Conceptual Work

Mixed Media (acrylic, pen, newspaper) on canvas. This piece is about who I am. I based this painting off a picture of me that was taken at a Pixies concert. I love live music- it is something that makes me feel okay when I am feeling off. I get lost in it sometimes and when I am listening, it feels like I can become my complete self.  This picture shows me being me. I used torn out book pages as a base, to highlight my love for pop culture. I also chose to write some of the thoughts that percolate in my head down on the canvas. This opened me up-- I wrote about friend issues, feelings about growing up, quotes I abide by, my wonders and curiosities about what happens next in life, thoughts about the world today, and social issues. I aimed to paint the rawest version of me, with no concern for other people’s opinions. Just me and who I am,  what I like, and what I think- this is just the way I see it.    (Age 16)

Acrylic on canvas. This picture is part of my sustained investigation for my AP Studio Art class. I chose the theme "Growing Up".  For this piece, I painted a teenager crowd surfing to represent the happy moments of growing up, drawn from my own experience at concerts. This is about having the time of your life when you are young. At concerts, there's a feeling of unity, being accepted by peers, and fitting in, and the guy being held by the crowd exemplifies that. It's about finding your people, those who share common interests. (Age 16)

Acrylic on cardboard canvas. This picture symbolizes my shallow relationships with most people because they are never committed to having a deeper connection. The main hand (most people) is touching the large ocean (my life, my personality, etc.) only on the surface and is not reaching deeper. My hand, off in the distance, does not have the desire to touch the other hand, but instead is reaching as far as possible (reaching for a hand that wants a deeper relationship/friendship) from the ocean. (not touching the surface). This relates to me because a few years ago, I realized that I wasn't actually that close to any of my “friends” and I felt very alone. I tried my hardest to have a deeper friendship and connection with any of my friends and just new people I was meeting, but almost no one was looking for that. It may also be interpreted as someone feeling helpless and reaching out to others for help and not getting it. (Age 14) 

(This is also on Rock Legends/Music page, but it fits in with Conceptuals/Ideas page as well.)

Acrylic on black canvas of an image off of pinterest. This was an assignment from my art class. The assignment was to paint what was beautiful to you. My intention was to show that there is beauty in imperfection and in the ordinary. What’s beautiful to me about this is that there are no smoke and mirrors (autotune, song writing assistance, fancy outfits, light shows, etc.) to distract to make the song/music cleaner and “better”. I think that music is beautiful when it is rough and it comes from your heart and your own creative mind. (Age 14)

Mixed Media (acrylic, pen, newspaper) on canvas. This piece captures the possibilities that lie before us after graduation. I built the foreground and fence out of newsprint to symbolize the part of our lives that is already written. The graduate jumps the fence into a wide open world of possibilities. This area lacks newsprint and is replaced with vibrant acrylic colors on the horizon. The locks symbolize a graduation tradition. (age 16)

Charcoal. This piece is of a baby heading off to work in a suit that doesn't fit, surrounded by a world moving too fast to keep up, forcing him to grow up. This represents the struggles of feeling too young and nervous for adulthood. I made this piece while I was struggling to grasp that my childhood was coming to an end, and I often still felt as if I was a 13 year old trapped in a 17 year old body. Fitting into the adult suit, lifting a heavy suitcase, and wearing a hat twice the size of his head, represents the large and important role that teenagers are too innocent and ill-prepared for. (age 16)

Acrylic and crayon on canvas.  This piece is part of my sustained investigation for my AP Art class and the theme is growing up. This represents the time in your life when you no longer feel like you're a little kid, physically and emotionally. The crayon scheme is supposed to be the childhood era of your life, and you are slowly being dragged to the next stage of your life, beginning to be or becoming an adult.  The child era is simplistic--the world seems so calm, under control and happy in a child's eyes. As you grow older, everything feels complicated, scary, and out of control, as displayed by the rough and realistic part your being dragged into. This is  about a loss of innocence and feeling the honest and scary truth about growing up. Its the realization that your never going to be curious, naïve, happy, and innocent ever again. (Age 16)

Pen, Copic Marker and colored pencil on paper. This piece is part of my sustained investigation for my AP Art class and the theme is growing up.  In the teen years, there is so much to be under pressure about, school, future plans, figuring our who you are and other social factors. The brain in this picture feels helpless, and it cannot do anything about the pressure it is being put under. The finger pressing the button shows how so much of this pressure is out of your control. (Age 15)    

Acrylic on canvas. This painting is about a girl, surrounded by the judgement and watchful eyes of modern society (graffiti eyes), who chooses to find joy and freedom in herself, ignoring the expectations and criticisms of others. It is a message to find the beauty (flow, brightness) in the chaos (vandalism of nature). "Remember who you are" is something my mom always says to me to keep me centered. The painting is set in "Narnia", a hidden hangout area in Rancho Penasquitos Canyon. (age 16)

Acrylic on canvas. I was exploring how different colors can capture mood. Although this is composed of yellows and blues, it gives the sense of a black and white image. This scene is  a moment in time-- when you are laying in the dark watching TV feeling unmotivated. The TV illuminates the whole room and transfixes you when you are feeling lazy. The dishes are piled up and teetering. Altogether, the scene gives the sense of colorlessness and resignation. (age 16)

Acrylic. In this piece, I continued to play with how minimal color can set mood. This work was meant to be a spin off piece (an adjacent scene) from the When We Are Young crowd-surfing picture (above). (Age 16)