Final Self Project (Connect & Disconnect to Nature)

Rosa Garcia, Am I Alive, 2017

For my final project I decided to paint an image of nature and disconnect to nature. I was inspired by Ana Mendieta and Remedio Varos. I wanted to present a simple (minimal) painting exploring the idea of three separate parts of nature and my soul connections and disconnections.The image itself has a rose to show the beauty of nature as well as symbol of me. I wanted to show the different colors of rose to show that no color pertains to self and nature. Everyone and everything is a different color representing different aspects of self. I wanted highlight the light of it all separating it from the dark  background.The beauty of nature , in my eyes, is the colors of my surroundings. This leads to the center of the piece which is the eye. The eye bleeding is for the constant sights I see and abide to as well as the pain from the struggles in life (personal situations). This is the disconnect to nature. We are what we see in a sense, and not many look around and embrace what’s around. The materialistic takes over. The eye is the perspective of the outside and inside  as well as the sacrifice of ourselves we have giving into the aspects we don't pay attention too. We bleed to suit the eyes of others .  The butterfly is the soul flying away. Specifically my soul. I feel that I am always changing and adjusting, flying away from what I was. Change is the only thing that is permanent.  The colors chosen for the butterfly were light and cool tones, to show an opposite of the rose but also highlighting the light again contrasting from the dark background. The butterfly is a connection and disconnection, we fly away from what we should embrace which is the disconnection. The connection is the butterfly itself shows a form of growth. We are following a cycle of life but we are the ones in charge of what to do with it.

I chose this image because originally I was working on something surreal and heavy. It wasn’t the best representation of myself. I wanted more me in the image. I wanted a dark background. I used various paints to create a gradient. I blended a lot of colors in order to create the right tone. I think when someone sees the image, they think of simple things. They do not see the hidden messages. The only emotional part of the image is the eye itself. The reaction to the rose is “it’s beautiful”. This project is different from my previous project in many aspects. There is less going on. It’s a painting rather than a collage. It still shows my style just in a different perspective. What made me change and try something new is the journey of discovering a different art. I wanted to paint and because I did, I fell in love. It’s not perfection but it’s improved in time. Painting is so detailed and technical. The group project also inspired me connecting surrealism in a minimal way like Remedio Varos did. I felt so connected with paintings and darkness in the paintings that I wanted to show my own form of light and dark. I also wanted to show nature within in the picture. I was inspired by Ana Mendieta and her form of representation. I wanted to take some qualities of her themes of disconnections and connections to nature.