3x4 ft.

Oil on canvas

 

The cast:

"Circus" was my first semester final for my painting class. I had never painted anything so large, so it was quite intimidating--especially since I had personally made the strainer and stretched the canvas. We had the option between three elaborate set-ups, and I was most attracted to the red curtain of this one. I immediately knew that I wanted to create a whimsical feeling as I painted. My professor later on gave us instructions to move an object, remove an object, and add an object of our choice. After getting rid of a metal tin on the box and shuffling a cone over, I made room for painting a carousel music box from my childhood. It was challenging to paint it from memory, but I wanted an appropriate feature to complete the cast of my circus.

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The crew:

This still life embodies my intrigue with childhood nostalgia and playfulness, letting the three primary colors take precedence in order to go back to the basics. It avoids overly complicated details and fussiness to visually represent the sentiment of "ignorance is bliss." With the aid of the draping striped curtain that seems to call on the imagery of a red circus tent, I stretched the idea to give the still life a lively atmosphere of a performance.