VIRTUAL SENIOR SHOW: Emily Love
Artist Statement:
Observation is at the root of my art practice. Looking at the world around me, especially the natural world, inspires me to recreate or capture. My origins are in landscape painting and photography, wherein I attempt to convey my observations of nature. When I observe in the midst or in anticipation of creation, I discover new things. The act of looking forces me to slow down and appreciate what exists outside of my own world view. I have an interest in math, which peaks my curiosity about the inherent laws that dictate the forms of natural objects. There is an order to most geologic or biotic forms that is just waiting to be discovered. I am always in awe of the dueling predictability and randomness of it all. In the past year or so, I have begun to practice without direct observation, by making abstract and non-referential paintings. Working in this way, I convey forms from my previous observations and make discoveries about my own modes of perception. Working abstractly also lets me observe the intangible, such as my state of mind while painting. Since taking up this sort of practice I attempt to convey the intangible in my realistic work as well. I think that all of the referential work that I have made conveys some sort of mood, even though I was not always aware. Through observation I am just in the beginnings of discovering the world around me and my perception of it.
Title: Santa Cruz Harbor
Medium: Acrylic on Paper
Year: 2018
Description: This is one of my first paintings at UCSC. I grew up near this harbor and have walked by this location many times, but when I took the source image for this painting, I was thinking about the area differently. Imagining how I could capture the harbor in a painting, I noticed this cute little boat I had never seen before. I wanted to capture the pattern on the slightly turbulent water and the water’s reflection bouncing off the boat.
Title: Break in the Storm, Brommer Street
Medium: Oil on Paper
Year: 2018
Description: This is a painting of my favorite lighting: during a storm where there is a break in the clouds and everything lights up for a moment. This is one of my first landscape paintings in oil, where I began to pivot away from being so detailed in my work.
Title: Jack’s Peak
Medium: Oil on Paper
Year: 2020
Description: I wanted to go less into detail with this painting as well, trying to capture the feeling and colors of the forest. In my source image, there was lens flare from the sun, which I decided to include in the final piece.
Title: Ocean Waves, Kauai
Medium: Oil on Paper
Year: 2019
Description: This painting is my attempt to paint water in oils. I saw all of the shimmering colors of the waves at this beautiful beach in Kauai and felt I had to challenge myself to capture them.
Title: Cat’s Basement
Medium: Oil on Paper
Year: 2019
Description: Tired of needing a direct source for my paintings, I thought I would try to create my own composition with this piece. I ended up having a lot of fun setting a scene for a lounging cat.
Title: Rooted Tree
Medium: Oil on Paper
Year: 2020
Description: This is one of my first paintings since the current pandemic. I wanted to try something out of my comfort zone, attempting at realism again without a source. I thought I’d focus on a subject I had looked at and thought about a lot: a tree.
Title: Untitled (Abstract Skyscape)
Medium: Oil on Panel
Year: 2019
Description: As one of my first abstract paintings, I was heavily influenced by previous observations of the sky. I was thinking about the puffy shape of clouds and the image of light shining through them. I was also trying to think about the iridescence of a pearl with the spherical shape in the center
Title: Oyster Shell Study
Year: 2020
Medium: Oil on Board
Description: I wanted to capture more iridescence in this study. I acquired some oyster shells and I noticed that the shells themselves had a pearly sheen.
Title: Going to Seed
Year: 2019
Medium: Oil on Panel
Description: This is another one of my first abstract paintings. I was imagining a flower with drying petals unfurling to reveal new life. In this piece I thought a lot about the colors I was using, trying to make the scene more dramatic.
Title: Untitled
Year: 2020
Medium: Oil on Board
Description: I was trying to create an abstract painting here that was not radially centered. When I am working abstractly I tend to paint an image that is organized around the center of the composition, and I wanted to try something new. I still was not able to completely break free of my tendency to paint spheres, with the cherries on the bottom right.
Title: Dried Milk Thistle
Year: 2020
Medium: Oil on Paper
Description: As I’ve grown more comfortable working with oil paint, I’ve been wanting to go into more detail with the medium. This painting of a thistle is me trying to fulfill that desire. I especially liked thistles as a subject because they are so twisted and extreme looking, yet they are relatively harmless.
Title: Untitled
Year: 2020
Medium: Oil on Panel
Description: I painted this recently, over the summer. When I was making this piece I was able to tap into a mode of creating where I was not overthinking or overanalyzing. I plan on painting more like this in the future, because I think that when I was not held back by myself, my creativity flowed more freely.
Title: Bay Tree with Mushroom
Year: 2020
Medium: Oil on Paper
Description: This painting is another one of my recent attempts to go into more detail with oils. I’ve noticed how beautiful tree bark can be up close and I wanted to recreate that detail.