Revised Question:

In what ways and why does humankind romanticize objects in Nature?

My intention with this project is to investigate idealization and archetypes of different objects found in Nature. I am hoping to look into this through a variety of perspectives, (both personal and external), culture, and geographic relevance in North America, and why this phenomenon happens.

Some follow up questions that will help me dig deeper into the subject are as follows: What is Romanticism as a verb? How do these perspectives vary from culture to culture? What about from person to person? What are some examples of this seen visually in art, media, and stories? What are some consistent themes of romanticization? How does this apply to me? To society? Does this idea correlate to multiple different styles and genres of art? What is the sublime? What is humankind looking for when engaging in this act? What am I looking for when engaging in this act?

Studio Plan:

I hope to accomplish at least two paintings of animal portraiture mixed integrated with still life studies of skulls that relate to themes of Romanticization and human projection by the end of term. Each painting will be 18×24 inches, rendered with precise realistic detail, and varying color schemes. Each painting will investigate the idealization of their respected animal being portrayed, and contrast each other via differentiating archetype. Some of these contrasting ideas could be: 1. Good vs. Evil 2. Pure vs. Corrupt 3. Innocent vs. Trickster

Supports: Two 18×24 stretched canvases, one primed with an Indian red ochre acrylic paint, the other with a deep red violet acrylic gesso. Both should have varying organic texture.

Technique: Vibrant underpainting, Grisaille, mixture of indirect and direct painting. Some instances of glazing. Use of complimentary color schemes, each painting containing it’s own unique scheme pertaining to theme/archetype it is depicting. Although I want these pieces to have a naturalistic feel within their styles, the use of juxtaposing color schemes will be deliberate to show different ways in which the content can be romanticized or perceived.

Subject: Romanticization, stereotypes, archetypes, cultural significance, contrast, sublime, Nature, symbolic interpretation, human relation with nature, human interaction with nature, life and death, good vs. bad, pure vs. corrupt

Matter/Imagery, Content: Portrait of Mule Deer (Doe), Portrait of Coyote, studies of Mule Deer Skull, Studies of Coyote Skull, gradient background, expression through color, stylized background depicting environment, implication of landscape through abstraction.

Style, Form, Scale: balance between skull and animal, heightened value relationships, figure/ground relationships, cropped imagery

Productivity: I hope to have an outline of composition and basic underpainting (grisaille) done by the end of this week (Sunday) on both pieces. I also hope to further my idea of each color scheme, and plans on how to achieve the amount and range of colors needed for each piece by Sunday as well. Supports have already been stretched, primed, and painted with the most basic underpainting of colored gesso.

Genre- German Renaissance, European and American Naturalism, Photographic painting, South/Northwest Contemporary

Constraints: I originally planned on doing three pieces, with the third consisting of commentary between two the contrasting archetypes depicted in the other paintings, I’ve chosen to go down to two pieces with just the separate investigations of each one due to the massive amount of information each painting could hold in itself. I’m confident that the audience will naturally compare and contrast the pieces without the added personal interpretation. I’ve also gone down to two because of the simple fact of time, and because of my desire to fully investigate each painting separately through concentrated technique and style. I will limit myself to controlled unique complimentary color schemes for both as well, due to my tendency to get lost in the process of mixing paint.

2 Artist Mentors: Albrecht Dürer of the German Renaissance, and Georgia O’Keefe of the Contemporary American Southwest

Long Range Goals: I’ve been creating portraiture and figurative work of animals since I was a small child, and have always been drawn to what the symbolism of these animals means to myself through personal experience. My body of work throughout the years has had consistent themes centering around animals and symbolic meaning. I never stopped to think why I’ve done this, or how my perspective is interpreted by others. I’ve also had a tendency to subconciously idealize or “make things prettier” than they actually are, which has given my work a “fairytale-like” tone to it without my consent or intention. I hope that by doing this project, I am able to have a better understanding as to what my previous work is about, and how to control these tendencies and content for future progression. I also hope that by understanding other artists’ and peoples perceptions of the same subjects, I will be able to broaden my scope and experience with these stereotypes and animals, which will in turn give my work more external meaning that is relatable to an public audience.