Beneath the Surface

Beneath the Surface

Materials:  Acrylic paint on reading novel paper

To create this piece, I first placed pieces of paper which I have ripped out from old novels, and glued them on top of a large sheet of paper.  Once the glue had dried, I painted the face of woman on top of the paper, using only black paint for the details of the face and blue and white paint for the eyes.  Using different tones and washes of the black paint, I was able to create the appearance of shadows on the face, making it appear more realistic. 

I decided to call this painting beneath the surface because the woman in the painting looks as if she is looking in the distance and is captivated by something which cannot be seen by the viewers.  I also decided to paint the entire face using black paint, while only the eye with blue paint because I believe that eyes are the windows to the soul; a lot can be seen through the eyes of a person.  It is a persons eyes which light up as they tell an intriguing story, that start to water when a person is emotional, and that never change as a person gets older.  I believe that beneath the eyes, there is always more beneath the surface of a person.  There are untold stories which want to be shared, but cannot; thoughts that are cramped up inside a mind waiting to find a way out.  Many people may think they may know a person well, however, they may not see the entire person inside and out.

The main goal of this piece was to captivate an audience and intrigue them into finding what is beneath the surface of this woman, and also make them wonder what the woman is looking at which cannot be seen.    

- Yours Truly 

Inspiration:  http://favim.com/image/2440144/