Welcome!
My name is Grace Oney. I am currently 17 years old. I have enjoyed art for many years, and have just recently started studying it in school. I love art because it allows me to express myself in a way that words cannot. Art is like poetry, it is ideas and beauty all wrapped in one. I love acrylics and oil paints especially because you can add texture and make it seem close, almost like you can reach out and touch what is inside the painting.
Artist Statement
I am inspired by nature. Most of my works include some form of life, typically flowers or mountains. Nature is innately beautiful, and shows a passion that cannot be formulated through structures or any other art form. The difficulty is capturing that movement, the life that shines through. I often place a sun in my work. This is one of the simplest forms of life, and I enjoy painting or drawing it because it makes everything so much happier. I enjoy spending time outside because it gives me time to study the flow of colors, line, and movement around me. I have enjoyed art since I was very young, starting around age 8. My favorite medium to this day is acrylics, although I do enjoy other paints, such as water colors. My Grandmother taught me to water color when I was young, and these techniques have helped me to become a better artist.
The piece I have selected to showcase is one I completed last year in my Art II class. It’s an acrylic work titled Life. The work covers three canvases each 16” x 20”. The works flows horizontally with the center canvas a negative of the others. While the end pieces feature life, the center shows death. It is removable, you can take it out and the picture flows as if it was never there. All three pieces can be separate, but come together to flow beautifully. I chose to showcase this piece because it shows my love of nature and how it can express your feelings. The work features a path, once that goes through the ‘life’ and ‘death.’ It shows how one can walk through good times and bad, and come out alright.
My idea is to show life through my works. This means the good and bad, but in a positive light. I want to encourage people with my work. My inspiration, as I have already stated, is nature. I always incorporate it in my work, and I believe it has the ability to show people how beautiful life is. I want people to take away from my work feelings of appreciation for life, and a sense of peace. My finished work features this by showing a path that goes from good to bad and back to good. It shows that no matter how hard a time is in life, it is always possible to walk through and end on the right side of life.
I used certain elements and principles in order to bring together my ideas and show them to the world. Specifically, I used lines, color, and balance. The lines show the path moving further away from the viewer. The color shows depth, and variety. And finally, it is balanced by the cool colors on both sides. These all come together in order to communicate the feeling of peace, and a willingness to walk through difficult times.
As an artist, I was trying to convey positive emotions. This helps to instill peace in someone. The cool colors help to relax a viewer, while the warm colors show contrast. The message, as I’ve repeated several times, is walking through tough times. This is congruent with the title Life as everyone has a place that is difficult. I believe my work helps to encourage people to keep on going.
I enjoyed working on this piece because it was entirely focused on nature. I love being able to focus on nature because it just flows for me. While I completed this work quickly, I believe it shows my skill as an artist. It shows my appreciation and skill in working with nature, especially through the color and detail. It is a successful work of art because it coveys my feeling, message, and skill. It represents my ideas and appreciation of life and the beauty of nature.
I have progressively gotten better at showing my ideas through nature, and I believe this work represents that well. I am currently working on a water color painting, and when I am completed with it, I believe it will be my best work yet. I love nature and everything it holds. I hope to encourage people with my art, and I hope you enjoy looking at my pieces.
