Teacher Name: Elizabeth Drake
Grade: 9
Materials: Acrylic Markers, Colored Pencils
Dimensions: 11.75” × 9”
Artist Statement: The pieces I have presented in this submission are two works of both recreational and themed concepts. They incorporate different aspects of both personal issues as well as my interests. To me, these pieces both signify a breakthrough in my ability as an artist to tell a story as well as my development of new skills and have been my muse to prevail through challenging moments when exploring concepts and art. The first piece, “23”, is centered around a nostalgic idea of the contrast between the past and future. The artwork uses a cool color scheme to portray the melancholic and solemn mood of the topic, with the occasional oranges and yellows. To me, this artwork is a reminder of social norms and the unforgiving nature of modern art, specifically on how we dream of things we believe are relevant, though it all falls between the acceptance and judgment of these artistic norms we have incidentally set in place for ourselves. The second piece, titled “Chicago”, is a recreational sort of artwork and it focuses on what I believe to be my identity. Similarly to “23”, this piece uses a contrasting color scheme that attracts the eye, mainly consisting of blues and teals for the buildings and red and white for the sign, as well as yellows and oranges for the background. I took inspiration from obvious inspiration from the Chicago theater because that is what I associate with my identity in terms of art as well as the origin, to accentuate that idea I replaced the letters “Chicago” with my name. I hope that by observing and learning more about my pieces my audience can understand my interpretations of different ideals and art style choices.