Sustained Investigation #3

• Inspired by National Park Posters and the positive effects of tourism on California's economy because of the Redwood Forest

• Wanted to show a positive effect on community in this piece

I got the idea to incorporate a National Park poster from Myah, and I was already thinking about the Redwoods so I knew it would be perfect because it shows a broad range in styles in my portfolio. The original WPA National Park posters were from the 30s, but I took inspiration from a newer take on them. I was drawn to the bold lettering and wanted to make sure that really stood out on the page. I was thinking of the Redwoods because of their cultural impact and when I think of them I always imagine the tree driving through. With that idea in mind, I could’ve gone two ways. I could’ve shown the bad side of the park and shown how cutting the trees to fit cars kills the trees, or I could’ve shown the positive side which is the income and revenue coming from the Parks tourism. After looking at the negative side in my last piece I decided to show tourism in this poster, hence the leaves that look like dollar bills. I knew for sure I wanted my final product to look like a poster you’d imagine when you hear national park posters, so I went with acrylic on paper to make the colors stand out. To further the almost pop-art effect, I chose a paint pen to go over and highlight the colors in the end because it made my painting feel more 2D. 

This was quite the labor of love because I despised the painting every time I worked on it and couldn’t seem to see a finished product until the very end. Because of this, there were many changes made and documented in my journal regarding the aspects of the paintings. Adding the National Park Posters logo was also a spur-of-the-moment idea because I needed something to even the text. I did media tests in my journal because I wanted to test out how paint pens would look on top of acrylic and which brand I should use. 

This was a very nice test piece because I branched out and tried a new style with the bright colors and pop art effect. This strays from my usual work and I like that it shows I have a varied portfolio. I think another style-changing piece would also be good later on. Because I’ve focused so much on the human aspect of community in relation to trees I’m thinking that the next piece should incorporate how trees affect their own natural environment. For my next piece, I might try something other than acrylic paint because I also want to show a variety in media usage.