Exhibition Text:
My Country Peru!
Artist in the City, City in the Artist
3 of them 30.48cm x 60.96cm
February 12, 2016
These three painting represent where I'm from , mostly focusing on the culture. Culture is also based off art, sometimes people think art is about painting and objects. However art is expressed in many ways, such as costumes/outfits and environments. Personally my goal wasn't just to paint and get it done, but also to learn more about where I'm from. Knowing ourselves is a privilege and a must .
Artist in the City, City in the Artist
3 of them 30.48cm x 60.96cm
February 12, 2016
These three painting represent where I'm from , mostly focusing on the culture. Culture is also based off art, sometimes people think art is about painting and objects. However art is expressed in many ways, such as costumes/outfits and environments. Personally my goal wasn't just to paint and get it done, but also to learn more about where I'm from. Knowing ourselves is a privilege and a must .
"Exhibition to Reveal Splendour of Ancient Peruvian Cultures." ABC News. 2013. Web. 28 Jan. 2016.
"Sacred Peru." Pinterest. Web. 28 Jan. 2016.
"Machu Picchu: Delaunay Triangulation. IPad Apps: Poly." Machu Picchu: Delaunay Triangulation. IPad Apps: Poly. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.
Research:
Apart from focusing on ancient Peruvian art, I wanted to show the art that is left in Peru; meaning it's still getting produced now a days. Fashion is considered a type of art, people in Peru, those who live in the mountains, make their own clothes and have their techniques to look good. A piece of clothing called "pollera" is what I painted. I specifically chose the "pollera" because of the patterns and colors in the dress, I like how the black makes the rest emphasize. I remember when I was younger I used to participate in folkloric dancing competition, and one time I had to dance Huayno, and the outfit that I had to wear included a 'pollera' . This where the idea of this painting came, I consider it a throwback to when I used to dance. As I grow up, I have less time to keep up with my hobbies.
My other canvas is a painting of Machu Picchu, Peru's main touristic place. One of my goals when I'm successful is to visit Machu Picchu and re conciliate with my culture. Back to Machu Picchu; as you can see if you tilt your head to the right i's a profile of a person, not just any person but an Inca. The highest mountain is considered the Inca's nose , the houses would be his ear ring. The top 5 theories on what Machu Picchu was for is;
1. Last Inca City-
2. Holy Nunnery
3. Royal Retreat
4. Re-creation of the Inca creation myth
5. To honor a sacred landscape
Apart from thinking what was its purpose, I always wondered how it still maintains in shape and HOW did they do it? That's tough art.
Since my theme was the Peruvian Culture, I wanted to draw a meaningful object from Peru in one of my canvas. As I was talking to my mom about the Incas she mentioned "Tumi". When I was in Peru, we learned about Peru's history, but I was 6 years old and I had forgotten, so I researched on the "Tumi". I found multiple familiar pictures. I found out that "Tumi" was considered a sacrificial knife for the Incas. At the same time I got the chance to promote Peruvian ancient art. These vary; gold jewelry, embroidered and woven cloths to ceramic sculptures and gold items. These items were used to decorate the nobility of life and death.
My other canvas is a painting of Machu Picchu, Peru's main touristic place. One of my goals when I'm successful is to visit Machu Picchu and re conciliate with my culture. Back to Machu Picchu; as you can see if you tilt your head to the right i's a profile of a person, not just any person but an Inca. The highest mountain is considered the Inca's nose , the houses would be his ear ring. The top 5 theories on what Machu Picchu was for is;
1. Last Inca City-
2. Holy Nunnery
3. Royal Retreat
4. Re-creation of the Inca creation myth
5. To honor a sacred landscape
Apart from thinking what was its purpose, I always wondered how it still maintains in shape and HOW did they do it? That's tough art.
Since my theme was the Peruvian Culture, I wanted to draw a meaningful object from Peru in one of my canvas. As I was talking to my mom about the Incas she mentioned "Tumi". When I was in Peru, we learned about Peru's history, but I was 6 years old and I had forgotten, so I researched on the "Tumi". I found multiple familiar pictures. I found out that "Tumi" was considered a sacrificial knife for the Incas. At the same time I got the chance to promote Peruvian ancient art. These vary; gold jewelry, embroidered and woven cloths to ceramic sculptures and gold items. These items were used to decorate the nobility of life and death.
Process:
I started this canvas off by drawing the dress, using a projector. It wasn't 100% helpful nor accurate. It only helped me draw the dress, hands and legs. The rest was up to my skills. I drew the designs and patterns so I could chose my own patterns. I researched more "polleras" to get inspiration on more patterns. Lastly I wanted a more peaceful background, which is why I went with white, there were already many colors in the canvas.
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Here is Machu Picchu, if you tilt your head to the right you can see a man's profile. I started off by drawing the mountains, then I drew in the triangles. After drawing everything in, I started to paint the sky. Then the huge mountain , which was the most difficult. I also had to mix a lot of colors to get many types of brown and green.
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For this painting I started of with the right side background. I drew everything here since the projector was no help and waste of time. It was difficult at first, to get the right measurements and right place , but at last I managed to get every small detail of the actual "Tumi" .
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Inspiration:
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For a long time I've been trying to experience and work with cubism, but it was hard to find time and how to do it . Finally I had my chance to use cubism in one of my paintings. Cubism was one of the most influential art styles in the early 20th century . It was also created by Pablo Picasso. I loved the challenge Picasso showed in his painting "Girl with a Mandolin". Cubists are broke objects into a multitude of pieces that were not actually cubes. I also was inspired by Picasso's and Baroque's techniques. They used only brown, green, and later gray in order to analyze the form without the distraction of bright colors.
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Reflection:
When I was finished, I reflected on how and what I could have done differently for better results. One of the things that I learned was to settle on a background for sure and stick to it. Second is to try new types of brushes. I wasn't using a variety of brushes at first, then I realized that in order to get the thin details I would need thin brushes. Lastly it was a great experience on how to mix colors, which was very difficult. For my Machu Picchu painting, I was lacking on greens and browns, however I started with brown and then adding white or black, to make different colors, I wanted many shades of brown, as well as green.
Cite: Picasso. Woman with Mandolin. 1910.
Cite: Picasso. Woman with Mandolin. 1910.