Art 138: VIRTUAL OPEN STUDIOS WINTER 2021

VIRTUAL OPEN STUDIOS WINTER 2021: Art 138 Facture and Meaning

Instructor - Melissa Gwyn

Connor Alexander

“Garden”

Oil on board

Multiple layers of abstraction take the form of an oil painting of an edited photograph of a succulent.

“Feminine Virtues”

Oil on canvas

This painting confronts the status of flowers as a traditionally feminine emblem. The face obscured by flowers is gendered by nothing more than their colored lips and the presence of flowers.

“Cognitive Dissonance 1”

Oil on canvas

An introspective piece inspired by the imagery of Georgia O’Keeffe and the struggle she underwent in her work being incorrectly assigned heavy gender roles.

“Wine”

Oil on canvas

A combination of a still life with more expressive elements.

Cyrus Howard

Cyrus Howard

“Turkey Vulture”

11x14 oil on Canvas

A brown turkey vulture with empty eyes. This started as a subtractive painting where I used a rag and brush to remove the shapes of the feathers. Part of a series with Affliction.

Cyrus Howard

“Aflliction”

11x14 Oil on canvas

A subtractive painting of a dragon in browns and greens. The muddied hues are representative of illness and its impact. Many of my recent pieces are about depicting unimaginable creatures and this allows me to represent unthinkable experiences.

Diego Reza

Diego Reza

“Sunset”

Acrylic on Mixed Media Paper, 5 x 7 “

This painted sunset reflects my moment of reflection and also one of growth. This was one of the first paintings I did without sketching it out prior to painting. I sketched with the paint which was very freeing but also scary. The colors complement each other on the color wheel with the warm and cool tones.

Diego Reza

“Monstera II”

Acrylic on Mixed Media Paper, 7.5 x 10.5 “

This is my second attempt at using the reduction process to paint and rub off parts of the paint to create value. With this painting, I only used the primary colors and let those colors create the different values on the yellow background.

Diego Reza

“The Room”

Acrylic on Canvas, 11 x 14 “

After painting what represents our heartbeat, I noticed that the enclosing object reminded me of a comforter. I began crafting each part of the room and creating an abstract space that can be both real and jarring.

Diego Reza

“San Miguel de Allende”

Acrylic on Canvas, 11 x 14 “

I wanted to explore perspective, color, and texture within this painting. Based on a photo from a pre-covid era, I recreated a painting of the small town San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato, Mexico.

Hannah Bourke

Hannah Bourke

“Leaves”

Egg Tempera on Woodblock, linoleum block print

Hannah Bourke

“Lightning Goddess of Love”

Egg Tempera on Wood

Hannah Bourke

“Woodgrain Landscape”

Oil on wood

Kayla Martain

“Let Me Go”

Oil on Canvas

14 x 18 inches

2021

This painting is about the feeling a partner has over you even once they have left. For months after parting from my lover, I could feel his fingerprints on my skin and on my heart. I could feel the grooves of his skin everywhere I was looking, even when I no longer wanted them to be there. My body was being held onto the way an alcoholic holds onto a beer-- with admiration and excitement in the beginning, but as time flows, the grip loosens and becomes full of resentment. This painting is about letting go and reclaiming my body as my own, as it always has been. My body is not an object for someone else to hold onto, physically or metaphorically.

“Rats Feet Over Broken Glass”

Oil on Canvas with broken glass glued on

12 x 14 inches

2021

This painting is a part of a three part series picturing my feet, my spine, and my hands. The glass on the canvas is from a broken bong, representing the struggle of being and being around an addict. This painting of my feet shows feeling the need to walk on glass in order to not incite anger or negative responses. The feet are positioned unnaturally, which represents the unnatural position people are put in during episodes of inebriation.

“I Still Feel High”

Oil on Canvas

5 x 5 inches

2021

I have genuinely never cried more in my artistic practice than I have while painting this. There were so many nights where I would look at my partners hands and wonder how it was even possible that I could love one person so entirely-- that I loved someone from the tips of their fingers to the bottom of their feet, through all of the illness and evilness of addiction and abuse, even at the detriment of my own happiness and light. Yet here I sit, painting someone I loved so entirely as a way to heal from the trauma they wrought during their downfall. It was extremely surreal and heart wrenching, and yet, extremely healing to finish this group of work with such an emotional painting.

“Down on the Farm”

Oil on Canvas

12 x 14 inches

2021

Two frogs dancing together while listening to Tim McGraw’s “Down on the Farm.”

Natalia Ramirez

“Squirrel”

Acrylic on Canvas

My first attempt at an alla prima painting. I really enjoyed this process, and am glad to have been introduced to this method. I choose a squirrel to really connect with that grayish-green background that reminded me of nature.

“Koi”

Oil on Canvas

After visiting the Japanese Garden in SF I discovered so many beautiful koi fish and decided to capture a happy moment with my partner in seeing these beautiful creatures.

“Fish Bowl”

Oil on Canvas

My first attempt at the glazing method. I created and challenged myself to a limited color palette to create this final product.

“A Delicious Mess”

Acrylic on BFK

Created this piece during a session with Melissa guiding us to paint the beat of our hearts. I painted my surroundings with a sudden twist.

Nico (Feifan) Gu

Nico Gu

“Pulling”

Acrylic on Canvas

Let’s see what it looks like behind it.

Nico Gu

“Honey”

Oil on Canvas

To my beloved gecko, RIP.

Nico Gu

“Heartbeat”

Acrylic on Canvas

Eat me.

Nungrutai Mullennix

“น้ำ”

Acrylic on linen finish paper

9 x 12 inches

“My Succulent, Stevie”

Acrylic on art board

9 x 12 inches

Riley Frates

Riley Frates

“Guardian”

Oil on Canvas

A sea monster guarding the land from a ship with themes of suspense and sympathy for the monster.

