An Ode of Love
Samika A.
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This painting is of my aunt, grandpa, and mother when they were younger. Unfortunately, my grandpa and aunt were brutally murdered during a robbery, and their deaths have left a big hole in my family. They passed away so unexpectedly, leaving a feeling of emptiness that never seems to go away. It feels as if none of us were able to grieve properly as time passed by so quickly. All my life I have wondered what life would be like with them around; what would change, what would have been better? What if this tragedy never happened and how it would have shaped us, including my extended family? Half of our family is missing, so what advice, wisdom, and love are we missing? No one can ever answer those questions, but I still wanted to paint them and keep the memories for my family alive.
This past June marked the anniversary of their death, and this painting is an ode to my grandpa and aunt.
This is an oil painting with an underpainting of blue to represent the color that is missing with their absence. I decided not to completely paint the natural colors to show the fading of memories and the rise of heartache (denoted by the blue). I painted my mother completely in color to depict that she still lives today, while I only painted the features that my mother and relatives remember most distinctly about them. The highlights almost blind you while the pitch black-blue shadows make you squint to see more details. These highlights and shadows represent life and death and a variety of emotions that you feel all at once. From the daring look in my mother's eyes to the nonchalant expression on my aunt’s face, following my grandpa’s slight smile, I really felt connected to them in a way that once seemed impossible.
This painting was a pain and pleasure, as I was able to recreate a realistic painting of them, but the fact that I only knew them through pictures and stories breaks my heart. However, it was still a pleasure to paint the theme, clothes, and features. My unfamiliarity with them actually motivated me to pour my heart, soul, and artistic skills into this. When I showed this painting to my extended family, I saw tears in their eyes as they said it looked and felt such a real likeness to them. This ode of love to my lost family refreshed fading memories and made me feel as if I almost knew them.
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My greatest skill is my ability to convey emotion and identity to connect with others through art. It is my means of self-expression; It is the way I make sense of my world, and reflect on the themes that matter most to me.
