Teacher Name: Marjorie Boyles
Additional Teacher: Alex Goldin
Grade: 12
Materials: Oil paint on canvas
Dimensions: 18 x 24 inches
Description: In this piece, I started off light. As a child, a positive memory I’d shared with my mother was going to a cow farm and watching a baby calf birth in real time. To signify what was once but a simple, joyful memory corrupted by the tribulations I would encounter in later years, for this particular piece, I researched illnesses among cattle in relation to populous poisonings, and how they visually affect a cow’s wellbeing–jaundice in the eyes, discoloration of the muzzle, and ulcers on the tongue were symptoms that I found particular interest in and wanted to illustrate and encompass in the grimy overall mood of the painting.
Artist Statement: Through my concentration, I wanted to portray how trauma often hinders the mind’s comprehension of positive memories versus negative memories. To effectively bring this idea to life and provoke an ugly, somber reaction in my audience, I studied medical books. Observing various diseases, their causes, and their physical manifestations, I thread these findings throughout my artwork to signify decay, and eventual erasure.
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