Under Pressure
Ellie K.
Poster paint, watercolor paper, foam, colored pencils, acrylic paint, wooden blocks and CD cases
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The feeling of drowning in pressure is a reality in the sport of water polo. I wanted to capture the tightness of this suffocating feeling and add the back layer to convey the loneliness of it. This feeling is not limited to water sports. Many teenagers feel as if they are drowning under the expectations of life and no one can understand. My hope is that we can be seen and viewers can relate, even for a split second, when they see this piece. My artistic process started with a thumbnail sketch and reference photo taking. The idea evolved into a sketch and blocking in colors. I first tried to block in the colors on the sketch with gouache. The gouache and the choice of reference picture weren’t working. The gouache didn’t sit the way I hoped it would. I had to make the executive decision to restart the piece. My idea was very strong, but the execution didn’t go as planned. I started over with a different reference photo, one that I felt the feeling of drowning was captured better and I switched to poster paint, which was still out of my comfort zone but I liked the look better. After finishing the main subjects painting, I started to add the elements around the face and the background. I used foam to add more depth. I also used CD cases and wooden blocks to give the background more distance from the main part.
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Creativity provides me a form of expression. It gives me a way to explore the world and better understand myself. Creativity makes the future exciting, these ideas I make can bloom into big projects.
