This painting is a color study of the beautiful colors I see in Alaska. The strong colors remind me of Fauvist landscapes, but they are real! Every day I enjoy the beauty of my home.
Painting was done with India ink and watercolor. A relative took this picture and gave me permission to paint it. I did the painting as a gift for my grandparents.
This was simply a figure study. I used foreshortening to create visual interest. I used contrasting colors hoping to create more of an emotive feel for the viewer. The brushstrokes were left loose to create a surface texture on the figure.
This is an oil/ oil bar painting of my youngest brother, Rolly. I used brushes to blend some of the undertones I made with the oil bars and mixed some of the different kinds of paint.
I created a triptych depicting three separate figures. As the pieces progress from left to right, I broke down the complexity of the person. I used this to show emotional extremes and how that could lead to emotional deterioration. I used three different color schemes, two of them being analogous. I used this to show the monotony of emotional extremes. The entire piece relates to the struggle of head vs. heart and the emotions associated with those two things.
This piece involved frustration and work. Molding compound and gloss media were applied liberally before, during, and after adding paint to create deep texture.
I am a senior at Cantwell High School. My favorite medium to use is acrylic paint because I can play with the colors. You can see this in the sky and in the stop sign. The sky isn;t just blue, it’s light blue mixed with turquoise mixed with cobalt. The stop sign is not just red, it has white and pink and magenta mixed in there. I made the trees that are closer to the front more yellow, and the tree further away darker green and black. This helps add the effect of distance, and it adds some more depth to the painting. Finally, I used many different tools to paint with. I not only used a brush, but I also used my finger, paper towel, cards, and other miscellaneous items.
This piece was inspired by music which the artist used to express their past sorrows, insecurities, and regrets. I believe that this general idea resonates strongly with many, especially youth, and I chose to convey it through a portrait. I hoped to communicate the deep emotions of this concept, as well as the personal connection I made while creating this work.
I had never used acrylic paint before this piece and I am very happy with using this new medium. I love how much easier it is to work with than watercolor and just the overall richness of color/value. I was able to achieve detail I had never imagined. My reference photo I actually took when I was down in Utah last summer apprenticing with a horse trainer, and to be able to freeze a moment of those memories is really special.
The title holds a deeper meaning…
This piece is inspired by various pop artists. It’s a youthful face blooming out of a chrysanthemum (mum), with the sun shining on its face and petals. It is about the process of becoming a better person and starting over. I chose to work with a flower because plants grow at a very organic/natural pace, which is how humans grow mentally and emotionally also. I wanted to communicate when you let go of negative traits, it improves yourself as a person.
I paint to bring out hues and fine details that often get overlooked. We are so enamored by the big picture that often times we forget to stop for a just moment to appreciate the little things. Sure, they may seem unimportant, but it is the little things that make up the big picture.
On a clear night this is what I wish we would be able to see.
My motivation for completing the art piece that I submitted was to expand my experience with figure drawing and drawing in perspective. This painted captures my skill in drawing a Sugar Skull as a full figure in a space, drawn in perspective. It is a Victorian-themed painting with the simplicity of the dress, the books, and the candles, which show how old the setting is. The blue ceiling gives the viewer a sense of looking at the sky while remaining indoors. Many Victorian buildings had painted ceilings with enormous detail. By placing a sugar skull in a Victorian setting, the viewer realizes that there is life and beauty after death.
This piece was inspired by Pawel Kuczynski’s satirical art about the environment. The microwave represents global warming and the technologie made by humanity that is causing it. The word help on the microwave is to show bad of a situation this is, it is bad enough to be asking for help. The hand is yellow because emoji hands are yellow and emojis area very recognizable and universal part of technologie. The hand is about to press the start button on the microwave because if us humans continue as we are now then the earth will surely die, but if we stop and make changes then there is a chance.
My piece, The Kiss, was inspired by many things. The painting was partially created to convey my passion for making contrasting colors flow together, but more to express my difficult relationship with a past boyfriend. Although happiness seemed consistent between us to everyone else, we were both very different from each other and often found ourselves to be very unhappy. The people in the painting are supposed to look beautiful, with glowing skin and flowing hair. However, the dark background is meant to exude a sense of feeling lost or hopeless.
This is an image of Hawaii. I painted this place as an escape from the Alaskan scenery. I wanted to paint something colorful instead of the dull gray you tend to find in Fairbanks, Alaska. The piece took a very, very long time as each leaf was done individually, layer upon layer of paint to cover all of the canvas. Even though it was a lot of work, I absolutely loved painting this image. I adore the way it turned out because it looks exactly as I wanted it to. The vibrancy of the colors and how they meld together is exactly what I was going for.
Landscape in acrylic paint
In my artwork, Levart of Art, I explored the concept of shifting through different checkpoints in life. They are shown as different panels for different moments in a person’s existence; as a tragic past, a present, and an unclear future soaring across a sea of time. Since time doesn’t move, the background alludes to a time between morning and night. I was motivated to create this image because of my curiosity in the concept of time and by my personal experience with different chapters in my life. I chose acrylic paint because I wanted to experiment with it.
I love unique buildings, ones that feel as though people thrive and make memories there. There is a house like this in my town of Juneau, on the road I walk to my favorite hiking trails. I call it the “Basin Road Bungalow” because it’s a house that looks like a home, a place that would be comfortable and natural to live in. Every time I pass, I need to stop and observe. Though painted a deep green, the house gives off a cozy ambiance. I tried to capture the feel of the house in my painting by making the inside of the house a warm orange color – a contrast to the dark green woods surrounding the house.
