This is an historic moment- the first time I have ever sketched anything onto a painted canvas. I will confess, I was a little terrified. But risks pay off sometimes, and I’m so happy with the way this piece turned out. The vision I had in my head was realized almost exactly.
I started out with some Basic brand acrylic paint, which is not my favorite brand. It doesn’t cover as well as I would like and always seems a little oily. But for the background of this piece, I decided to take advantage of that. I painted the 12*12 canvas first with a layer of black, and then with a layer of red. Each layer is uneven, so the dark parts of the black show through the thin parts of the red.
I used a black stick of oil pastel to sketch the heart, then I added different colors of red and orange to highlight the heart and make it stand out a little from the red background. I went over my sketch again, darkening lines and adding veins, at which point I added my polymer clay pieces of armor and stitched between the two largest pieces. It’s a little hard to tell, but there are metal spikes protruding from the armor as well.
I did have a specific meaning in mind when I created this piece, but I have to say I’m more curious to hear your interpretation. What meaning does this piece convey? What symbols do you see? I would love to know!
Wow, this piece is almost painful to look at. I think it’s the contrast between the soft, organic lines of the heart and the warm red color and the hard edges of the armor and tautness of the string stretched between them. To me it seems a frightening and uncomfortable solution to heartbreak.
I think very literally so this painting is interesting because it means different things based on the perspective and experience I bring to it. I think of my father and father-in-law, both of whom had heart surgeries. The armor signifies the methods used to save their lives. On the other side, I think of my niece who is getting a divorce and how she feels like her heart has been hardened by the pain. She said she didn’t know if she would ever love again because she has such a guarded heart.