VALERIE MCCARTHY
Senior HL
Curatorial Rationale
I wanted to use my artwork to show the relationship between animals, land and people and how we all have to share the land we live on to be able to keep this world alive. I chose to place all my artwork in sections regarding animals, land and water.
“Apollo” “Betta Fish” “duck” and “Turtle” are placed next to “flower” “land-water” and next to that i placed “lost girl” and “self portrait” unfortunately due to COVID-19 i was unable to have an art exhibit this year.
The animal section of my show was made to show the difference between the types of animals this world has to offer. Ranging from animals that can fly, slither, swim, or walk and swim. All these creatures need land to survive if we cut down all their homes they will die. The land section of my exhibit was created to show the importance of sharing our land and preserving it for others and our wildlife. The people section of my exhibit was created to show how people are still beautiful and that we are connected to nature. That being said, I feel that animals and people need to be able to live peacefully together without tearing their homes down.
Word Count: 208
VALERIE MCCARTHY
click images to enlarge - artist statements below - leave comments at bottom
ARTIST STATEMENTS
Apollo
oil paint on canvas
8”x8”
“Apollo” was a Red Tail Boa that was one of my family pets he recently died in the last year. I made this painting as a remembrance of him because he loved being outside and crawling through the grass. This painting took me about a month to complete. This piece goes with my theme because Apollo was a beautiful creature that deserves to have the world shared with him.
“Turtle”
17.5”x12.5”
“Turtle” is a watercolor painting consisting of crushed up blocks of thick foam painted with acrylics and thinly cut watercolor paper resembling aquatic plants. The painting took about 2 weeks of trial and error to finish. I chose to create this painting to resemble the beauty in earth's aquatic wildlife in hopes to make an impact on saving our environment and preserve it.
“Ellene”
Watercolor
The bright and colorful betta fish painting was made to catch the eye of the viewer leading them to the betta fish's eye. I chose to create a betta fish because in my mind they remind me of how beautiful the world is. The betta's fins flow naturally in water and they seem to have a magical feeling. I hope that my viewers can become lost in the bright pinks and purples that were used within the painting and hopefully be reminded of the importance of taking care of the world and sharing it. I decided to name this artwork Ellene because it means “ A bright, shining light, deep inner sense, beautiful”.
“Duck”
Goache, watercolor on oak
6"x6"
I chose to paint a wood duck on a slab of oak wood because they nest inside of cavities in old oak trees. Personally, I think wood ducks are one of the most beautiful ducks around the eastern United States. This piece took me about a week to finish and I feel like it fits in my show perfectly to show the importance of keeping this species alive.
“Float”
Digital
“Float” is a dIgital Painting I created in Photoshop. The setting is exactly where I would want to be in life - sitting in a boat fishing in the sunset. Sunsets are one of my favorite things as well as the woods. I decided to not have a figure sitting in the boat because I feel it would benefit both of my themes such as how the gravity attracts the boat down the river and how the boat seems to be lost in the beautiful sunset and river.
“Self portrait”
oil paint
11.5”x14.5”
This painting took me about 4 weeks to complete. The meaning
behind this piece is to help me, and possibly other artists, realize that we are very similar to animals.
“Flower”
Digital photo
“Flower” is a photograph of a white daisy. I created this piece by placing black matboard behind the daisy and aiming a spotlight towards the flower. Using photoshop, I blacked out some extra flowers in the background and printed the image out onto a 6x12 sheet of black matboard. This image was created to show the beauty and detail of what mother nature can create, and why we should preserve the land we live on. I specifically made the image with a high contrast to show the detail of each part of the flower.
“Lost Girl”
Watercolor, acrylic paint on paper
“Lost girl” was a painting I created while I was studying a south african artist named FaithXLVII who creates large murals all around the world about political issues. The medium I used was watercolor on paper glued to acrylic painted plywood. FaithXLVII painted her image onto a large brick building, i painted mine onto a piece of uncut house siding to show how people can feel lost and hopeless in their own households.
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