Chill Out

I wanted to represent the feeling of being overwhelmed. I chose to title this painting “Chill Out” because that is what I get told most often when I am feeling overwhelmed but it never helps. The girl shown is painted in multiple colors. She is portrayed this way because frequently, when overwhelmed, a multitude of emotions are felt at once like sadness, weariness, and anger. The subject is wearing a school uniform to show how school can add a lot of stress to an individual’s life. The uniform shows how, even in the midst of immense pressure, she attempts to look “put together.” The background is filled with segments of a local newspaper in my town called The Frontiersman. Articles describing landfills, Covid-19 cases, and police reports highlight how events in your community can feel devastating, especially for the youth. I outlined the subject and words like landfill, testing, and hospitalization in red to portray an atmosphere of urgency and anxiety surrounding her. I feel that this painting touches on the struggles teenagers face in the world today.