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20x23 in., acrylic on newspaper/canvas
Bugs have purpose–humans neglect that purpose. humans understand purpose when it looks like theirs
Glued newsprint to canvas, sketched with paint, blocked in values, covered mistakes with newspaper
Basing thing piece on New York City, I was trying to see how New York could fit into my sustained investigation. That led me to think of a city like an infestation of people, and how being in a place with that many people is hectic/can make you feel lost. This then made me think of how we eventually find our purpose, and how bug’s of course also have a purpose. Their purpose, however, is more natural and usually overlooked by people. I thought by putting an insect in a human scenario would make people see a bug’s purpose in a clearer way, as well as revealing how their real and natural purpose is neglected. I decided to use acrylics because I wanted to work on a larger scale, and I feel comfortable with that medium. Supplementally, I wanted to incorporate a part of NYC, and I did so by using a NYT newspaper I got from our hotel. When I was painting the background, I thought of painting in bits of trash, but instead I decided to use a hair tie and a bottle cap (things I thought would easily be left on the ground) as a paintbrush/stamp.
I spent a lot of time sketching out this piece, not only on paper, but with my paint. I sketched individual shoes in my sketchbook, as well as using a brighter paint to outline the legs. I also messed around with the perspective of the legs, and tried multiple reference pictures until I found one that fit with my composition. I experimented further with the background, playing around with different levels of opacity, different colors, and also different objects. I took peer feedback, and my mom’s feedback, to help fix things that looked out of place or a little awkward; namely, I fixed the sign on the ground to become more distinguishable after I received feedback.
Since this was technically my last piece (the piece I last planned), I suppose it won’t inform any more pieces for this investigation. I will 100% be taking art classes in college, however, so I’m sure things I learned will appear then. I believe this is the largest I have ever worked, which I find surprising because I don’t find it to be too big, but I really enjoyed it. It was fun to work on that scale, so I think I’ll take more opportunities to work bigger. I also spent a lot of time on this independently, and that was really helpful in letting me see how I could be my own critic and figure out what changes I should make to help create a more cohesive piece.
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