Adviser: Jason Paradis
I am interested in painting landscapes because I have always been drawn to the beauty of nature. Previously, I created a triptych of Monument Valley where each canvas was set during different times of the day. The first one was dawn, the middle one was noon, and the last one was dusk. These canvases connected to form one landscape, set at different times, to showcase the various colors we can see in the sky. These colors impact how we see everything around us.
My current project, Sky Series, stems from seeing the stark differences in color however, I only wanted to focus on the sky. Each painting is from direct observation of the sky at a particular moment in the day. To ease with painting outside, I set up a traveling case that held my oil paints, brushes, and panels. What captured me the most with this project was how quickly the sky changes. The clouds move very fast and the sun sets and rises within minutes, changing everything. There were a few times that I started a painting and the sky changed completely before I could finish, forcing me to improvise and work from memory. This also allowed me to learn to paint faster and with less brushstrokes. I had to be deliberate with my time since I had little time to capture the essence of each painting.
Sky Series is displayed in chronological order. The first panel is set in the early morning while the last panel is set at night. They were not all painted on the same day, but rather, over the course of four months. The weather varied every day and the season changed midway through the project, which is why in some of the panels, the sky is still bright during the evening. One of the things that inspired me to do this project was knowing that, depending on the location of the sun and the clouds, the full spectrum of color can be visible; colors not usually associated with the sky like purple, green, and red. I hope this series reminds viewers to take a few minutes out of their day to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us. I want them to experience the same sense of wonder I felt while making these paintings.
