"Size of the Hole in the Ozone Since 1980"
"I love the way you paint the sky"
"Hey, Hey, Donald J. How Many Kids Did You Cage Today?"
"Average Global Sea Surface Temperature 1880-2015"
"Global Temperature Since 1880"
"Global Temperature Since 1880: A Warning"
"Size of the Hole in the Ozone Since 1980"30x40 inches, oil and embroidery on canvas, 2019One of three paintings done for my BFA thesis.In recent reports, 2040 has been named as the ultimate deadline for mitigating climate change; it is a global threat and will impact every living thing on the Earth if we do not act now. Now is the most important time to act and voice our frustrations- we must educate everyone on the problems at hand. As an artist who is focusing on my role as artist as citizen, it is an opportunity to address these issues that matter so much and that I care about with my artwork. My work is focused on social justice and activist oriented painting, specifically focusing on Environmentalism, as it has been an interest of mine for as long as I can remember. I grew up in the Adirondack Park in Upstate New York, part of New York State’s Forest Preserve. I lived on such beautiful land, and it broke my heart to think of it devastated. To make a difference, raise awareness, and emotionally impact the viewer over the loss of the beauty of nature, I created this series of landscapes in oil, all of different environments, with embroidery on the canvas with red thread graphs of statistics about global warming. I am combining the two mediums in this series in order to give a subtle but hard to ignore message about the environment. The imposed statistics on the realistically done landscapes give a sense of urgency to the work, and warns that the landscapes will soon be gone if we do not take action. These paintings act as a combination of art and activism, and have a political social justice message. Through realistic representation, I draw the viewer’s attention to environmental issues, creating a space of beauty so the information presented is emotionally impactful.Each graph acts as its own landscape within the traditional landscape - the ups and downs of the information look like mountains and valleys or waves. It can also act as a heartbeat, representing the life force of nature itself, and how it may flatline if we do not take care of it. The red color of the thread stands out quietly against the landscape, and is the universal sign for ‘warning’. It is not immediately noticeable, but grabs the viewer’s attention as they come closer, becoming impossible to ignore, much like climate change.
"I love the way you paint the sky"“I love the way you paint the sky” 12 inches x 12 inches, oil and cotton embroidery thread on canvasLandscape painting of the view from my former apartment in Manchester, New Hampshire. This piece was created out of the heartbreak at the end of a 9 year relationship, so I wanted to reimagine the concept of a landscape as a symbol of a person, inextricably linked with their memory. I wanted this painting to take place at sunset, reflecting on what it means for the sun to set on something - signifying the end of a day, a relationship, a chapter of your life.Embroidered words “So I’ll watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleep And I feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe” by Taylor Swift, from her song “Last Kiss’.
"Hey, Hey, Donald J. How Many Kids Did You Cage Today?"“Hey, Hey, Donald J. How Many Kids Did You Cage Today?” is inspired by the chants during protests outside of the White House against the Vietnam War in the 1970’s. This piece was created in response to the racist policies against immigrants by the Trump administration, specifically their practice of separating families at the border, use of concentration camps, and putting children into cages. I use the landscape as a symbol of what we share - the Earth - and how trivial it is to have borders one cannot cross on our planet. The beauty of the desert landscape that we share is contrasted by a wall cutting through it, even separating two cacti which seem to be reaching out to one another, and the heartbreak of knowing the cruel practices that go on in this seemingly peaceful and tranquil landscape.
"Average Global Sea Surface Temperature 1880-2015"2021, 16x12 inches, oil and embroidery thread on canvasWarming of the world’s oceans is just one of the indicators of the severity of the climate crisis; warmer seas can drastically alter and destroy ecosystems. Because oceans continuously interact with the atmosphere, sea surface temperature can have profound effects on global climate. Increases in sea surface temperature can lead to an increase in atmospheric water vapor over oceans. This water vapor feeds weather systems that produce precipitation, increasing the risk of heavy rain and snow, and shift storm tracks, which contributes to droughts in some areas (EPA). I embroidered this piece with fine gold thread to symbolize the fragility of nature, and that the environment is priceless - worth more than gold. The top and bottom lines of the graph represent the range of uncertainty, as the frequency of samples taken and methods used to measure the ocean temperature have evolved over time.
"Global Temperature Since 1880"30x40 inches, oil and embroidery on canvas, 2019One of three paintings done for my BFA thesis.In recent reports, 2040 has been named as the ultimate deadline for mitigating climate change; it is a global threat and will impact every living thing on the Earth if we do not act now. Now is the most important time to act and voice our frustrations- we must educate everyone on the problems at hand. As an artist who is focusing on my role as artist as citizen, it is an opportunity to address these issues that matter so much and that I care about with my artwork. My work is focused on social justice and activist oriented painting, specifically focusing on Environmentalism, as it has been an interest of mine for as long as I can remember. I grew up in the Adirondack Park in Upstate New York, part of New York State’s Forest Preserve. I lived on such beautiful land, and it broke my heart to think of it devastated. To make a difference, raise awareness, and emotionally impact the viewer over the loss of the beauty of nature, I created this series of landscapes in oil, all of different environments, with embroidery on the canvas with red thread graphs of statistics about global warming. I am combining the two mediums in this series in order to give a subtle but hard to ignore message about the environment. The imposed statistics on the realistically done landscapes give a sense of urgency to the work, and warns that the landscapes will soon be gone if we do not take action. These paintings act as a combination of art and activism, and have a political social justice message. Through realistic representation, I draw the viewer’s attention to environmental issues, creating a space of beauty so the information presented is emotionally impactful.Each graph acts as its own landscape within the traditional landscape - the ups and downs of the information look like mountains and valleys or waves. It can also act as a heartbeat, representing the life force of nature itself, and how it may flatline if we do not take care of it. The red color of the thread stands out quietly against the landscape, and is the universal sign for ‘warning’. It is not immediately noticeable, but grabs the viewer’s attention as they come closer, becoming impossible to ignore, much like climate change.
"Global Temperature Since 1880: A Warning"20x24 inches, oil and embroidery on canvas, 2018
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