A Response to Chapter 16 From C.S. Lewis' The Last Battle. In the final chapter of the Last Battle the concluding book in The Chronicles of Narnia, the character’s journey deep into the unknown. It is an unknown that is simultaneously new and familiar; an exploration of something they have known before yet it grows and changes, and they itch to go deeper. “Further up and further in!” C.S. Lewis takes us on a journey that invites readers to dive deeper into themselves. This is perhaps the most realistic metaphor for the artistic process that I can conceive. As artists our ideas start in the familiar, a concept derives from an experience or inspiration but to stop there is bad art. We must go “further in”! To explore and expand and idea until it is something new far greater than we could have imagine at the start. The very best ideas, well they grow and grow until we are no longer who we were when we started. I believe that the most successful art is that which stirs our souls to perceive ourselves and the world around us differently, revealing truths that make us question. My goal as an artist is just that. The excerpt from C.S. Lewis offers artists and creative minds more than a metaphor. His writing paints a vivid visual picture to draw on. The Last Battle contains ideas that show creativity and imagination that should inspire anyone in an age where producing new and original ideas is a challenge. Children are unencumbered by their lack of knowledge which gives them the freedom to believe all things are possible so they try everything and believe anything. Therefore, what they can imagine is unlimited. The Chronicles of Narnia is filled with childlike imaging. Art is only limited by what we can conceive. I hope that like C.S. Lewis I can reduce those limits to create something no one else has ever thought of, ideas and work that is new and different. The possibilities are endless. “Further up and further in!” Inspiration...Artist Unknown. Source Pinterest. The unique use of brush stroke and texture gives this painting a unique form. This expansive landscape seen by few humans is "A view from Gokyo Ri in the Khumbu region of the Nepalese Himalayas at altitude of around 5000m (Credit: Tom Hugh-Jones / BBC NHU 2016)"I love the idea of the unexplored and the unseen in the context of both people and the world. Relief Sculpture from the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.. Artist unknown. This sculpture captures so much detail and emotion and not only utilized but is intentional in its use of the space. Work in Progress
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An Immodest Proposal (A reaction to Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal") Starving and alone the impoverished masses, Trod on by the greed of indifferent upper classes. Death’s not a comfort when it stands in your door Waiting for illness to take the untreated poor. Cry out for the homeless cold in the streets While we sleep in comfort under warm sheets. Cry out for the babies who are easy to kill, If it makes things easier, we foot the bill. Cry out for the unwanted the old and the new If we put them in “homes” we can forget them too. Where is compassion when someone’s needing a drink Yet, far is the well and there is no sink. We sit in our homes and watch the news, We see the horrors but inaction we choose. Rise up for the people we cannot see They are far across the world but deserve to be free, Rise up for those in our families and towns Share kindness and compassion by being around. Rise up for all people who are needing a hand Through love and through action lets take a stand! InspirationThe detailed descriptions of expansive landscapes in the Two Towers are as immersive to the reader as I hope my painting will be to the viewer. Work in Progress...Experiential Landscape, Charcoal on Paper, 6.5'x36"
The Experiential Landscape is inspired by multiple panel works that alter the viewers relationship and perception of the work. This piece is intended to engulf the viewer by its size and semicircular display. Because the piece is over six feet long the viewer must observe it in much the same way as one takes in nature by turning and exploring. This change in relationship between the viewer and the work encourages an experiential interaction and observation that might otherwise not occur. Transformation Drawing I, Art Graph Disk, 42"x36" Transformation Drawing In Process, Art Graph Disk, 42"x36" Transformation Drawing II, Art Graph Disk, Charcoal, and Chalk Pastel, 42"x36" Transformation Drawing III, Charcoal and gesso, 42"x36" Transformation Drawing III, Detail Transformation Drawing IV,Charcoal and Gesso, 42"x36" Transformation Drawing V, Charcoal and Gesso, 42"x36"x10" Transformation Drawing VI, Charcoal and Gesso,12"x 42"
While creating the transformation drawings I was contemplating the transformation of the landscape. Each transformation attempts to create space and depth in the landscape through light. The materiality of the charcoal and gesso is expressed in the contrast of light and dark and it's expression in different landscapes. "Individuals in a Crowd", Oil Paint on Paper, Each portrait is approximately 8"x5".
This drawing collection centers around the importance and value of every individual. When observing groups and crowds of people individuals are often dehumanized and perceived as the "other". The individual's humanity is often diminished by generalizations and cultural perceptions; they become unseen and unnoticed. Within this piece I worked to impress upon the viewer the importance of each person by highlighting the unnoticed people in the background of my own life. Each portrait in the collection is a person in the background of my own photographs, which is integral to the work because these are people I have seen yet not noticed. Mysterious House,Charcoal on paper,18"x12.5" This drawing was done while listening to a podcast mystery about an abandoned house in the woods. I tried to mimic the tone and sense of foreboding conveyed in the story.
"Time,Paper,Tree", Charcoal and eraser, 18"x12.5" "Time in the Living Room", Charcoal on paper, 18"x12.5" "The End", Charcoal on Paper, 18"x 12.5" "Time Under a Tree", Charcoal on Paper, 18"x 12.5" Each of these eraser drawings centers around the idea of time, incorporating erasing as a concept of time. The work "Time, Paper, Tree" plays with the irony of drawing a tree on paper as an earlier reflection of the paper itself. "Time in the Living Room", is my living room over time, drawing in my roommates erasing them, drawing in and erasing the movements of the dog and the coffee table. This work made me reconsider the idea of a drawing which previously seemed to capture a single moment. Yet, in reality most drawings from life are a reflection of the multiple hours in which they were created.While drawing "The End" I was thinking about death in the context of time, not being the end.For the piece "Under a Tree", I would draw the shadows of the branches once an hour over the course of several hours letting the shadows illustrate time.
North Rim Hexaptych, 2013 OIL ON CANVAS, by Erin Hanson, 218 x 48 in Art installation featuring a multi panel piece more than 50ft in length at Baptist Hospital. Artist name unknown. Web-source http://arbus.com/arts-essential-role-in-healing-at-baptist-health/ Deidre Adams’ piece, disruption
Ink mixed with soapy water. Bubbles dry on paper. Charlotte X.C. Sullivan. Rachel Roth Jewelry on Etsy.com Landscape Charcoal Drawing by Benjamin Fedosky | Charcoal Landscape VI (Charcoal on paper, 18" X 24") – 2009. Charcoal drawing by William Hyde, date and dimensions unknown.
Artist name not found. Source, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/298082069070263533/ Manuscript self portrait of Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) from Pinterest.com Generative collage www.sergioalbiac.com Cardboard relief portrait of an Old Man by Giles Oldershaw.
http://www.gilesoldershaw.co.uk/artwork/nggallery/art/cardboard-relief-portraits |
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