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Hello everyone! Today I would like to share an art collection I made for art class. The assignment was to make five art pieces from 2-3 different mediums that all connect to one big "main theme." For my collection, I chose to talk about people with disabilities, and the challenges they face. Not only that, but how society treats people with disabilities, and the idea of their voices being "silenced." Last year in English I wrote a social justice essay linking disabilities to homelessness. I called this essay "The Silenced Voices," which is how I named my art collection. You can read my essay here, the stats are a bit older since I did write it several months ago and some of the data was a few years old but it still gives you the just of things. Please do note that I had to edit out my name, so instead of having my last name at the top of the page and in the header, it just says my first name... this is just for safety reasons because I don't feel comfortable sharing my full name with the entire world. I hope you understand, and honestly, it doesn't really change the content, it just means the formatting is inaccurate but who cares about formatting at this point.
Before I show you my artwork, I would like to give a big thank you to @Kamikatzeeee and my sister. They were AMAZING and helped me edit my blurbs. Enough of me talking, let's just get straight into my artwork!
We Are Wolves
The title of my painting is “We Are Wolves,” as wolves are often portrayed as savage beasts that hunt and kill the weak. This piece of art focuses on the treatment of those with disabilities, particularly the negative aspects so often experienced. In this image, there are four wolves. Two of the wolves are staring down the other two wolves, while they cower in fear. This exemplifies how people with disabilities can often feel unwanted, isolated and alone. As for my colour scheme, I used a variety of colours to show how those with disabilities are seen as “different” often standing out more, making them easy targets to discrimination.
I originally planned to use acrylic paint on canvas, but then later decided to use digital art instead. In Procreate, I used the oil paintbrush, experimenting with the brush opacity to add shading to my painting. I also used this tool to add other colours.
Personally, I have multiple disabilities and have learned to overcome the challenges that come with it. There have been times where I felt excluded or picked on due to my disability. However, having a disability does come with “perks.” I have met many wonderful and amazing people who have been in similar situations to me, and we all support one another. This collection isn’t just about the struggles I face, but the challenges everyone in the disability community faces.
My goal for this collection is to show some of the challenges those with disabilities face paired with how society treats them. I believe I was able to succeed through the use of different expressions and postures in this painting.
I am pretty satisfied with how my painting turned out. At the start, I struggled coming up with a colour pallet. but in the end, I was able to get results that I was happy with. This piece has taught me not to be afraid to experiment with colours, as you get good results when you do so.
The Fire Within
For this piece of art, I focused on how the world can seem so dark and how people with disabilities often feel alone, or misunderstood. However, it’s also focusing on showing that there is still hope. I named this piece “The Fire Within.” Fire represents people with disabilities, as they have a metaphorical fire inside of them. Many have had to overcome significant obstacles, and even fight for their lives. Many even defy science by living past the average life expectancy for someone with their condition. Society often tries to “smother” people with disabilities or put them down. Despite all this, their “inner fire” never goes out. In the centre is one large fire, which represents me. Then it spreads out across the page, representing the people who are there to support me; this made realize I am not alone in all this.
I chose digital painting as my medium. To make the fire, I used the “elements” tab in Procreate to select the fire brush. However, for the background, I used the airbrush tool.
The main message for this artwork was to show how I experience my disabilities within a society that is unaccepting of who I am, but that despite feeling alone, I am not. Not only that, it shows my connection to other people in the disability community.
I believe I was able to accomplish my goal, as I conveyed the emotions some individuals feel in this painting. But ultimately, I was able to show that things aren’t entirely hopeless.
Broken Telephone
This piece focuses on the experience of those with a speech impediment or those known as “non-verbal.” Contrary to popular belief, these people can often get out words, but others have trouble understanding them. As such, this concept was what gave me the inspiration for the title, Broken Telephone. I started by drawing the telephone and then drawing a curvy line for the telephone cord. Along the side of the telephone cord, I started writing “can you hear me” in curly letters to look like a telephone cord.
For this artwork, I decided to use digital painting. This time I used the airbrush and pen brush to draw in the letters and telephone. I then used the liquify and distortion tool to “stretch” the letters.
While I don’t have any issues with speech, I have friends who do. I often have trouble understanding what they are saying, and it can be challenging to have a conversation with them. I believe it’s essential for everyone’s voice to be heard. However, for these individuals, it’s difficult, as others may not always understand them.
