PROJECT DETAILS
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My work has always been centred around the process of creating rather than the final outcome. However, with this project I feel that both the process and final outcome will have a balanced weight of importance. In a world where there is so much hate, worry and stress, I want my art to shine a light in the dark and make people feel happiness. Creating art is my happiness and success for me as an artist would be helping others that come into contact with my works, spreading joy and positivity in our environment.
The work I most enjoy creating is portraits. I enjoy capturing someone’s likeness in there most vulnerable and off-guard moments. Not many people will catch themselves laughing in the mirror in the same way an artist can in their paintings. The medium I gravitate towards is detailed line drawings using a simple pen and paper. I advance this work with the use of acrylic paint or transferring my work into a digital medium. The free and uncomplicated process allows my mind to drift and be creative in the moment my eyes are captured by a muse. There is no pressure when creating a line drawing. I don’t believe every piece of work needs to have meaning or an initial idea. It’s the process in development and experimentation that is what I focus on in my practice.
I find photography to be a useful medium in catching moments I would otherwise miss so as I can return to the moment and work from it at a later date.
My intention for the Major Final Project is to create large-scale painted images of human expression and emotion. A goal I have for this project is to create work that makes people laugh. I believe laughter is the highest form of happiness and enjoyment and if I reach this as a reaction, my goals as an artist will be achieved. Its important to smile, something as simple as smiling at someone can make them feel better. I feel that happy art is seen to be unimportant and without real gravitas in the art community. If art can have a lasting happy effect on us, my hope is people will hold the arts with a higher esteem and see the purpose and need for it. In a world where the arts receive less and less funding, I feel it is our duty to make art more universal and inviting. Happy art is the saviour of the arts, because we are giving people what they need.
Smiling can release small amounts of endorphins, which makes us feel better. Walking down a street and seeing someone smile at you it’s hard not to smile back. This small event can have a huge impact on someone’s wellbeing that day. I want to share special little moments like this with my work. I want people to smile more, follow my work and feel it is a place of happiness they can reach out to whenever they need it. My initial works will be of a grand size to draw people in and catch their attentions. I intend to use my skills with technology to upload my work and share it on social media so that the impact can also be grand in size.
My reasoning for working on this style of project comes from the recent global pandemic Covid-19 and the effects it has had on the world and the arts. Lockdown, restrictions and great illness have imposed a major strain on peoples mental and physical health. With uncertainty of jobs and money the world and government have taken a huge hit. Sadly, when hospitals and public services are in dire need of financial help the arts always take a dip. In times of great sadness, I believe a light also needs to be shone on a resource that could help heal and encourage a nation, the arts are that very thing.
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Art has always been a source of happiness and therapy for myself. The creative process of this project will be as it has always been an enjoyable and pleasurable activity. Due to our current global situation I feel, as a young up and coming artist, it is time I take my work and use it to benefit more than myself. This project really takes into consideration my audience and spreading the joy I always receive from my work. Furthermore, I hope this project will be the first step of many in helping the arts and the future of arts in our society.
I intend to show these works by creating multiple large-scale mix media painted drawings on smooth wooden boards. If I can achieve three bodies of work it will help me design and build a cohesive aesthetic on social media platforms like Instagram. The project will be bold, colourful and graphic to grab the attention of audience viewers whether in person or online. My process will start with finding my muse to create a line drawing which will be blown up onto primed boards to add the impactful colours. I’m interested in adding hidden elements, such as text and imagery, to add further interest and excitement to the piece as a whole. I feel this will be a great talking point of the project and allow it to have a more lasting effect on my audience. Hiding these fine details in my project allows me to have focused points of discussion I can release on my social media. This will open up the possibility of discussion with myself and those whom are involved with my work.