Entry posted by Jean Valjean
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In celebration of this once-in-a-century moment, decided to this old piece of art I pursued when I was a junior taking Independent Art. Free to do whatever I pleased, I did nothing but large portraits of figures whose presence I found powerful, as well as various art commissions. This one, Deo et Maria, was completed on Easter morning at my mother's house.
Many people assumed that, given that my mother is Catholic, this was meant for her. It wasn't. This was entirely for myself as a piece that would eventually be hung up on a wall in my future home, which was the objective of much of my junior year art. I still really wish to complete another large batch of art to decorate my home someday, but this provides a worthy example of my initial run, of which I have good - if not frustrating - memories.
I was inspired by another picture, although I added my own details and changed a few to match a vision I had, especially the shape of the eyes. It's not entirely original, but it still feels like my own creation because I put all that work into it.
In fact, doubly so. An aunt asked if she could by it, and I turned her offer down. Then she asked if I could draw it again, and I decided I would. It was tough work, but I recreated the entire piece, down to every last detail. Some people said that they were identical, although I shook my head. The other version has a different understanding of the texture and a different approach to its awareness of light tones, and for me the difference is as clear as light and day (which is a fitting term). I got payed two hundred dollars for the new piece, and it was a pleasure to add that to my list of firsts.
There are also details that viewers of my online portfolio will never see. The detail is watered down with this scan, and the original picture was two feet tall with a lot of surface area to work with. The outer rim of the halo was outlined with a reflective gold ink, and the trinity symbols on the shoulders used a reflective silver marker that either disappeared or popped out like supernovas depending on how the light hit them.
Amid a plethora of other gigantic art pieces, I entered this into a district art show. There was a lot of good stuff, and I respected the comptetition. The man who would later become an art professor of mine had a lot to say about a lot of the art, but to my surprise he gave this the prize for the drawing section. I now have this nice little trophy that I was able to claim to my name during my senior year graduation party (although I still wish I could achieve other things in life, like my cousin and best friend). The trophy doesn't mean much to me, though. That's not something that's going to decorate my someday house.
Meanwhile, that is all I have to say for today. There were plenty of oldies but goodies to choose from as I was considering what to show everyone, but this stood out because it bears a strong sense of iconography, much like my current art piece which I intend to both start and finish today in celebration of the twelfth day of the twelfth month of the twelfth year of the new millennium. Wish me luck, and I will be seeing you tomorrow.
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