Title: Maintaining the past
Medium: Watercolor on Illustration board Completion: September 2022 Exhibition Text:
The original intention of the piece was to depict the modern and cultural aspects one might find in a Somali based home today. This can be seen with the objects such as the flowers and candles that are used for various reasons. While the other objects such as the curtain and the electric incense burner, from Somali culture however have modern twists to them. The piece was inspired by Camille Pissaro from his piece ¨Bouquet of Flowers(Bouquet de Fleurs)¨ and was made using Watercolor on an Illustration board. |
Inspiration
For this piece I was inspired by Camille Pissaro, a Danish French painter. I became exposed to him when I began researching inspirations and pieces to compare and contrast to when completing my Comparative Study. In his piece ¨Bouquet of Flowers(Bouquet de Fleurs)¨, it can be seen that there is a bouquet of pink Peonies and blossoms.The bouquet is sitting in a curved vase which looks to be porcelain atop a dresser. I was inspired by this piece because of the simplicity of it yet how it still has meaning behind it that is significant to the artist. When I saw this piece it reminded me of my mothers room because of the dresser and the flowers. I decided that I would paint something that represented the modern take on Somali home decor. In my piece I plan to have parts of the inspiration such as the dresser and a vase of flowers. I plan on making the dresser one that is relatively more modern and has modernized things on it. I will also include an incense fuse or holder that heats up and burns the rock of incense into the air. Traditionally he object used is called a Dabkad and it uses charcoal to light up the rock. But now there are electric ones. Which symbolizes the evolution of technology regarding culture. I will also add Somali style curtains that are usually more fabric heavy. All of these components will allow for the piece to have a simple look to it yet still allow for it to resemble the inspiration and have modern Somali decor.
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Planning
For this piece, I first began with drawing different sketches of the ideas I had. In the sketches I drew a dresser and a vase with flowers on it similar to the inspiration. However, I knew I wanted to have different aspects of it regarding Somali Culture mixing with modern design. I plan to add curtains and an electric incense burner that are both gold or have gold aspects which are heavily seen throughout Somali culture. I also plan on adding half of a curtain to make it look like the piece was cut from a larger picture, that being a full room.
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Process
For the process of this piece, I began with drawing my sketch onto the illustration board. Which was not hard at all because I used a ruler to help make straight lines from the dresser. However everything else was relatively simple and only needed a soft sketch because the water color would add more later. After I finished the transformation of the sketch to the board, I began to start the painting process. Since I was using watercolor for this piece. I knew I needed to be careful with the amount of pressure I applied to certain areas. Also having to be mindful with the amount of color on the brush itself. Since its watercolor, the color absorbs onto the with a dark hue first if the water sits in it for sometime.
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I then began the dresser part of the piece. This consisted of me mixing different colors such as dark purple, black, and dark brown. I did this because I wanted the dresser to look like one of the modern multi colored stained wood dressers one might see today. For each layer or drawer of the dresser I mixed new paint to make them different shades so that a difference could be seen. While painting, I made short strokes overall then applied a really light hue of the paint by using water and brushed it over to make it look like an overall finish.I then added silver paint to the knobs so that they stood out a little more and applied just purple to the top of the dresser.
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I first began to paint the curtains. There are curtains I have at home that inspired the ones I drew in the piece because when I look at them, they uphold what most Somali fabrics look like. Which is because it is heavy with color and designs. I attempted to add depth by painting a lighter color of the brown or golden brown colors then letting the water in the color sit so that it soaks the color. Or absorbs it so when it's applied it has a deeper color. For the top part of the curtain, this was the decorative drape with frail on the ends, and I used a lighter brown using the same technique I used for painting the overall curtain.
After that I started the objects on the dresser. First I painted the candles, one dark green and the other red. After that I moved on to the vase of flowers. I choose to paint roses because they are my mother's favorite and an aspect of the inspiration came from her. I used red and dark green to paint the physical roses. I used the same green but a lighter hue by adding water to make it look like it was in the water. For the water I used an opaque blue by adding lots of water to the amount on my brush and a small amount of water. After I finished the flower and vase, I began to paint the incense burner. I used orange and yellow and mixed both to produce the color used. I also used green in the jewel pendant in the burner. I also added a bit of metallic yellow to the front.
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Lastly, I finished the piece off with the background, because I wanted to still have a connection to the inspiration I decided to paint the background blue such as seen in the inspiration piece. I also wanted to mimic the texture and brushstrokes used in the inspiration. I decided to keep my brush strokes short and try to maintain the same color throughout the background. After I finished, I went over the background with a watered down color of the blue used to give it an effect on the wallpaper. After the piece dried, I went over many of the details with a balck pen then laid the board under something heavy so that it would not curl.
