ARTIST STATEMENT

I began my sustained investigation focusing on the duality of a person’s internal versus external identity. I then narrowed it down to portraying the potential conflict an athlete might face while trying to define themself. Specifically, how the title of “athlete” does not usually encompass the complete identity and the inner feelings that makes someone more than just their sport. Although I felt I had a good idea of how I could portray this message, sports began to feel too restrictive for my entire portfolio. I started broadening my investigation, while continuing to use pencil (black & white) versus color to show the duality in each of my pieces. I ended up creating a mix of pieces that are either solo portraits, duos, or groups of people, which I think successfully portray how spending time with different people in our lives and in various environments shape us to have different interests and values. For the composition of my pieces, I frequently used a solid background to focus more on the inner self, while I created more chaotic backgrounds to comment on the outer self. My original inspiration for a focus on portraiture and personal identity stems from a pencil portrait I drew of myself wearing glasses which reflect an image of my younger self. It is called An Older Lens and is part of my AP Portfolio. Although I decided to not focus solely on the contrast between an older and younger self, that theme is definitely woven within a few more of my pieces. With each piece, I aim to explore the depth of a person by adding a twist or a pop of color to speak to the meaning behind each face. Throughout the creation of my portfolio, my technical skills have improved, but I have also become more intentional about how to reveal aspects of one’s character through my portraiture.