Sustained Investigation Series
I created my works with the theme of different types of heartbreak involved. Heartbreak is a very complicated emotion and I wanted to find a way to artfully convey it in a way relatable to my audience. I took inspiration from Tarot Cards and rooted some of my pieces in those themes. I also explored different techniques and medias along the way, developing my theme as well as style as time went on. It was a challenge to show heartbreak in a painting since it is an emotion, while making it relatable. I finally understood where I wanted my portfolio to go as I began my shelf pieces.
"The Lovers" | 9" x 12" | Acrylic on canvas | This piece is part of my series, using tarot card themes to display different kinds of heartbreak. The top hand is 'the giver', giving their love to someone else. I used paler values to make this person appear to be sicker due to the toll giving love takes. The other person gives nothing in return.
"Drained" | 9" x 12" | Acrylic and modeling paste on canvas | This is a continuation of my first sustained. This series shows unrequited love where one person in the relationship is using the other. In this piece the person is putting the love and affection the other gave them into a bowl, to later be bottled and put on the shelf.
"The Void" | 18" x 24" | Acrylic on canvas | This piece illustrates a bad relationship where the two participants are both unwillingly sucked into the void. They are both pulled deeper and deeper in while they claw to get out.
"The Fool I" | 9" x 12" | Oil pastel on paper | I layered oil pastel and blended to render the back of a woman who feels defeated. She blames herself for her own heartbreak hence 'The Fool'. I Scumbled around her to convey her mood.
"The Fool II" | 9" x 12" | Oil pastel on paper | As a continuation of "The Fool I" the same woman has a different mindset about her situation. She cannot believe she let herself be fooled again. Again is written over and over to convey this.
"Letting Go" | 9" x 12" | Acrylic on canvas | Implied through movement one person is falling while the other tries to catch them. The aspect of heartbreak can be shown since the other person is not grabbing on to the hand trying to help them, instead they give up.
"Bottled Up" | 9" x 12" | Acrylic on canvas | I depicted how someone can feel trapped in one sided love. The 'hope' is the gold leaf bottled up in the jar. It is being left on the shelf, an interpretation could be how the jar being put on the shelf is a person not caring about the relationship they are in.
"The Hanged Man" | 16" x 20" | Acrylic on canvas | My sustained investigation series explores heartbreak, and uses tarot card themes to depict these abstract feelings. This piece is a visual to represent the feeling of being alone or forgotten, another type of heartbreak. The setting is night and a quiet forest to help convey this.
"Manipulation Game" | 14" x 20" | Oil pastel and string on poster board | This piece is depicting a toxic relationship. The hands are controlling the woman, the strings similar to how a puppet is controlled. Her sadness is conveyed through her facial expression and the blues in her face.
Process Development for Sustained Investigation
Additional Artworks
"The Untouchable" | 16" x 20" | Acrylic on canvas | This piece was about conveying something unobtainable. The reflection shows that the object yearned after is in sight. The ripples convey the person being unable to reach their goals.
"The Drift" | 11" x 14" | Acrylic on canvas | This painting represents the drift between two people. The black on the left is meant to show an object that causes the rift between two people. The strings in the middle show the tension of the split. They also represent the attempts to hold on made by the person left behind.
"The Field" | 14" x 11" | Acrylic on canvas | This piece is a rendering made to display the beauty of nature. I've always been partial to mountains and how they are beautiful yet intimidating. Another important focal point of this painting is the clouds and the way they appear to be like a blanket over the mountains.
"Exhale" | 18" x 24" | Acrylic on canvas | This piece was to showcase emotion in the man's face, and emphasize this with the swirling colors. Many of my pieces focus on a single moment in time. Much of this painting was supposed to be left up to the interpretation of the audience by only implying ideas.
"Zion" | 11" x 14" | Acrylic and modeling paste on canvas | I have often been fascinated with the intense colors of the canyons in the midwest and wished to paint them in my style. I intensified the scene by building layers to draw the audience in. I exaggerated many values to further emphasize the beauty of these natural formations.
"Art in Controversy" | 11" x 15" | Mixed-media collage | his collage showcases the beauty in pain and controversy. It was made to reclaim things that are seen as taboo and display them as art and beauty. I also worked in typewritten saying that tie in with this topic as a written way to convey these ideas.
"Sink or Swim" | 12" x 20" x 12" | Mixed-media | This piece was made to convey the idea of struggling for the things you want in life. Having to fight for your own and everything you want on your own. It is up to the audience's interpretation on the success or hope that this piece may or may not convey.
"Stairway to Heaven" | 9" x 12" | Oil pastel and paint on paper | This stairway is meant to be inviting and mysterious. The dark values used are to portray the eerie feeling, and the shades of yellow to illuminate the room. The twisting of the stairs pulls the audience into the piece, making onlookers wonder what lies at the top of the staircase.
"Honor" | 8" x 10" | Acrylic on canvas | I rendered this portrait of a Native American after seeing news articles of sacred burial grounds being developed on. I made this piece to honor the people who came first before anyone in this country. I wanted to show support for these often forgotten people.
"Whisper of the Trees" | 9" x 12" | Colored pencil | This piece shows depth almost as if to invite the audience into the forest itself. The further back into the forest, the more focus is lost, to invoke a sense of wonder. This piece was made to pull the audience in and keep them searching for what is beyond the trees.
"Cobain" | 9" x 12" | Acrylic on canvas | I drew inspiration off of a picture taken of Kurt Cobain, one where he seems happy and in his own world. I wanted to show the beauty in this moment, a tortured artist who was at bliss in this moment. I added the confetti to emphasize this feeling of separation between the audience and Kurt.
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Artist website: https://graysonjarrellportfolio.weebly.com/
Artist website: https://graysonjarrellportfolio.weebly.com/