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Experimentation
For this piece I experimented with what I should put in the physical piece. Such as the objects I wanted to have on the dresser. I was going to go with the traditional incense burner but decided that the electric one was a better idea. I also was debating on whether I should put the curtain in the piece because it would take away from the idea, but decided that it actually adds to the intention. I also experimented on a piece of paper with my brush that I was going to use to paint. With the paper I tried out different colors and how much I should apply to each before it became too dark or too light. I also experienced different types of brushstrokes and tried various ways for applying the watercolor.
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Critique
Similarities:
A similarity between the piece and the inspiration is that the overall idea and components within the piece are similar. Meaning that, Camille Pissaro made the piece to showcase and present the flowers that his wife was most proud of from her garden. By doing so he placed the flowers in the center of the piece, allowing for the viewer's eyes to immediately catch onto that. This is similar to my piece because I added components that are dear to someone in my life and things that they treasure. Being the modern and traditional aspects of Somali culture regarding decor. Another similarity is the background color used, the reason I put a blue background into my piece was because I wanted to have connections to the inspiration and I also thought that the objects would stand out a bit more.
Differences:
One evident difference between my piece and the inspiration is the mediums used. In the inspiration Camille Pissaro used oil paints. Which allowed him to blend areas and add depth to really allow for a realistic look and for him to successfully show the flowers. While I use watercolor, which does not allow for the same techniques you would see with paint. Since the watercolor dries right away, it was a bit of a challenge to blend in certain areas or get more value than you would get with paint.
A similarity between the piece and the inspiration is that the overall idea and components within the piece are similar. Meaning that, Camille Pissaro made the piece to showcase and present the flowers that his wife was most proud of from her garden. By doing so he placed the flowers in the center of the piece, allowing for the viewer's eyes to immediately catch onto that. This is similar to my piece because I added components that are dear to someone in my life and things that they treasure. Being the modern and traditional aspects of Somali culture regarding decor. Another similarity is the background color used, the reason I put a blue background into my piece was because I wanted to have connections to the inspiration and I also thought that the objects would stand out a bit more.
Differences:
One evident difference between my piece and the inspiration is the mediums used. In the inspiration Camille Pissaro used oil paints. Which allowed him to blend areas and add depth to really allow for a realistic look and for him to successfully show the flowers. While I use watercolor, which does not allow for the same techniques you would see with paint. Since the watercolor dries right away, it was a bit of a challenge to blend in certain areas or get more value than you would get with paint.
Reflection
Overall I am content with the final product of the piece. I say this because even though it came out the way I wanted, I could have done better in some areas such as the size proportion of the objects within the piece and the technique used to paint. This piece was the first time I used watercolor on something this large.Since watercolor dries fast and solid, it was difficult trying to add more depth or color to an area without adding too much. I believe I persevered and during the process had many trials and errors that allowed for me to properly understand watercolor as a medium.When someone looks at the piece, I hope that the intention of the simplicity and modernity of a room is given and the connection to the inspiration is evident.
Connecting to the ACT
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
I am able to identify the cause and effect relationship between my inspiration and my artwork because my inspiration allowed me to formulate ideas for my own piece.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overall approach of the author regarding the topic of inspiration was to illustrate something that was dear to his wife. By doing so, he made the flowers the centerpiece of the artwork allowing for the viewer to look directly at it.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
A generalization and or conclusion I have discovered about people, ideas, and cultures while researching for my inspiration is that I have an idea to portray something that means something great to someone they are close to.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
A central idea or theme around my inspirational research was to find something that would allow me to include objects that I have wanted to incorporate into other pieces in an efficient way.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
An inference I made while reading my research was that many people or artists make pieces that may seem like they have such small meanings by viewing the piece but are personal to the artist.
I am able to identify the cause and effect relationship between my inspiration and my artwork because my inspiration allowed me to formulate ideas for my own piece.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overall approach of the author regarding the topic of inspiration was to illustrate something that was dear to his wife. By doing so, he made the flowers the centerpiece of the artwork allowing for the viewer to look directly at it.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
A generalization and or conclusion I have discovered about people, ideas, and cultures while researching for my inspiration is that I have an idea to portray something that means something great to someone they are close to.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
A central idea or theme around my inspirational research was to find something that would allow me to include objects that I have wanted to incorporate into other pieces in an efficient way.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
An inference I made while reading my research was that many people or artists make pieces that may seem like they have such small meanings by viewing the piece but are personal to the artist.
Bibliography
“Bouquet of Flowers (Bouquet De Fleurs).” High Museum of Art,https://high.org/collections/bouquet-of-flowers-bouquet-de-fleurs/.