My final painting

Reasons for Misery, Oil Painting, 28''x50"
This is the final painting I did for my freshman year at MCA. I've included an artist statement:

For my final project, I decided to experiment with different techniques and subject matter. This piece is darker and more experimental than the majority of my artwork. I started with a sketch of what I thought was a good representation of what I wanted to express in my piece. The piece is about the inner sadness and misery that everyone experiences. It is very intimate and sadness is something everyone can relate to. However, I also want it to force the viewers to think about the grief, depression, and sorrow that happen to everyone else. I want my painting to say something about all of the people who are not lucky enough to have modern necessities that we have for survival. I want it to remind viewers of the people in third world countries who are suffering from starvation, or war. I want people to be reminded of how lucky they are, and that someone is always in worse shape than you are.

I decided to collage some images onto my canvas using an image transfer technique that I recently came across. I had some trouble with this technique, but it was okay because I was able to build up a surface, with subtle imagery, that only when looked at more closely will have relevance to the main theme. The canvas looks worn, and the images look as though they were highly recognizable at one point, but have faded over time. I played with the idea of using images that looked like they were starting to decay. I also painted the background black, because it is synonymous with darkness, or depression. The final element I introduced was the face that is dominating the canvas. I wanted my brushstrokes to be extremely expressive, and sort of chaotic. I originally planned on keeping a mostly black and white color scheme for the entire piece, but when I introduced color, I loved the way it gave the face so much more emotion. The image is of a woman who is from the Middle East. But she is weeping, for an unknown reason. This reason is up to the viewer to decide, but her misery is felt by whoever is viewing the image. The woman starts to fade and drip as her time is almost over, but she cannot find her happiness. I want the viewer to really consider their grief in a large scale, and just how unfortunate they are in comparison to others who are suffering. We are all connected by our grief, but our reasons for misery separate us.