32 swan hill road studies

I started studies of 32 swan hill road this week. I started off by approaching the first study the same way I had previously with the 8 field road studies, where I drew out the house and blocked off areas in which I knew I wanted to be separated by color change. However, I wanted to try something different and these two studies happened ...

in these studies I first applied thin layers of paint by blocking off different sections of the paper, then drew the house on top of the thinly painted blocks of color and went back into the study to apply thicker layers of paint, defining the area that is the house. These aren't done yet, and they are a little too messy for my liking. I will continue to work on these and post more pictures in the future.

in all these studies I kept the same color palette which is reminiscent of this house. 32 swan hill road is the house that my older sister currently lives in, but it is my grandmother's (on my father's side) house. I do not have a strong relationship with that side of the family and that's what I want this painting to show. However, I do have a relationship with my sister, who lives there now, and I feel as though she is the only connection to my father's side of the family. I need to make that clear as well. 

8 field road studies

this is the first set of studies created for class. they all depict the house 8 field road, which is where I have lived since I was five years old. I'm currently tweaking the color palette for this set of studies, trying to achieve the memories that remind me of this house. memories of my young childhood, where I would be outside during the warm weather are the most significant for this house. I want to capture the idea of youth and innocence in these pieces but at the same time I want to make sure these pieces depict my step father and his significance in my life.

artist statement

I have always been interested in architectural landscape; building, houses and barns. I’m interested in space that occupies the land and how it’s structure looks in the land. I have spent the last couple of months investing my time in six specific houses that hold importance to me, whether it be for a memory, a person or a feeling I have towards that house. These six specific houses will appear in my entire body of work this semester. I have put a lot of thought into what each specific house means to me, and how I want to achieve that feeling and meaning through painting.

In Visiting Artists I am solely going to work on paper, and most of the work I produce will be smaller in size. This class will act as a preparatory class for Seminar, where I will produce larger, more realized paintings on canvas. I am focusing on mood and memory and how to accurately achieve that through color and composition choices of each house and it’s structural qualities.