Last Saturday was a studio scurry that brought about a lot of firsts. I found out about a juried group exhibition at one of my favorite galleries in downtown Portland late on Friday night. The deadline was Saturday. Did any of my existing works fit the theme? Unfortunately they did not. The theme is The Undressing Room. The following is the top third of the 24x18" oil painting on canvas that I created and titled Object.
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I thought about posting this work in its entirety, but thought better of it since it is such a personal work and I may have past students who happen upon my little blog. Uncomfortable. Awkward. Not a great professional situation or decision at this current time.
I have painted other nudes, however I have never painted any of myself in this vulnerable manner. It is only of my torso, but it is still extremely uncomfortable to be so entirely bare upon a canvas. I could get into my intention and meaning of the piece, but I think that I can't answer those questions fully yet. There's a lot of tensions in this work that perplex my mind, and I'm happy about that. While this work puts me in an uncomfortable place mentally, it intrigues me enough to want to continue along this vein. I have plans of creating another similar work this weekend.
This was also the first time that I had made myself finish a work of this size in a single day from start to finish. It was a great exercise that forced me to prioritize the compositional features. It made me omit the unnecessaries and be more bold and intentional. I didn't have much time to second guess my marks under such a time restraint and it was a refreshing challenge. It also allowed me to finish the thought in the moment instead of coming back to the canvas the next day and losing the train of thought, or muddying the expression with other thoughts. I plan on executing the next work under the same time restraints - one day and no more.
The panel of jurors are making their decisions and I'll find out after the 10th. Instead of worrying if I will be standing beside my boobs for the world to see in an amazing gallery or not, I will be busy following this unfinished thought. I don't know if it will be a series or not, but for now the ideas are unanswered and so I will continue. As with some ideas, they die before they make it upon the canvas, or after the first work. This one is still alive for now, so I have some work to do.
.jpg)
.jpg)
I thought about posting this work in its entirety, but thought better of it since it is such a personal work and I may have past students who happen upon my little blog. Uncomfortable. Awkward. Not a great professional situation or decision at this current time.
I have painted other nudes, however I have never painted any of myself in this vulnerable manner. It is only of my torso, but it is still extremely uncomfortable to be so entirely bare upon a canvas. I could get into my intention and meaning of the piece, but I think that I can't answer those questions fully yet. There's a lot of tensions in this work that perplex my mind, and I'm happy about that. While this work puts me in an uncomfortable place mentally, it intrigues me enough to want to continue along this vein. I have plans of creating another similar work this weekend.
This was also the first time that I had made myself finish a work of this size in a single day from start to finish. It was a great exercise that forced me to prioritize the compositional features. It made me omit the unnecessaries and be more bold and intentional. I didn't have much time to second guess my marks under such a time restraint and it was a refreshing challenge. It also allowed me to finish the thought in the moment instead of coming back to the canvas the next day and losing the train of thought, or muddying the expression with other thoughts. I plan on executing the next work under the same time restraints - one day and no more.
The panel of jurors are making their decisions and I'll find out after the 10th. Instead of worrying if I will be standing beside my boobs for the world to see in an amazing gallery or not, I will be busy following this unfinished thought. I don't know if it will be a series or not, but for now the ideas are unanswered and so I will continue. As with some ideas, they die before they make it upon the canvas, or after the first work. This one is still alive for now, so I have some work to do.
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(Details of Object, 2012 by Krystal Booth)
Oil on canvas, 24x18"
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