2D Studio Art - Painting & Drawing
The subject of my work in this exhibition is the small predatory dinosaur Sinosauropteryx. The work in my exhibition is illustrations, paintings, a short animation, and a near life size plush sculpture of the dinosaur. I attempt to depict prehistoric life in a speculative sense with my work so accuracy isn’t guaranteed but is still strived for. The centerpiece of my works is a posable 3d dinosaur sculpture and it is the driving force for creating the rest of the works surrounding it.
My creative process involves studying fossils and the latest reconstructions to help determine how I should illustrate my dinosaurs. I am also looking to other paleo artists for inspiration. I sketch out various poses and start adding color to them to flesh out my illustrations and attempt to make it feel alive. For the sculpture piece I have created a 3d skeleton out of armature and wire, surrounded it with quilt stuffing for bulk and comfort when handling, sculpted clay arms, legs and head, and covered the entire piece in faux fur. My paintings and sculptural works inform my work by adding a tactile nature to it, while the markers add vivid colors and memory like qualities to the dinosaurs.
There’s a small YouTube animator that I’ve followed for a few years who goes by the name David James Armsby. His most popular series, and the one I found him by, is a post apocalyptic series called Autodale. Every time he made an upload for this series it would be longer and more grand than the last. Eventually he expressed burnout over the series, having pushed himself to his very limits. He’d create vlog like videos about the creation of each of his works and here he expressed that he had reached the end of his rope. He was in a bad place and he needed a reprieve, so he turned to a childhood love, Dinosaurs. He was happy creating again as he made dinosaur animations. I’ve always admired his process and this particular year I’ve come to relate heavily to his struggles. I’ve done exactly what he did when he was feeling his worst and turned to a childhood love of dinosaurs for comfort within my art. My project is also informed by my childhood love for Jurassic park and other dinosaur related media that shaped my imagination about extinct life.
Family. mixed media (marker, paint pen, acrylic). 22x30 inches
Feeding. Mixed media (digital print, acrylic). 36x42 inches
Frolic. acrylic on canvas. 4x4 inches
Sinosauropteryx. acrylic on canvas. 6x6 inches
Plush Sinosauropteryx. armature wire, acrylic, clay, stuffing, faux fur, glass eyes. 10x42 inches
Plush Sinosauropteryx. armature wire, acrylic, clay, stuffing, faux fur, glass eyes. 10x42 inches
