Run It Into The Ground
Project 11
INQUIRY: In what ways are humans impacting the environment?
Size: 48.6(w) x 27.3(h) inches
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Date of Completion: March 15, 2022
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Ideas: metaphorically discuss the current state of tourism and its environmental effects
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Materials: used iPad and Adobe Fresco
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Process: wavy lines to create movement and symmetrical balance for an overall cohesion of varying scenes
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Inspiration
Triptych
Triptych is a type of panel artwork that is split into three different sections. They are most commonly used in paintings or carvings as can be seen with the sample pieces below. Some triptychs are continuation of the same scene in different panels such as in "The Fullbright Triptych" by Simon Dinnerstein, but some are of unrelated scenes such as in "Merode Altarpiece" by Robert Campin. Although, the artwork in each individual section can often be isolated as a standalone piece, the panel as a whole has a visual coherence that connects them to each other. Triptychs are often used to form a narrative, such as developing a beginning, middle and end, in the order from left to right, or to show different elements of the same subject matter.
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I am inspired to make my artwork in a form of a triptych since it'll allow me to utilize multiple ideas and be able to draw different scenes that all connect to a bigger picture. The concept of an ordered sequence to paint the narrative provides an easier way for me to send my message to the viewers since they will be able to know the cause and effects of the issue.
The
Planning
I've done a piece highlighting the effects of overpopulation, but something that is similar, yet a bit different to this topic is tourism. Pre Covid-19, there was a continuous flow of people from country to country for various purposes, the most common being tourism. There are many ways in which tourism can negatively impact the environment such as the amount of carbon being released for transportation and entertainment, but these problems are rather unavoidable since they are the easiest way for most people to travel to and fro. However, one ignorant behavior that is rather relevant in most tourists and is the most preventable is their poor treatment towards the places they visit. This include things such as polluting trash, vandalizing significant natural landmarks, overusing local resources and ruining the ecosystem. I want to dedicate my eleventh project to speak on this issue since the world is opening back up again and it will be beneficial to have people travel with a more thoughtful conscious.
I started out this project with the thought of only doing a single scene, which would be of an obviously important landmark that is vital to the surrounding environment and then have tourists overrun it with
their ignorant actions. I wanted to make a scene filled with chaos and unpredictability to reflect my past experiences travelling. But then I decided to approach it in the form of a triptych and added two additional scenes with the original idea as the
central image. I thought of making the first scene an intro of some sort leading to the chaos, so I sketched an arrival of tourists. It is then only right for the last scene to be the departure and show the effects of the tourists, so I sketched a bus with famous attractions in the form of trash behind it as a way to say how tourists polluted the places so much that it became trash.
The
Experimentation
The brush I used for this project is called Gritty, placed under the lettering category. Although this might not be the best to add color to the piece since it is meant for drawing letters, I like the rough, scratchy look and thought that it would really compliment my piece. I was going to leave the outline of my pencil sketches in the final product, so to work well with the texture of the black outlines, I also chose to work with (in terms of coloring) something of that feel.​
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I wanted to experiment how I could shade with the brush since it doesn't blend. For test 1, I tried picking a hue and then gradually changed the brightness of it to shade the darker and lighter areas. I did this so that the colors flow nicely instead of being out of place. For test 2, I tried a similar method, but with chunkier bits, however it turned out to be too blocky.
This is an example of the type of shading I will approach in my work where it is not too detailed, but enough to be visually pleasing.
The
Process
I initially approached the art style in an abstract manner, which was done by doing quick short scratches on Photoshop to give a sense of disorderly. Although this would greatly benefit the overall feeling I want to convey, this new art style would be a bit too far stretch from my previous pieces and I was worried that it wouldn't show synthesis. Thus, I switched to a style that would resemble my old works and be a modern interpretation of triptych works that are quite similar to comic layouts.​
Going along with my sketch that had a purple stone as the vital centerpiece became an issue for me since it became really out of place and didn't visually translate my message. It just looked like a magic stone instead of something that was supposed to represent the heart of the environment. That's when I got the idea to replace it with a heart since it is one of the most significant organ in our body to keep it functioning, just like how some natural attractions play a permanent role in running a community. Not only because of financial reasons (the revenue created), but also due to its direct involvement with the locals (resources), such as the Amazon Rainforest or Bali. A heart could be used as a general symbol for these type of natural landmarks.
The
Reflection
Although this project started out a bit rocky, I am proud of the progression and the direction it took leading to the final product. My favorite panel to work on is the second because I tried to immerse the viewer into the painting through the overhead shot and really get the right perspective. The dead trees, the dried grass and drought also turned out incredibly well and adds a feeling of dismay that contrasts with the main tourist attraction. My least favorite part to work on is the last panel, mainly because I was indecisive on how I wanted it to be visually. I had a certain idea of the layouts for the other scenes prior to starting on them, but the last one was me going with the flow. The only thing I had in mind for it was the message behind it and to make it somewhat similar to the first panel. One of the most difficult part to work on in this piece was the hair in the first panel. I did my best to make them unique and not repeat any styles so it was creatively draining trying to come up with 30+ hairstyles. Overall, the things that reallly make this artwork are the metaphors and the messages relating to the negative impact of tourism.