2023 Paint Your Heart and Soul (PYHAS)

2023 Paint Your Heart and Soul (PYHAS) - Week 1 Work

PYHAS is a full year course with a weekly lesson that I've signed up for. Week 1 just wrapped up with guest instructor, Russell Miyaki. I enjoyed the lesson that spotlighted Basquiat's work as inspiration and encouraged the use of cereal boxes as substrate (a nice way of recycling them).

For my piece, I used the fully-opened cardboard shipping wrap that one of my newly-printed Blurb books had been packed in. For imagery, I recalled that Basquiat did a painting with a Dizzy Gillespie (trumpeter) figure. Since I also played that instrument, my project has a female horn player in it plus lots of decoration. The tools used included acrylic paints, Posca Pens, glistter glue, scrapbook paper, gold and silver Sakura Pen-Touch markers, and velcro.

As I was working, there were moments when I didn't know what to do next. In the face of that unknowing, I just kept pushing on and doing something--because it could be painted over if I didn't like it.

This piece is a type of blended self-portrait in terms of where I've been, where I am now and what I look forward to in 2023...integration in all its facets!

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Cay Denise

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