In Advanced Painting I at Marywood, we are beginning the second project, which explores different artists within their respective movements. The task is to choose an artistic movement—such as Expressionism, Cubism, Impressionism, etc.—and create a piece as if you were an artist actively working in that movement. I chose the Pop Art movement, which emerged in the 1950s and ’60s, characterized by imagery from pop culture like advertising, comics, movies, and everyday life. This movement focused on simplified forms, bold colors, and aimed at a mass audience by blending traditional techniques with widely recognizable subjects. Many famous artists came from this movement, including Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, David Hockney, and Keith Haring. Another artist I’m taking a closer look at is Wayne Thiebaud. Thiebaud was an American painter known for his use of heavy pigments and exaggerated colors with well-defined shadows, often depicting commonplace objects like pies, cakes, lipsticks, paint cans, ice cream cones, pastries, and hot dogs, as well as landscapes and figure paintings.
In my approach, I decided to focus on the concept of mass recognition and shared experiences. I chose eggs as my subject, a standard grocery item that many people buy, making a comment on our current economy and inflation. To push this idea further, I covered the canvas with receipts as a base layer and then painted over them.
Here is the sketch of my idea:
I’ve chosen a mixed media approach that includes paper collage, paint, and various drawing mediums. The open egg carton displays bright colors and textures relevant to the Pop Art movement, along with the familiarity of the object. The orange and blue create a high contrast that plays with the eye, and the red outlines that allow the image to pop out are reminiscent of Wayne Thiebaud’s work.