Here's a little summary of my most recent endeavor, lovingly referred to as
TRASH PAINTINGS.
#1 "SCHOOL STARTING! TRASH PAINTING!"
Oil on Canvas
11"X14"
This project was born from a photograph I took on the University of Arizona campus. On my way to class, I was struck by an overflowing purple garbage can. Starbucks cups dripped over the size, oozing with half empty overpriced drinks. Disposable masks hugged the sticky lid. Is this what productivity looks like? Is this what it takes to ace astronomy class? In an exploration of detail and working from reference photos of my own collection, I started painting.
"Trash Painting! School Starting!" on display at the 22nd Annual Juried Exhibition by ARTLINK, hosted by FOUND(RE) Phoenix Hotel in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. Thrifted frame. Sold!
Accompanying Trash Journal SKETCHBOOK!
ARTIST STATEMENT:
​
Found material has been the essential axis that the larger body of my work has (r)evolved around. Being resourceful has always been a necessity. Reflecting on how I went from using trash to make art to painting trash using the skills I've learned feels like a full circle moment! This project is a testament to my journey as an artist.
But it's all about using the skill set we have to discuss and create meaningful messages, right? In a broader cultural context, this work is about our single use, throw-away culture. Moreover, how we discard things in abundance. We ignore what we don't want to see. We feel no responsibility or empathetic concern to care for our cumulative everyday surroundings. How many times have you seen trash somewhere public or inappropriate and done nothing about it? I have done that a lot. I think about all the disposable masks flying around. All the to-go coffee cups I've through out. Stepping over detritus on a walk.
By elevating the discarded back into pristine spaces, I am considering how place matters. Considering personal responsibility, the act of community caretaking, and hoping to emphasize global accountability. I hope to give new perspective to an enduring problem.
Collection of reference images, found trash around the city.
#2: CIRCLE K MISHAP
Oil on Canvas
16"X20"
As a warm up project for 2023, this painting was born. After completing the large dumpster painting, a small and sweet project was just what the doctor ordered. I was hoping to loosen up with this painting, being intentional with brush strokes and strategic about where I dedicated my time. Keeping the sidewalk loose and the light source strong, I set out to create this sweet (and sticky) moment.
As a warm up project for 2023, this painting was born. After completing the large dumpster painting, a small and sweet project was just what the doctor ordered. I was hoping to loosen up with this painting, being intentional with brush strokes and strategic about where I dedicated my time. Keeping the sidewalk loose and the light source strong, I set out to create this sweet (and sticky) moment.
#3: DOWNTOWN DUMPSTER (Tucson, Arizona)
Oil on Canvas
2'X3'
This one is more of a study on atmospheric perspective. Living in an urban area, it was a challenge to superimpose a cityscape with the depth necessary to depict a space field through the use of light.
Can you believe someone tossed these perfectly inflated balloons in the dumpster? It was a moment in downtown Tucson I didn't want to forget.
For my next painting, I did some extensive research on a master painter, John Singer Sargent. From the sketchbook studies you see above, it's clear that JSS knew his stuff when it came to depicting volume and mass through light. From his watercolor and gouache studies to his incredible oil paintings, his strategic brushwork gives just the amount of detail I was hoping to achieve.
Though John Singer Sargent is most well known for his portraits and specifically his oil portraits, studying his lifework and sketches helped me understand how to implement contour into my next painting.
#4 LET'S GET TRASHED (Las Vegas Edition)
Oil on Canvas
2'X3'
For my latest (but I won't say last!) painting in this series I used a beautiful scene from Tucson, Arizona. An iconic moment of our town and tendencies to leave unwanted things out on the sidewalk or street. Sometimes for brush and bulky pickup, but mostly, when the house is full, toss it out front.
#5 KEEP TUCSON TRASHy
Oil on Canvas
3'X3'