Riley Frates

“Living Mushrooms eat dead people”

Oil on Canvas

I hope this painting evokes feelings of being at peace with the concept of death and the circle of life.

Riley Frates

“A day in the life of frogs”

Oil on Canvas

I hope this painting evokes feelings of being content doing the small things that make life so enjoyable.

Riley Frates

“Child’s Play”

Oil on Canvas

This is a subtractive method painting of my little cousin playing video games.

Serena Cosway

Artist Statement:

I use my paint to grieve.

I use my paint to never lose you.

I use my paint to celebrate your lives.

I use my paint to see your faces again.

I use my paint to hear your laughs again.

I use my paint to force myself to remember.

I use my paint to keep you both alive in my mind.

I use my paint to bring you with me as I grow older.

I use my paint to create things that remind me of you.

I use my paint to show others how special you were to me.

I use my paint to illuminate the need for safe injection sites.

I use my paint to create portraits of you two, now that you’re gone.

I use my paint to create something for you I wish I had before you died.

I use my paint to remember when you showed me how to shotgun a beer.

I use my paint to remember when you said you’d probably try heroin, laughing.

I use my paint to remember the first time we all hung out together, dancing all night.

I use my paint to remember driving down the coast together, blasting music in my Jeep.

I use my paint to pretend that we can all still grow old and laugh about the past.

I use my paint to forget the moments when I found out you were gone forever.

I use my paint to create something permanent of you, at least for a while.

I use my paint to remember the hours we spent searching for that car.

I use my paint to show you both how much I care, wherever you are.

I use my paint to remember all the times you both were there for me.

I use my paint to remember all the times you both let me down.

I use my paint to enable you to continue to exist in this world.

I use my paint to try to forget what happened that 4th of July.

I use my paint to study every freckle on your beautiful faces.

I use my paint to tighten my grasp on my memories.

I use my paint to remember every good time.

I use my paint to remember every bad time.

I use my paint to collect memories.

I use my paint to keep you alive.

Serena Cosway

Title: “Saint Meowmixer;)”

Medium: Oil on canvas

Description: This painting is of my friend Trevor York, who passed away a year ago. I painted this to canonize him. He was a wonderful person who always supported me and my art. When we were young, he talked about wanting to pursue music, and he wanted to be called “Meowmixer;)” for his DJ name. I chose this title because I wanted him to be able to name the piece himself, as much as possible.

Serena Cosway

Title: “Westdawg the Great”

Medium: Oil on canvas

Description: This painting is of my friend Anthony Westphal, who passed away four years ago. I painted this to immortalize him. He was so incredibly smart and a joy to be around. He liked to call himself Westdawg. I chose this title because I want him to be remembered as the great person he was, and because I also wanted him to be able to name the piece himself, even though he’s not here.

Serena Cosway

Title: “I Saw The Figure 5”

Medium: Oil on canvas

Description: This is a painting of a Whip-It brand butane can. It reminds me of both Trevor and Anthony. Butane has a lot of significance when I think about Trevor and Anthony. The brand Whip-It also brings up painful memories. The title of this painting is inspired by a poem by Willam Carlos Williams, titled The Great Figure.

Serena Cosway

Title: “When a Fire Starts to Burn”

Medium: Oil on canvas

Description: This is a painting of a Bic lighter. Bic lighters remind me of the friends I have lost for so many reasons. My lighters used to always end up in Trevor’s pockets. Whenever we all hung out, someone always had a Bic lighter in their pocket. The title of this piece is inspired by a song the three of us used to listen to by Disclosure.

Shelby Dinh

Shelby Dinh

“Drifting”

Oil on Canvas

This painting is dedicated to my grandpa who passed away 3 years ago. He was an artist and an inspiration to me to pursue art in college. To commemorate his passing, we made a flower crown and set it to float away on Lake Tahoe in South Lake Tahoe where he lived.

Shelby Dinh

“Santa Cruz Sunset”

Oil on Canvas

Shelby Dinh

“Polka Dot”

Oil on Canvas

Star Hagen-Esquerra

I have started a series of paintings directly inspired by the stories of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking glass, transformation, trans identities, personality disorders, illness, decay, and healing.

Star Hagen-Esquerra

“Down The Rabbit Hole ”

Gouache and Acrylic Medium on Canvas

This piece is unabashedly trans and is literally falling down the rabbit hole of gender euphoria through uncertainty and exploration. For me, gender is a beautiful vortex I am swept through and am lucky enough to feel so different every day. Life is a vortex that changes us as well, forcing us to transition in ways we may not always choose.

Star Hagen-Esquerra

“Mad Hatter’s Tea Party”

Gouache and Acrylic Medium on Canvas

A companion, a mad hatter, a blind seer, an unspeaking prophet. We live in paradoxes of existence, yet persist despite discontinuity. We are disorientating and disfigured.

Star Hagen-Esquerra

“Garden of Talking Flowers”

Acrylic on Canvas

I explore loss of identity and dysphoria in this piece, as well as how such discomfort can morph, move, and blossom in unexpected ways. The influence of social pressure is represented in the mirror and the phone, and the reactions of the creatures. The multiple creatures represent facets of self that are often in disagreement.

Star Hagen-Esquerra

“Inside Out”

Acrylic on Canvas

As far as the relationship of this piece to Alice in Wonderland, along with representing the trial of Alice and the Queen of Hearts this piece represents the in-between space of transition, uncertainty, and infinity. Both inside and out, seeing and non- seeing, asleep yet in action. Humans are in constant transition as they move through the entity of life.

Valerie Jackson