Title

Drawing from Words

 

Date of Award

2001

 

Document Type

seniorscholars

 
 

Department

Colby College. Art Dept.

 
 

Abstract

The following report is an account of my growth and exploration as a painter. The project that was the springboard for this exploration was to create a series of paintings inspired by the fiction that I had previously written as a creative writing minor. I felt that writing could be used as a stimulus to create great paintings, and that painting and writing were perhaps more connected than I knew. I wished to pursue this connection through painting because I believed that it might be possible to capture many of the elements of a story on canvas. I looked to many artists for inspiration: Maxfield Parrish for the vibrancy of his colors, and his techniques incorporating photography; Lucian Freud for his ability to convey psychology through portrairure; Chuck Close because of the large format and directness of his paintings; Max Beckmann because of his strong sense of line; Chaim Somine for his looseness with paint and the figure; and N.C. Wyeth for his illustration work and sense of color. I have made several technical advancements and discoveries. I have come to realize how much I enjoy working with glazes and with optical blending. I have discovered that flat stenciling over modeled areas creates interesting spatial relationships while activating the surface. I have become more intuitive with how I gather information for my paintings, and I have found several ways to integrate photography into my creative process. I also explored the dividing line between fine art and illustration. It is my hope that unlike illustrations, which are designed to support a pre-existing text, my paintings are able to stand as works of art completely independent from the writing. Because of this project, I discovered many more connections between writing and painting than I had anticipated. I believe that by studying this connection in depth, I have learned a great deal about myself as an individual and as an artist. I will continue to produce fine art in the future. In addition, I have developed a strong passion for illustration. and hope to one-day write and illustrate children's books.

 

Keywords

Creative writing, painting, fictions, Maxfield Parrish, Lucian Freud, Churck Close, Max Beckmann, Chaim Somine, Wyeth

 

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