I like portraiture and I was interested to try oils. The moth is intended to be eating away at her.
An original painting of my experimentation with watercolor. It is only my second finished watercolor painting.
I see art in just about everything. I see it in my dad’s architecture, in my mom’s cooking, and in nature. More often than not, I paint or draw from reference of an image I took myself. I change landscapes, portraits, animals, and ideas of my own from masterpieces in the distance to masterpieces on paper. I tend to have an immense appreciation for everything beautiful I see. My goal in every piece of art I make is to convey that appreciation to the viewer.
I painted this piece with acrylic paint. This from a photograph that looks down on Resurrection Bay from Mt. Marathon. The photo was taken while hiking with my father.
With my art, I like to focus on the otherworldliness within real world. There is a genuine, sincere beauty that surrounds us in every moment. I aspire to find, and enhance, the phantasmagoria of existence, and discover the impossible within our reality.
I’m inspired by the stunning Alaskan landscape surrounding me.
I frequently see this view of a channel and islands through treetops. I wanted to express the vibrancy I experience as a local Alaskan, while pushing myself to use new colors, mixing my own black in a new medium.
A still life oil painting featuring eggplant, squash, eggs, onion, and a skull.
I painted this piece in a fit of discomfort. As a transgender man, I have a lot of body dysphoria regarding my chest. This influenced me to express that dysphoria through bright, disconcerting colors that cause discomfort to look at. The angry yet defiant expression on the center piece’s face shows that nothing can stop someone from attaining their happiness.
For me, most of my life has been around water, docks and greenery. This painting represents the nostalgia, the history and the appreciation of my lifes past. Sketching a few drafts on a piece of paper to get the perspective right was how I approached the painting, then using water soluble oils to paint a light sketch on the canvas with a light grey color made out of blue and brown colors. All of the colors were mixed not using one color straight out of the tube in order to really capture the unique colors in the scene. I tried to avoid using black or at least use it as little as possible with the exception of the dock. As a substitute, I used a very dark purple. To create the darker values of colors I would use their contrast to really give variety to the colors as to not make the natural beauty of nature seem common, but give it a sort of individuality to each color and paint. Throughout the time it took to paint the scene I tried to make it look like something that would give people a feeling of comfort and peace, like you would if you went hiking or getting ready to go out on water. I am very glad I found a scene that could follow my vision, and I feel I captured the nostalgic feeling well. When I look at this painting I feel like I could have possibly been there or even go there. It is a good representation of where I’ve been, and where I just might go.
I normally paint various farm animals because my life is full of them, as they bring light into my life. But for this, I decided to branch out and try a different animal. With some helpful inspiration from one of my good friends, I decided on a sea turtle because they have a beautiful uniqueness to them. I really enjoy the vibrant colors of the sea and the wonderful patterns of the turtle shells. With lots of time, effort, and watercolor paints, I created something that I feel is beautiful and I’m proud of.
I created this painting from a photograph that I took in Venice, Italy. I really wanted to focus on texture and light composition in this painting. I tried to melt the top of the buildings and mix them into the sky in order to portray the nostalgic feelings of warmth and tranquility that I felt while I was walking around the smaller streets of Venice.
I completed this piece during a landscape unit in my art class. In my painting, I tried to effectively incorporate space as well as light and dark. I really enjoy this piece because it perfectly encapsulates the nature of where I live in Homer, Alaska- the crystal blue sky, green forests, and where the purple fireweed mirrors the alpenglow on the mountaintops.
I was inspired to paint this piece after spending time in the ocean in Hawaii. I was amazed by the grace and beauty of the marine life there but also reminded of its fragility and state of endangerment. The purpose of this piece was to highlight the beauty of our marine life and inspire viewers to take action on its preservation.
The main focus of this painting is color. I used the darkness of the clouds and shadows on the docks and rocks to frame the focal point, the boat. I used a bright warm yellow color for the boat to contrast the cooler darker tones in the rest of the piece. To maintain balance I used the same shade of yellow in the boats reflection and in the highlights of the clouds. The purpose of this piece was to take a beautiful boat and use color, contrast, and pattern to make it interesting and give it voice.
Although this was an Art 1 project, I took the opportunity to preserve and celebrate a good memory of a great hike into our local Alaska range. I wanted to do justice to the colors and textures I observed, so I applied my brushwork and mixed the color schemes from the photo taken at the time.
This was one of the most striking photos I have from Alaska, on the way to McCarthy in the evening. I wanted to celebrate the time and place, so I used it for a project in Art 1.
This was the very first portrait I ever painted in my life. I was honored to have been able to paint Elizabeth Peratrovich, someone I very much look up to. Through her determination and belief that good would prevail, she changed society in Alaska; the very first anti-discrimination bill was written and lobbied by her. This is impressive, because in the 1940’s, as a woman, and not just a woman but a native woman, she achieved this. I, and so many others, look up to her as a civil rights leader. I personally credit her as my favorite activist.
I painted this because I love flowers and the way the watercolor looks, I just love.
The meaning behind this piece is to raise awareness for depression and the effects it can have on people.
I was drawn to the idea of taking two very different colors and putting them together to create a beautiful effect. I love using shades of pink and blue, so I thought, why not paint the two colors together? I’ve always loved those pretty trees with the lovely pink flowers on them, so I decided to compose my own version of an entire forest of those trees. I’d like to think of myself walking along that mysterious path into the distant yellowish light guiding me, not knowing where it leads as the soft pink flowers petals rain down on me.
