Overview
Title: Pig In a suit Size: 2ft x 1ft Medium: Paint on canvas Date: September 2023 |
Exhibition Text
"Pig in a suit" takes inspiration from the work of Caravaggio. Using a black background and sharp shadow to emphasize the meaning I wanted to express though this artwork. |
-Inspiration-
Using Caravaggio as my inspiration I wanted to focus on a darker theme that Included a head separated from its own body. Within these paintings the person who isn't decapitated is the person who holds power from obvious context clues. I wanted to represent this difference in power through my own work with a political meaning.
-Planning-
For this project I wanted to focus on the idea of how the rich have too much power over others and their lives. Using this idea I came up with the concept of having a rich man eat someone who isn't rich.
With my set theme I started deciding on how I would present this idea. I thought that having a triptych would be the best option since it would make it where you wouldn't understand the story with the other piece. The first art work would be easy, Just a pig in a suit. This piece alone would make it hard to really understand the meaning behind the work. This connects to real life since most people really don't understand how badly the rich effects the people of lower or middle class. |
After deciding on the way that I wanted the second canvas to be placed I went to do my final sketches. I transitioned into digital for these final sketches because it would be easier to transfer the drawing to canvas and I feel like I do better work with in a digital work space.
-Process-
First thing I do after moving my sketches onto canvas is a new technique I recently learned. I used a watered down red paint in order to use as a base for the rest of the painting. This makes it so the colors on top pop out and it covers up the pencil lining to a certain extent while leaving enough to see where things go.
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Next I start to work on the suit that the pig man wears, for a reference I use the blue suit that the former president Donald Trump likes to wear. I start with the white shirt using grays for the shading within the shirt. I then use primary blue for the outside of the suit leaving the two out pieces unpainted in order to keep the shape from disappointing.
After finishing off the suit I started working on the face its self, using a stronger color for under the eye to help me follow the flow. I then went in with darker colors for the eyebrows in order to give them more depth, I also went under the eye to help it pop out more. Using reds blues and greens along with the skin color I was able to create a smooth transition from the hard to light parts.
Starting with my second painting I decided to start with the face instead of the black background. When working with the face I wanted to convey that the head was drained of blood looking more dead. Using blue for the undertone and leaving most of the reds I was able to really portray this dead look in the face.
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Going in I decided to paint a strip of purple for the table as a over cloth that a lot of fancier tables have. I also went in and started working on the hair. Since I was working with a darker brown on a black background I needed to be careful with how I approached this. I decided that I would use a lot of lighter browns to create the shape and flow of the hair. Also using a black only for the deeper parts of the hair to really bring out the shape and lighter colors more.
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painting the rest of the table I used a cream color for a while table cloth on top since a lot of fancy tables have white table cloth. I also went in and added some light in the hair to represent a hair shine form the light hitting. I also finally started on the cup with the eyes making it a light blue and I finally painted the solid black background.
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-Critique-
Since my art work was directly inspired from this work of art there are some main factors that you can see that these artworks share. The similarities come from the sharp shadows within the clothes and the plain solid black background, these aspects were very much strongly inspired by the art. On the other hand the differences are also really easy to notice, such as the shadows in the skin, the shadows in my art are a lot more softer while in my inspiration the shadows were a lot sharper and darker on the skin.
-Reflection-
I really had a fun time working on this project since I'm really passionate about the topic that I wanted to portray. I had a fun time painting an animal up-close since I don't work with animals so it was a nice change of pace. This was also really the first time I try to follow a reference for the human face and found that It helped a lot with the end result. In the end I really liked how my art ended up looking but I do wish I had more time to really work on the smaller detail in the background objects like the cup and the table. I feel like if I had more time to work on these details It would have come out a bit more realistic since they feel a bit flat right now.
-Act Questions-
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
You can see that the darker theme from my inspiration transferred to my own work.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
How rich people really have a lot of influence in how the rest of the population lives.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?.
The idea that the rich eat up others by having so much money and being greedy that they don't care about others at all.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I made inferences on how the rich see lower class people by seeing their privilege.
You can see that the darker theme from my inspiration transferred to my own work.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
How rich people really have a lot of influence in how the rest of the population lives.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?.
The idea that the rich eat up others by having so much money and being greedy that they don't care about others at all.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I made inferences on how the rich see lower class people by seeing their privilege.
-Citations-
Judith Beheading Holofernes, 1599 by Caravaggio, https://www.caravaggio.org/judith-beheading-holofernes.jsp.