Artist Statement
Wanderlust
Some of my fondest memories are of going on hikes with my family. We take hikes here in the city, but always make sure to spend a day out in nature whenever we travel. Time after time, when doing so, I find myself feeling transported to another world. As if the rocks I hop along are from alien soil, the trees I walk through are an unfound species. I’ll peek into a rotting stump, take a detour through a withered, dirt path, always stopping for a moment to soak in my surroundings. As I do, I always find myself getting lost in nature. Suddenly, it crescendos, as a break in the forest reveals a side of a cliff, rolling hills and dense forests so small they feel like playthings. It’s at this moment I’ll feel it strongest; the desire to explore, the yearning to get lost along a trail, the awe of nature. I’ve come to know this feeling as wanderlust, and chose to tackle this feeling in my four illustrations.
I at first found it quite difficult to translate my thoughts and feelings into art. Feelings, abstract by nature, are tough to make into something tangible, and visual. As I did more research I found I wanted to take a literal approach, letting the illustrations speak for themselves just as natural landscapes do. Each piece depicts a landscape, yet all have key differences that set them apart. Not only is the orientation, scenery and color palette unique for each piece, all four paintings deal with a theme unique to them.
The first piece, titled Catfish Falls, showcases the moment of discovery. The character is stumbling upon a lush waterfall while navigating a dense jungle. This piece is meant to showcase this precious moment in time and the excitement that comes with it. The second piece, titled Painting Practice, is about capture. A common practice of explorers is to record their findings and feelings somehow, whether through drawing, writing or photography. The character here, like this series, tries to capture her emotions in the view she’s found through her art (though she, enviously, gets to do it live). The third piece, titled Otherworldly, deals with togetherness. Memories are fonder with another, and this is no different in wanderlust. The two characters, like my own family did, stop to explore an enchanting site of old ruins together, and make lasting memories doing so. The final piece, titled Open Window, comments on the feeling of longing. Travel during the pandemic has been arduous, if not outright impossible, and a lot of us have been trapped in our homes, wanting once again to emerge and explore when restrictions have been lifted. This piece, literally, reflects that. Our character in this image is on the outside looking in, watching a video of some place he longs to be. While the characters in all the other compositions have been in situ, living in their locations, he is the only one in front of a screen longing to do the same.
These illustrations were all painted digitally, using Photoshop. I wanted to emulate the raw feeling I get when looking at both real world locations as well as pictures in an art gallery. I was paying close attention to how I felt about each drawing as they were being made, and knew I had found something when I began to wish I was there.