I feel that I was able to accomplish my goal. Through the use of a “broken telephone” metaphor, I was able to convey how sometimes people try to speak up. Still, people don’t always get the right message.
Overall, I am satisfied with my final results. I found that if I play with shading, it adds more detail to my painting and can make it look better. Before doing this project, I felt I was bad at shading. I felt that if I tried, I would ruin my project. Now I know that I won’t get better if I don’t try at all. In the future, I will experiment and practice with shading to help improve my art.
The “Choir”
The main idea I wanted to focus on in this art piece was how some people speak, but still, their voices go unheard. Similar to my “Broken Telephone” idea, this piece shows the difficulty of feeling heard for those with disabilities. I chose to name this piece “The Choir,” as I thought it would be an interesting metaphor to use for this work.
I chose to use digital painting as my medium. I mainly used the ink brush and eraser tool for drawing the people. However, I used the airbrush tool for the background and the acrylic paint tool for colouring people.
What drove me towards this concept is how the government treats people with disabilities. I find it frustrating how a politician can say that they are “for the people” and yet don’t have policies that support people who have disabilities.
I believe that this work has helped me achieve my goals, as a good leader should listen to everyone, including people with disabilities. However, people don’t always listen despite having legitimate issues that need solutions.
Overall, I feel satisfied with the finished product. I didn’t learn anything new, but it was still a fun experience to transform my idea into a piece of art. Rather than learning something about myself or the world around me, I hope that I can educate those around me on this vital issue.
What You Cannot See
The main idea I wanted to focus on in this artwork was the stigmatization surrounding being legally blind or visually impaired. I thought it would be interesting to insert “seeing” into my title, What You Cannot See. People often want you to believe that blind people can only see black, even though that isn’t true for everyone.
After choosing the title, I decided that acrylic painting would be the best fit for this project. To help create texture in my painting, I used a plastic knife instead of a paintbrush. I started by painting half of the canvas black and then adding bits of purple mixed with white and black.
This painting has helped me achieve my goals as an artist, as I was able to show how I thought about texture and how it corresponds to the topic of my artwork. I believe it conveys how those in the visually impaired community are often underestimated due to their “lack of vision.” The truth is, most aren’t completely blind, and even if they are completely blind, they are still able to live somewhat normal lives.
I had a lot of trouble making the purple blend smoothly, but I’ve learned that you have to be careful with the amount of black or white you add to your base colour. A little bit of paint can go a long way, especially when it comes to black. I found that even the smallest amount of black could overpower my base colour. In the future, I will be more careful when mixing colours.
Before I show you my artwork, I would like to give a big thank you to @Kamikatzeeee and my sister. They were AMAZING and helped me edit my blurbs. Enough of me talking, let's just get straight into my artwork!
We Are Wolves
The title of my painting is “We Are Wolves,” as wolves are often portrayed as savage beasts that hunt and kill the weak. This piece of art focuses on the treatment of those with disabilities, particularly the negative aspects so often experienced. In this image, there are four wolves. Two of the wolves are staring down the other two wolves, while they cower in fear. This exemplifies how people with disabilities can often feel unwanted, isolated and alone. As for my colour scheme, I used a variety of colours to show how those with disabilities are seen as “different” often standing out more, making them easy targets to discrimination.
I originally planned to use acrylic paint on canvas, but then later decided to use digital art instead. In Procreate, I used the oil paintbrush, experimenting with the brush opacity to add shading to my painting. I also used this tool to add other colours.
Personally, I have multiple disabilities and have learned to overcome the challenges that come with it. There have been times where I felt excluded or picked on due to my disability. However, having a disability does come with “perks.” I have met many wonderful and amazing people who have been in similar situations to me, and we all support one another. This collection isn’t just about the struggles I face, but the challenges everyone in the disability community faces.
My goal for this collection is to show some of the challenges those with disabilities face paired with how society treats them. I believe I was able to succeed through the use of different expressions and postures in this painting.
I am pretty satisfied with how my painting turned out. At the start, I struggled coming up with a colour pallet. but in the end, I was able to get results that I was happy with. This piece has taught me not to be afraid to experiment with colours, as you get good results when you do so.
