emotions that I have had and felt throughout the last two years. My goal is to showcase my progression of thought and technique through visual representations. There is a variety of pieces that share similarities, as well as other pieces that hold obvious differences. Different shapes, colors, mediums, and themes are what collectively reveal my development and creativity.
A portion of my works are snapshots of different lenses and mediums that were used as a way of finding a preferred technique that best fits the idea and message that I'd like to bring to light. I enjoy the aspect and concepts of abstract art, and how abstract pieces don't have to hold a single meaning or representation. Darker colors, such as black, dark blue, as well as dark purple are colors that are the most appealing to me and set the tone that I look for in a work of art. There is a vast amount of “Ink” pieces that grasp my attention. Extracting elements from pieces that I enjoy looking at has always been something that I base initial ideas on. For the ink piece that I created titled “Calamitous,” inspiration was driven from the cover of a song. The darker, evil aspect that is highlighted in the piece that I created is a feeling that I was intentionally trying to create. When it comes to other mediums, such as oil pastels, I was able to conclude that control of a medium in a piece can determine the message delivered. With that being said, when I worked with a pen, I had more control, whereas with the oil pastel I had less control of the medium, hence the comparison of lines and details. Working with oil pastels was an enlightening experience, however, I wanted to make a piece with oil pastels and have more control with the medium itself. Crayons have a very similar texture compared to oil pastels, and with crayons, having more control is plausible. “Ananas” is an “Op Art” piece that exposed the feelings of happiness that I had encountered at the time of creating. Ananas and Calamitous are two pieces that hold different meanings and qualities, but also share commonalities. The overall themes are different, one is happy while the other is depressed, but the variety of colors and hints of brightness brings the two pieces together. Opening the door to watercolor was also something that I experienced during the last year. I entered a watercolor series and produced three Asian-style watercolor paintings. I'm fond of all three works, especially because all of them look as if they could be one entire piece. Color, as well as brush strokes, are huge ideals of watercolor. Knowing the brush as well as amounts of water on it, and the causes and effects of certain elements can be the difference on if the work is good or not. Blending watercolors and creating a sense of comfort in each piece was exactly what I was looking for. Incorporating darker colors into a piece to create a positive mood is a technique that helped me grow.
All of the pieces that I have created share the colors black and blue. No matter the message, the mood is always clear. Elements such as trees, plants, or the sky, also add to the theme and presence of nature. A tree is a symbol of growth and strength. Without trees, life would be difficult. Without growth, life would be pointless. All of the emotions and ideas put into each piece are a true reflection of my feelings and emotions.
Calamitous, ink, 38cm x 51cm
The variety of characteristics within the face in the drawing is swarmed with different textures created by cross hatching and splotching in order to stimulate a sense of curiosity and earriness. The shadows portrayed throughout the drawing are surrounded by a furious shade of red in a way to show hopelessness. The figures' eyes are meant to give off a look of deathly exhaustion. I wanted to create an image of what we as people hold asburdens. Outside of our physical form we may look lucious and hold beauty, but within we entrap our true emotions behind the bars of our conscience.
Pieces on Ligature, oil pastel, 38cm x 27cm
Pieces On Ligature is based off of the Suprematism art movement. With this piece, I focused on basic geometric forms, such as circles, squares, lines, and rectangles. The term suprematism refers to an abstract art based upon “the supremacy of pure artistic feeling.” The movement was founded by a Russian named Kazimir Malevich in 1915. In my work, I sought the perfect combination of shapes and colors based off of the Suprematism definitions. The shapes chosen consist of the colors: Red, Dark Blue, Light blue, Yellow, Maroon, Yellow, Orange, Gray, Dark green, Light Green, and a peach color.
Ananas, crayon, 38cm x 24cm
The title of this piece translates to “Pineapple” in Latin. The piece is inspired by the vibrant, sweet, sour flavor that a pineapple is full of. The piece created matches what effects a pineapple can have on the taste buds. I incorporated value by creating a contrast between the dark blue used, and the bright yellow. These colors compliment each other, making the other pop with vibrancy. Rhythm is incorporated through the uneasy lines throughout the image. Movement is created through the difference of the colors, red, orange, yellow, blue, and purple.
Innocence Beyond The Clouds, acrylic paint, 25.4 x 20.32cm
The piece that I created in order to connect all three of these works is a surreal painting called “Innocence Beyond the Clouds”. I have extracted specific parts, ideas, and details from each of the researched works in order to create my very own piece. I’ve also added my own ideas and style in order to incorporate my own look. This painting is titled “Innocence Beyond the Clouds” because it displays an innocent boy sitting up against the frame of a bed that is supporting a ladder; The bed seems to be floating high beyond the clouds,above a Western landscape.
Distant Peaks, water color, 24cm x 40cm
I created this piece in inspiration of Asian landscape. Before creating my final product I was able to research to well-known artists, Thomas W Schaller, and Darlene Kaplan. Both artists create their art based off of experiences that they have when traveling, mainly around landscapes based around Asia and Asian culture. The components that I took from researching their art was the high peeking mountains and scattered trees. I also took note to the way the clouds are painted. I was able to incorporate colors such as black green brown yellow and orange. I was also Able to experiment with lighter and darker shades as I try to control water use on the brush.
Rolling Sky, watercolor, 28cm X 38cm
With this watercolor painting, I have used a dark variation of purple along with black in order to project a shadowed depiction of two trees and a large sky. I have been focusing on landscape pieces as well as water color paintings. In the space surrounding the trees, there has been a blend of pink that I layered out from the sky all the way to the center attraction of the painting itself. Pieces with darker colors are what I find the most attraction too. I really enjoyed using this shade of purple and I look forward to incorporating this same style into other pieces.
Three Pagoda, watercolor, 28cm x 38cm
With this watercolor painting, I have used a dark variation of blue along with black in order to project a shadowed depiction of three buildings on top of a large mountain. The painting is supposed to project the image of the buildings as being off in the distance. The two buildings on the side of the building in the middle are smaller while the building in the middle is larger. I have been focusing on landscape pieces as well as water color paintings. I utilized the color blue by manipulating different shades, using more or less water.
Purpurean Mountains, watercolor, 28cm x 38cm
This piece is overall my favorite piece. I took the aspect of landscape, and architecture and tried to make a realistic painting of a hut on the edge of the water with the sky's reflection. I mixed colors like orange, yellow, pink, and red to create a blend in order to create the sky. I also used a variety of purples to create different shades that configure the mountains, shadows, the water, and grass patches. I also used black when I painted the grassbank at the bottom of the painting.