My art
I have always drawn since before age of 13 and journaled. Visually, I have also always loved art. Be it fashion, home decor, paintings, jewelry, or music. Art in any format, I tend to be drawn to.
For me, painting came much later in life, I took art history in school & college, learning about styles of art and color, light, and shadows. In my 20’s; I got into photography, quickly loved digital photography with the editing; and everything you can do to bring a photo to life or tell your story by changing something, as as simple as lighting.
Painting however; challenged me, in many ways. I started out with acrylics, I still prefer them as you can water them down to almost water colors or thicken them up & add other outside elements to fade the color or add texture and depth; or you can use the slightest hint of pigment and give a soft suttle feel to a painting
Photography made me study every aspect of light and shadows. To look and not see a tree but rather branches with holes of light reflecting off the surfaces. Leaves were no longer simply green, but now entire hues of shades of green, yellow, sky blue, and depths of black and browns.
Photography opened up a whole new worldview for me. It impacts you in ways you don’t realize. Being a nurse, I am a caregiver, observation is second nature. You notice colors of skin, flesh, body fluids, and shades and hues of gray or blue. You learn that pale tones in the flesh correlate with whether someone is ill or not feeling well. That red tones could possibly indicate emotional responses such as passion or anger. Nothing is no longer black & white. Everything and everyone suddenly has depth and underlying layers.
You have to slowly pillage through the layers to see what lies beneath the surface. Similar to painting, where you must slowly build up the layers to show depth & emotion.
I really started painting when my daughter Summer was diagnosed with a mass in her brain. I found I was unable to sleep at night, unable to empty out the thoughts from my mind. Focusing on layers of emotions, expressions, and colors allowed me to detach from the intensity of my reality and escape for a little while.
In many ways… you might say, art saved me from myself.
The paintings above, are just a few of ways of how I have explored the world through shades of color over the last few years.
jenzphelps 