The Fire Within
For this piece of art, I focused on how the world can seem so dark and how people with disabilities often feel alone, or misunderstood. However, it’s also focusing on showing that there is still hope. I named this piece “The Fire Within.” Fire represents people with disabilities, as they have a metaphorical fire inside of them. Many have had to overcome significant obstacles, and even fight for their lives. Many even defy science by living past the average life expectancy for someone with their condition. Society often tries to “smother” people with disabilities or put them down. Despite all this, their “inner fire” never goes out. In the centre is one large fire, which represents me. Then it spreads out across the page, representing the people who are there to support me; this made realize I am not alone in all this.
I chose digital painting as my medium. To make the fire, I used the “elements” tab in Procreate to select the fire brush. However, for the background, I used the airbrush tool.
The main message for this artwork was to show how I experience my disabilities within a society that is unaccepting of who I am, but that despite feeling alone, I am not. Not only that, it shows my connection to other people in the disability community.
I believe I was able to accomplish my goal, as I conveyed the emotions some individuals feel in this painting. But ultimately, I was able to show that things aren’t entirely hopeless.
Broken Telephone
This piece focuses on the experience of those with a speech impediment or those known as “non-verbal.” Contrary to popular belief, these people can often get out words, but others have trouble understanding them. As such, this concept was what gave me the inspiration for the title, Broken Telephone. I started by drawing the telephone and then drawing a curvy line for the telephone cord. Along the side of the telephone cord, I started writing “can you hear me” in curly letters to look like a telephone cord.
For this artwork, I decided to use digital painting. This time I used the airbrush and pen brush to draw in the letters and telephone. I then used the liquify and distortion tool to “stretch” the letters.
While I don’t have any issues with speech, I have friends who do. I often have trouble understanding what they are saying, and it can be challenging to have a conversation with them. I believe it’s essential for everyone’s voice to be heard. However, for these individuals, it’s difficult, as others may not always understand them.
I feel that I was able to accomplish my goal. Through the use of a “broken telephone” metaphor, I was able to convey how sometimes people try to speak up. Still, people don’t always get the right message.
Overall, I am satisfied with my final results. I found that if I play with shading, it adds more detail to my painting and can make it look better. Before doing this project, I felt I was bad at shading. I felt that if I tried, I would ruin my project. Now I know that I won’t get better if I don’t try at all. In the future, I will experiment and practice with shading to help improve my art.
The “Choir”
The main idea I wanted to focus on in this art piece was how some people speak, but still, their voices go unheard. Similar to my “Broken Telephone” idea, this piece shows the difficulty of feeling heard for those with disabilities. I chose to name this piece “The Choir,” as I thought it would be an interesting metaphor to use for this work.
I chose to use digital painting as my medium. I mainly used the ink brush and eraser tool for drawing the people. However, I used the airbrush tool for the background and the acrylic paint tool for colouring people.
What drove me towards this concept is how the government treats people with disabilities. I find it frustrating how a politician can say that they are “for the people” and yet don’t have policies that support people who have disabilities.
I believe that this work has helped me achieve my goals, as a good leader should listen to everyone, including people with disabilities. However, people don’t always listen despite having legitimate issues that need solutions.
Overall, I feel satisfied with the finished product. I didn’t learn anything new, but it was still a fun experience to transform my idea into a piece of art. Rather than learning something about myself or the world around me, I hope that I can educate those around me on this vital issue.
What You Cannot See
The main idea I wanted to focus on in this artwork was the stigmatization surrounding being legally blind or visually impaired. I thought it would be interesting to insert “seeing” into my title, What You Cannot See. People often want you to believe that blind people can only see black, even though that isn’t true for everyone.
After choosing the title, I decided that acrylic painting would be the best fit for this project. To help create texture in my painting, I used a plastic knife instead of a paintbrush. I started by painting half of the canvas black and then adding bits of purple mixed with white and black.
This painting has helped me achieve my goals as an artist, as I was able to show how I thought about texture and how it corresponds to the topic of my artwork. I believe it conveys how those in the visually impaired community are often underestimated due to their “lack of vision.” The truth is, most aren’t completely blind, and even if they are completely blind, they are still able to live somewhat normal lives.
I had a lot of trouble making the purple blend smoothly, but I’ve learned that you have to be careful with the amount of black or white you add to your base colour. A little bit of paint can go a long way, especially when it comes to black. I found that even the smallest amount of black could overpower my base colour. In the future, I will be more careful when mixing colours.
