River Cleveland

Material: This piece was made digitally. I wanted this choice of medium and style to reflect the compensation of a lack of nature in one's life, pulling one down into a state of despair. To make the traditional-looking style of the piece seem almost deceiving in a sense, I practiced different painting styles until I got one that suited the look I was going for. I wanted the medium to look unaware of what it is made out of, as the model of the piece is unaware of its sinking state.

 

Idea:

This piece was created with intention of answering my inquiry question by showing how avoidance of nature can affect the human psyche in negative ways. How staying away from nature can tie somebody down into a negative space. 

 

Process:

I first attempted to try and express this idea with faces morphed into each other, unable to escape themselves, or, "step out into nature". I decided that the imagery shone too much of a personal battle, while the rejection of nature often isn't as realized, more like tripping into a deep rabbit hole. 

I started playing around with different styles of paint too. I liked were the first style I used, however, it was not what I wanted just yet. There were still pieces missing. Eventually, after I started a new piece, of a woman sitting down, I realized I could take advantage of body language, and depict this feeling of being tied down inside by making a piece of someone literally hanging on by fabric, in a state of darkness.