作品描述

From the Nest

I began this painting because I thought the hawk was beautiful. As I continued to paint, this became a major artwork for me in many ways. First, I felt that she had returned to her nest to find it empty, as though she couldn’t quite accept that her home was already gone. Being an expat has left me with very complicated feelings about “home” and my “nest”, which I felt keenly in this painting.

Another breakthrough for me was the use and control of the layers of paint. My style depends heavily on layers now. To be able to control the level of detail, range of color, thickness of paint, and overall focus while introducing more compositional elements was a growth-spurt for me in my work. These skills were at their beginning in this painting, and since that painting I have continued to develop them to better express whatever idea I am trying to portray in the image. I have learned more about both planning layers and colors well, as well as following them as they develop in their own way.

Though in the end I felt quite happy with the result, during the process of painting there were many moments that I was met with self-doubt, and wanted to throw the piece away because it looked like a failure at that point. Through this experience I learned that paintings, like people, go through awkward stages in which it is hard to see if they will turn out well. This understanding has helped me to persevere in all my paintings since then, to not give up or abandon the painting just because it’s in a bad stage, as I used to do with many paintings. Strangely, this has also taught me a new confidence in my work, that if I just persevere, eventually it will come out right. Before, whenever my painting was in an awkward stage, I would feel so defeated and useless, wanting to just give up in painting altogether. Now, I understand that even if a painting is in a tough stage, or if it doesn’t come out right, that I can keep moving forward, and eventually something good will come out of it. I think this is essential to being an artist, and to being successful in any pursuit that is worth taking on. No matter what goal or skill you choose to pursue, keep working hard and keep up hope, especially when you hit the inevitable rough stages where giving up seems like a good idea! In the end, it will come out in ways better than you ever imagined.

我当时决定开始画这幅画是因为我觉得这只鹰很漂亮。之后，这个作品的意象成为了我艺术作品的主要灵感来源。这只猎鹰回到了她的巢穴，发现里面是空的，好像她不能完全接受她的家已经消失了。因为自己是个侨民，所以我对“家”和“窝”的感受非常复杂，在表达这幅画时我深有感触。

对我来说，另一个突破是对颜料层的使用和控制。我的风格现在在很大程度上取决于分层。能够在引入更多构图元素的同时控制细节水平、颜色范围、颜料厚度和整体焦点，这对我的创作来说是一种成长。这些技能是从画这幅画的时候开始，把它画完之后我继续发展这些技术，以更好地表达我在图像中描绘的想法。我已经了解了更多关于规划图层和颜色的知识，以及任由它们以自己的方式发展。

虽然最后我对结果还是挺满意的，但在画画的过程中，也有很多自我怀疑的时候。例如会把这幅作品扔掉的想法，因为当时看起来很失败。通过这次经历，我了解到绘画和人一样，在发展过程肯定会经历尴尬的阶段，在这个阶段很难看到它们是否最后能发展得好。这种理解帮助我从那时起在我所有的画中都坚持不懈，不会因为画得不好就放弃或绝望，就像我以前放弃了很多画一样。奇怪的是，这也让我对自己进行创作有了新的信心，只要坚持下去，最终就会有好的结果。以前，每当我的绘画处于尴尬的阶段时，我都会感到很挫败和无用，想彻底放弃绘画。现在，我明白了，即使一幅画在艰难的阶段，或者画得不好，我也可以继续前进，最终会有好的效果出来。我认为这对于成为一名艺术家以及在任何值得进行的追求中取得成功至关重要。无论你选择追求什么目标或技能，要继续努力并保持希望，尤其是当你遇到放弃似乎是个好主意的不可避免的艰难阶段时！最后，它会以比你想象的更好的方式出现。