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Persona New Artwork 2021
Persona a figurative series
2021 SHELTER IN PLACE | COVID-19 SERIES
In March 2020 I began my Shelter In Place | Covid-19 Series. So many things have been taken away from us this year: lives of those who died from covid-19, the fear of catching it, unemployment, stability lost, wearing masks to save lives, sheltering in place, not seeing family, injustice, civil unrest, and the list goes on and on. So, I decided to focus continue my artwork on what brings JOY in my life: the human body in motion through dance and color. Originally wanted to create 19 new pieces standing for Covid-19. Needless to say, I have pasted that number with over 40 new works and growing. My hope it that my work brings you a bit of joy during these hard times.
Persona is a personal reflection that focuses on the harmony of the body and the soul: the physical versus the spiritual, represented sometimes as one, sometimes as individuals. I try to blend the idealism of the human form in combination and contrast with the variety of people – people seen through the lens of reality varying in shape, size, and form. I like to use a lot of color, movement, and spontaneity in my compositions.
My process for creating my Persona: A Figurative Digital Art Series compositions start with working in traditional art mediums: drawing, painting, and most recently watercolor done during Life Drawing sessions from models. Once my figurative studies are complete I then scan my work into the computer. I use Illustrator to create my digital composition silhouettes by hand on the computer adjusting each point, line and curve to create the shapes and forms of figures intertwined and frozen in time. Once I am happy with the silhouettes and the negative shapes that the black background creates I transfer the silhouettes into Photoshop. In Photoshop I then take my scanned figurative studies and use a photomontage technique for the interior space of the digital silhouettes. By inserting and using the scans of my work I preserve the strokes, lines, and bleeds that traditional art mediums produce. This process can result in having up to and over 150 layers of figures within each digital composition highlighting my concept of blending the idealism of the human form (the silhouetted figures) in combination and contrast with reality (my scanned work). Once I am happy with the photomontage process I sometimes choose to play around with the colors, levels, effects, etc. to express my thoughts for each composition. I then print out my composition (usually multiple times with variations) to perfect the print color till I get a print of my vision.
SUSAN SEARWAY ART & DESIGN © 2022
