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Document Type

Image

Publication Date

Spring 2020

Keywords

Oil painting, WWU BFA, WWU Bachelor of Fine Arts, Oil on canvas, Magical realism, Mental illness and art, Therapeutic art, Perception and art, Bed art, Bed painting, Painting of beds, Painting of textiles, Painting of fabric, Fabric painting

Abstract

In my current series of oil paintings, I portray different perspectives of my bed by utilizing a dollhouse-sized replica that I have constructed and documented. My bed has been the home of many turbulent headspaces and past traumas. By working from the model I gain back control, which allows me to navigate and understand my unruly experience. With a muted color palette and varied marks, I create images that act as transportive windows into my past emotional states. Specifically, I zoom in on details like objects, shadows, wrinkles and light and investigate the bed’s absorptive role in my life.

In my body of work I aim to convey the idiosyncratic experiences involved in varied mental states. I think of all the quiet moments in my bed, wrapped in the ambivalent embrace of my bed sheets. Invisible tears, sweat and skin are imprinted here and act as remnants of memories. This is a contradictory space of escape and comfort, an environment that shifts with my emotions. Sometimes it’s neatly made, but most of the time there may be a plate buried underneath forgotten laundry and dirty sheets. My bed seems to have absorbed all of my emotions, yet appears as an unquestioning, innocent staple in the backdrop of my life.

Subjects - Topical (LCSH)

Beds in art; Art and mental illness; Art therapy; Household linens

Genre/Form

student projects; canvas painting; oil paintings (visual works)

Type

Text

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.

Language

English

Format

image/jpeg

Keywords

Oil painting, WWU BFA, WWU Bachelor of Fine Arts, Oil on canvas, Magical realism, Mental illness and art, Therapeutic art, Perception and art, Bed art, Bed painting, Painting of beds, Painting of textiles, Painting of fabric, Fabric painting

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