When I first received the project titled ‘Inside Out’ I really wasn’t sure where I could take the project. I considered the human or animal body and the inside of that such as muscle tissue and bones. I also considered my childhood and using objects or photos of meaning with that. However I wasn’t too happy with concept of my projects so I decided to go with the idea of Depression as it is something I have struggled with for many years. I have often used my artwork as a way of therapy for myself and I felt that I would have a lot to go off as it is something very close and personal to me.
My initial idea of what I could produce for the painting that I needed to produce for the outcome of this project was that I could paint a close up of an eye as when I struggle with my depression on the outside I act as if I’m fine but on the inside I’m not and as people have often considered the eyes to be “the windows of the soul” I felt this could be a good representation of this. However after a talk with a tutor we came up with the idea of Photoshopping the eyes off of the face to give a completely emotionless face.
Rough Photoshop image to use for studies
From the rough Photoshop image I then started to do studies in different mediums. I started off with Charcoal when I added shading to the eyes that weren’t there I liked the fact that they looked big and hollow as opposed to blended with the skin.
Study 1 – Charcoal
for the second study I used oil pastel, in this one I then made the eyes even darker by using shades of brown to contrast from the skin. I haven’t used oil pastels for a long time and I don’t know how to properly work with them so I feel this study didn’t come out well.
Study 2 – Oil Pastel
The third study I used acrylic paints and very quickly made the study and used colours you wouldn’t particularly see on a face such as pinks and yellows, as this study was very quick and rushed I decided to create another study using the paints.
Study 3 – Acrylic Paint
For this study I took more time blending colours and using more skin tones and once again using browns for the eyes to give the hollowed out eyes, I was really happy with the result of this study. I feel the face is a lot more haunting with this style than the previous ones I have attempted.
Study 4 – Acrylic Paint
After producing the other studies I then produced a really quick study with the paint but using a lot of water so that the paint spread a lot, for this one I used small brush strokes with different shades to add a lot of shapes and texture to the face.
Study 5 – Acrylic Paint
For the next study I experimented with scale. I used a large piece of paper the size of the wall to create this piece. I used large brushes so I could achieve a similar style to the smaller studies I had been producing. I went with the more expressive style of Study 3 and Study 5 and the bold colours too. I enjoyed working at the larger scale however for my final I wanted to use a board of wood to paint on so I think I will scale the piece down a bit.
Study 6 – Acrylic Paint
As I wanted to create my final painting on board I decided I would do two testers to choose what style of painting I would do. for the first style I went for the more expressive painting using the bolder colours. with this study I feel I didn’t get the same textures into the painting as I had in previous studies on paper.
Study 7 – Acrylic Paint on Board
For the next study on board I went for the same style as Study 4 with the flatter colours as I felt that the original was a lot more haunting and had the message I wanted to send. I am happy with this study and feel I will take this into my final piece. The simplistic style helps the eyes stand out more in the painting and makes you look deeper into.
Study 8 – Acrylic Paint on Board
While messing about with some left over paint I produced this study using different shades of green. I really enjoy the different textures within the paint as it was done fast and with no intention of being an actual study.
Study 9 – Acrylic Paint
Maeve Dawson Art 