#10-VA Candy-Store-Window

STUDENT: Amanda Delhagen
ADVISOR: Corianne Thompson

painting of white pink and blue squares

When creating this piece I was inspired by cotton candy. The pink and blue combination is one of my favorites, and when looking at this painting I hope it invokes some kind of child-like vision as it does for me. The pink border following around the edges of the painting represents a window, and lighter colors focusing on the inner blocks draws your attention in towards it. The splitting of the inside boxes should represent a timeline, getting more complicated as it progresses. Just like we as humans grow and get more complicated over time, but deep down we all act like a child when looking though the glass of a candy store.

#6-VA Making Purple

gold medalFirst Place Winner in Visual Arts

STUDENT: Maria Veniamin
ADVISOR: Corianne Thompson

Acrylic.

a paining of a dragon

The two dragons each represent a crayon. One is blue and is red. When you look closely at the details you can see that wherever they are bleeding is where purple is flowing. This piece also hangs as a diamond.

 

 

#5-VA Reflection

STUDENT: Alexandra Bouselli
ADVISOR: Corianne Thompson

Acrylic.

painting of a bridge connecting a little village to a wooded park

Reflection is a landscape-style painting that accentuates technique along with skill. I chose to formulate a process for this landscape by deciding to work from top to bottom. Painting the background of the canvas helped the process of layering colors and blending easier to accomplish. Then I continued to layer cool tones in order to create a reflection in the lake along with configuring other forms of vegetation. It’s an extremely bright and fresh-looking landscape due to the vibrant cool tone colors I used to highlight its features. I believe this landscape is arranged well and brings a very soulful vibe to its viewers while depicting imagery of peaceful countryside. I used a wide variety of techniques such as stippling and dabbing to produce proper amounts of detail.

#4-VA Coming undone

silver medalSecond Place Winner in Visual Arts

STUDENT: Amanda Delhagen
ADVISOR: Corianne Thompson

Watercolor.

drawing of white ribbon unraveling with blue butterflies and orange flowers

Watercolor creative endeavor. The main components of this piece are the ribbon and the flowers inside. Visually, the bright colors invoke happiness and beauty, but the meaning behind each flower and where its placed reflects an uglier side. The ribbons, in a rough outline of a person, are wrapped around, showing the inner-workings. The head, wrapped tight and full of color, continues down as the coils become looser, the color fades to almost blend into the background page. When I look back at this artwork, i’m brought back to when I created it. I felt like I was losing myself, my thoughts crowded and I felt torn apart. Individually, the areas and flowers were placed with purpose. The orange flowers, littered throughout the body are marigolds. They represent death, and the emotion of feeling dead inside. The white flowers, are forget-me-nots, they are located in the head since my memories keep fading and I forgot important information. Next, the red rose. A single rose, ripped though the bandage over the heart. This flower represents love and how although it is pretty, it is also painful. Lastly, the butterflies are located in the stomach, the blue seems unnatural since the feeling of butterflies in the stomach often feels synthetic and fake. I really enjoyed creating and putting a story into my work, which is why this piece is one of my favorites.

 

#3-VA Nepenthes

STUDENT: Amanda Delhagen
ADVISOR: Corianne Thompson

Watercolor.

a painting of green plants

Watercolor botanical painting. I was drawn to the pitcher plant because of it’s uncommon plant behavior. The pitcher plant is a carnorvoristic type of plant, that is easy to recognize by its gaping maw that is covered in a slippery sugar liquid enticing its prey to fall into the center with no hope of escaping. Over a few days, I was able to sketch, lay base color, and add details to create this piece. I really enjoy working with watercolor paint. I think the naturalistic subject works very well with the unpredictableness and creates something almost, unconventionally beautiful.