Sensational Living

Before reflecting on Lupton and Phillips' ideas revolving around rhythm and balance, scale, texture -- I realized I unconsciously included sensations, balance, symmetry, texture, and many other elements in my art.

I created "Caffeinated Me" digitally on my iPad using the app Procreate. As I've been developing my style, I've explored many textures for my art along with tailoring the details to speak to my voice as an artist as opposed to what I enjoy viewing in other's art. 

Caffeinated Me

This self-portrait encapsulates a sliver of how I present myself on a regular basis which captures my sensational living. Taste and texture are huge parts of my conscious day to day life -- why? I've got two words for you: Coffee, fashion. Coffee keeps me balanced as a person, quite frankly. When I take a sip from my metal straw and I feel the iced coffee tingle my taste buds. I somehow feel the caffeine coursing through my blood almost immediately and this makes me feel happy and alive. My background music as a protagonist would be the harmonious clink of my glass mason jar, metal straw, and ice cubes from my coffee. Those are just a few sensations I'm delivering as an artist to your heart as you view "Caffeinated Me". 

But wait -- there's more. I've only talked about the coffee so far, folks. Let's talk about fashion. I love wearing my hijab, it's my religious head garment, and coordinating it with my outfits adds an extra element of fun and texture. Having my hijab be jersey, chiffon, cotton, or rayon is exciting to me. Playing with textures of my hijab to contrast and complement my fashion is something I've struggled with previously, but have come to love immensely. The texture is so important in fashion and art because "physical textures affect how a piece feels to the hand, but they also affect how it looks." (Lupton) Through my developing artistic style, I've never lost the love of line work. Linework brings me joy and it also brings my art the texture it needs to portray my beautiful hijab and clothes. 

I also created "Purple Mind" digitally on my iPad using Procreate. This art is inspired by my love of water, sunsets, marine biology, and the term/book: Blue Mind. I've linked a TedxTalk by the author. Quite briefly: blue mind is a concept that scientifically explains why we feel calm, relaxed, and happier when you are near, in, on, or underwater.

Purple Mind

This scenery I created captures the texture of the cloudy sky at sunset that looks like blended cotton candy and it seamlessly blends into the depths of the water with calm waves. When I look at this art, my shoulders relax and I feel happy. The water's reflection of the sky brings a harmonious balance to the art despite their contrasting textures.

I wonder: how did you feel looking at these two very different artworks? How were they perceived by your cultural relationship with these elements?

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed reading about my sensational living -- to support my endeavors as an artist please check out my Instagram. I've linked both pictures to their respected Instagram posts.

Quotes from "Graphic Design" by Ellen Lupton.