THE UN-STILL LIFE

ion of objects, my work is grounded in realism. However, the strength of color and rhythmic lines that O'Keeffe used are an element I have adopted in my work. In conclusion, I am comfortable with my artistic growth. It bears repeating: I paint objects naturalistically focusing on color, line and form. My love of these elements was an influence from O'Keeffe, but my subject matter and composition is evolving. I've enjoyed using O'Keeffe as an artistic reference throughout my creative development, but believe I have developed my own personal style. My Changing Aesthetics I began to approach my second painting as if it were my first. This painting I entitled Blue Vase (Appendix I, Number 2) as the fruits and bowl surround the ever present vase. I tried to achieve the photo-realism I had been learning from Richter. I carefilly arranged the subject according to the principles of design, focusing intensely on my color choices. Then, taking photographs of the objects from many points of view with an emphasis on light, I chose the arrangement that made the biggest impression on me. When I painted, I took the colors directly from the tubes. I mixed colors on the canvas. In the past I mixed them so much that each color lost its identity. They were flat! Now the colors were intense, just what I always wanted to achieve. As my art processes were evolving, it was time for an additional approach. At this point I learned about glazing from two of my Virginia Commonwealth University professors, Kurt Godwin and John Figura. Glazing is a technique in which paint is thinned with a medium. When I painted in acrylic I laid a dark glaze over my canvas and let it dry completely. When the paint was dry, I painted light and bright colors on the areas that I wanted to highlight. This produced a more three-dimensional effect. When I painted in oils, I mixed linseed oil, varnish, and turpentine and applied this mixture to oil paint before applying it to my canvas. This helped me achieve the depth I needed. After six months I polished each piece with varnish. The color in each piece became fully illuminated. My work started to blossom. In other words my "flowers were starting to bloom!" In my next paintings, entitled Galaxy (Appendix I, Number 3) and Flow (Appendix I, Number 4), I continued to focus on photo-realism. These paintings were the largest I painted. In Galaxy I arranged a variety of fruit and a large vase so the objects balanced in size and color just as I did in the previous paintings. In this painting I wanted to capture the reflection of the objects on the shiny table on which they were laying. I placed a thin glaze over the table and faintly added the forms of the objects in the glaze with paint. I was pleased with the results. In Flow, I arranged candles in brass holders and grapes on flowing blue cloth. I experimented in painting metals. I studied paintings containing metal objects and practiced until I painted them realistically. I was thrilled with my continuing growth as a painter. In Light (Appendix I, Number 5) I wanted to increase the direct light source on the objects I was painting so the contrast between the light and dark objects intensified. I draped a bright white cloth on a table and raised the cloth on the wall behind the table. I placed three bottles on this table. To accentuate the white cloth, I added a quick drying extender gel, Resengel, to the white oil paint to make the color exceptionally strong. As a result, the painting looked more three dimensional. The finished product was extremely successful. Developing My Personal Style In my paintings which followed, I found myself moving away fiom photo-realism and more into how the painting makes me feel. I still emphasized space, color, and form but because of times in which I had difficulty capturing the objects realistically, according to my definition at the time, I started pushing myself to exceed my normal comfort level. In one painting, which I entitled Red on Oval (Appendix I, Number 6), I arranged three tomatoes on a white plate with an intense dark green background. I painted this image fiom a photograph but I was growing intensely frustrated because I did not think I was capturing its photographic beauty. I worked on this painting for months until I decided to shift my thought and paint how I felt about the subject. I wanted to be able to feel the tomatoes. I started to rely on my instincts and the painterly curve of my lines to capture their essence. I needed to grow away fiom my first attempts to become more comfortable with the medium and myself as a painter. I know that this was a turning point for me; I became more comfortable with my instincts, style, and the knowledge of how I worked with the subject and medium. In the paintings that followed, Tumble (Appendix I, Number 7), Slice (Appendix I, Number 8), and Composition (Appendix I, Number 9), I relied on my instinct, brush strokes, and feelings about the subject to continue to be comfortable with my self expression. It has been very gratifying for me to work through these processes. Although I am still grounded in realism, I have developed a new definition of realism. This new definition pushed me to achieve what I keep in my artist statement: I want to be able to smell, feel, and almost taste the fruit. I needed to release my self placed boundaries and become spontaneous in my work. I am pleased with my latest works as I anticipate my future growth. Conclusion In completing the MIS prograni I look back and realize that I have truly grown as an artist. I feel a sense of solace with my approach to creating and teaching. As I look back to the series of paintings I created in my undergraduate studies, although I was comfortable with my progress at that time, I now realize I still had much to learn. In addition to painting and sculpture, whether in clay or other media, my research has helped me grow as an artist and teacher. As I teach a subject and demonstrate how to use the medium, I know that the children are comfortable and excited about learning. I bring examples to work and talk about my approaches, successes, and failures. They are very receptive to what they see and how I approach each piece. The instructors that directed me at Virginia Commonwealth University gave me the knowledge that helped to accomplish my goals. The impromptu discussions held during my classes about individual works and teaching classes have given me a new direction for both teaching art and learning about art. I have always taught in schools with a lower socio-economic income bracket with the students being very challenging in many ways. I discovered that using a tri-modal approach has always been the best way to reinforce creativity and thinking. A tri-modal approach uses a combination of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic methods of grasping concepts. By combining these methods with my MIS program training, I have risen to new heights as a teacher. I have always been quite successful as an arts educator, but now I know that I have also begun to realize my potential as an artist. Future Endeavors Now I plan to continue my studies in painting but gladly accept two challenges which are new to my comfort level. I want to abstract still life. I feel that I am ready to begin a new artistic endeavor. Gerhard Richter and Georgia O'Keeffe inspired me to remove my inner boundaries and to express freely thoughts and feelings in my art work. My next quest is to write and illustrate books for elementary aged children. I am networking with colleagues as to how to approach this challenge. In addition to being an elementary art instructor, I am also an elementary education teacher. I taught children and trained teachers for over twenty years. I have always combined classroom curriculum with art skills and studies. I know that this creates solid programs. Illustrations will always enhance text. Ask any Caldecott award winner of a well accepted and successful story. All well-created art will take its viewers to a higher plane!