Artist Statement
The artwork I recreated was originally painted by Vladimir Kush. The title of the painting is Metamorphosis. This recreation was a little difficult to do because the cotton balls were sticky with paint and the pastels were also messy. In the end though it came together to create my own version of this surreal painting. I made this project because surreal art is very appealing to me. Surreal art is something that can be fun to create because it doesn't have to look exactly like things in the real world do. This is one of the reasons why I decided to create or recreate this project/painting. I thought it would be fun to try and achieve this art using my own creative ideas. Although I knew that it wouldn't be perfect, I still wanted to make something using that particular idea because it was cool and different.
The process of making this project only took the four class periods because I was using other materials like cotton balls instead of hand painting all of the details in the original picture. First, I painted my canvas using sponge brushes to give it more of a blended look. I changed some of the colors because I couldn't quite capture the exact colors used in the original. If I couldn't make the perfect color, I wasn't going to use it because I wanted this to look as nice as possible. The colors I did use represent calmness, peace, happiness, and sadness. These colors come from using the monochromatic palette, by blending white into it to make lighter shades of blue and yellow. I also used the primary color palette; this is where the main colors of my sunset background came from. Lastly, I used the analogous color palette. After I did this, I marked where the cotton balls would go and far down I wanted the hot air balloon to be. I then glued the cotton balls down and painted them according to where they were lain on the canvas. (Ex. If a cotton ball was glued down to the darkest blue of the canvas, I painted it dark blue). I also added white cotton balls at the top of the canvas to serve as the "regular" clouds. Then I took white string and used pastels to color it just like I did with the cotton balls. Finally, I used a brown oil pastel to draw in the hot air balloon basket, and my project was completed.
I changed the style/technique of this regular painting by using cotton balls for texture instead of flat paint. I thought that cotton balls were one of the closest things that look like clouds. I also used string instead of paint for the hot air balloon strings because it was more three-D and I wanted it to match the theme of using cotton balls. I changed the materials again, by using cotton balls and string. I also used oil pastes, pastels, water color, and some acrylic to make the right colors that I would need for the project. For my medium I chose to use a flat canvas because of the paint that would be involved.
For me, this project symbolizes joy. The simple things in life like watching a sunset can remind us of how thankful we should be to God for allowing us to wake up each morning and have somewhere to sleep each night. I try to thank God everyday for what He does for me, even if I am not at the best point in my life.
Six Project Sketches
Halfway Photo
Finished Photo
Original Photo
"Metamorphosis" by Vladimir Kush
