Heating Up
Project 7
INQUIRY: In what ways are humans impacting the environment?
Size: 37.9(w) x 28.4(h) inches
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Date of Completion: Jan 14th, 2021
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Ideas: depict ignorance of humans on the consequences of their actions
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Materials: Made on the iPad with an apple pencil, used Adobe Fresco
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Process: used varying proportions to undermine the fire, just like the subjects
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Inspiration
Thanaka
Thanaka is a paste made from ground bark and is an important aspect of the Burmese culture. They are commonly applied to the face area, though they can be used on other parts of the body, in circular shapes as cosmetics, but they also provide a cooling sensation as well as protection from the sun. Other benefits offered by thanaka is the ability to smooth the skin and remove acne, since they are believed to be antifungal.
Growing up in a Burmese household, I've become accustomed to using thanaka at the slightest sense of heat which is how I relate the two: a problem and a solution. I plan to use thanaka in
my work not only to represent my culture, but to show without telling. What I mean by this is that I am going to set the atmosphere of my artwork which is in the countryside and show that it is extremely hot by having people with thanaka on their faces since they are doing it to lessen the heat. Though this intent might fly by those that are not familiar with the Burmese culture, I hope that they are curious enough to research to further understand the context.
The
Planning
While my friend and I were walking in our neighborhood a bit after noon during winter break, I noticed how hot it was outside, a huge contrast from a chilly morning I had that day. The sun was blaring what could have been April's heat and I actually thought I became more tanned just by being exposed to it for several minutes. This greatly influenced the idea of this piece which revolves around global warming, but also ignorance. Many people, including me wonder why things are the way that they are and how they negatively affect us, but fail to realize that they are the consequences of our collective actions.
I also decided to add one of the figures innocently holding an ice cream as a way to show for ignorance since they are solving the consequences without realizing or attacking the main source of the problem. To visualize this, I made the intentional forest fire small compared to other subjects in the sketch.
The farmhouse and the field to the right was added to set the setting of the artwork, which takes place in the countryside of Myanmar where people aren't really educated due to certain complications, which is another problem in itself.
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With this in mind, I sketched two figures, but then had trouble coming up with the background. I initially planned to draw one of the person holding an umbrella that had holes and was burning from the heat, but thought that would have been too much. In order to brainstorm for an idea, I decided to take a break and find inspiration as I live my day to day life. After being away from Myanmar for three quarters of a year, I was once again reminded of my culture when I saw a person wearing a straw hat with thanaka all over his face. Though it was a funny scene, it also sparked my creativity. It made me want to use thanaka to depict the heat and the straw hat helped me make a connection to farmers who burn forests to enlarge their farmland, even though it heavily impacts their own environment as well as habitants living in them.
The
Experimentation
Adding the thanaka was the hardest part because no matter how much I tried, it didn't look natural so I decided to try various methods. Firstly, I did a simple blend in a circular motion to imitate the thanaka's shape, but it ended up looking messy especially the blend that separates it from the skin. However, the texture resembles those from pictures which I liked. Secondly, I tried working with two different layers where I make the thanaka separate from the skin. Though this resulted in a smooth color , it also didn't blend well and makes itself look awkward. After this, I approached the new method with the same as the first, but with a lighter mixture instead and added more details such as the white strokes in the middle and around the border. The problem with this method is that although it mixes well, it doesn't feel or look like thanaka. My final approach was a simple yet effective method that became the best one. What I did was blend the thanaka in one directional strokes that result in an accurate texture.
The
Process
I wasn't entirely sure on how to draw a close up of two heads as I wanted the face structure to be anatomically correct. This led me to using a reference picture of myself taken in two different angles to base my drawings on. The same goes for the hand gripping the ice cream cone which gave me quite a bit of a struggle since I tried to draw it from memory, but I learned that "when in doubt, use a reference picture".
One thing I've never tried with other projects is using a color pallete, but I thought this would be the right situation to do so, so I used a picture of a lady with thanaka and color coded her skin to construct a pallete of my own. It really did make my life way easier instead of finding the right color just by playing around with the color wheel.
The
Reflection
This has been the first project that represents where I come from and the unique characteristics of it, both the good and bad, such as the traditions, architecture, landscapes, language and things such as ignorance and forest fires. My favorite part to work on for this piece was painting the hand holding the ice cream and the ice cream man. The latter is mainly due to the nostalgia I get since the image of him was a combination of my memories of all the ice cream men I have met throughout my childhood. Without a doubt, the most difficult part was adding the thanaka to the faces since they completely ruin the blending of the skin. Though I hope I did it justice, that addition is one I am most insecure about. One thing I wish I could have done differently is fixing up the shape of the head on the left since it looks a bit too big and unrealistic for me, especially the upper portion of the head.