2021-2022 AP pieces
My sustained investigation is on music and the way it can affect us and make us feel. Music often makes people feel a vast range of emotions and often people have different interpretations for different songs so I also try to focus only on what I think/feel when listening to the songs I choose rather than what other people might think/feel. Each piece is based on a specific song that resonates with me. I try to capture what I feel while listening to the song using either the background music, lyrics, or both. When I started this year I used many mediums for my works and by the 4th I switched to using acrylic paint for all of them. I preferred using one medium and I like the way acrylic paint looks and how it feels to paint with it.
Two Moons
9.5" by 14"
Sharpie, Acrylic Paint, Colored Pencil
The first piece for my 2021-2022 AP class was inspired by the song "Two Moons" by BoyWithUke. For this I used acrylic paint for the background and gold outline, colored pencil for the planet, and sharpie for the body. Due to the title of the song being "Two Moons" I decided to make this piece space themed. More specifically to the title I decided to give the main subject the planet Mars for its head because of the fact that Mars has two moons. I tried to make the piece seem fairly calm because the song is a soft and somewhat quiet song. I made a majority of the colors warm colors and made the cool colors in the back stand out less to try and achieve a calm atmosphere to it.
Something Changed
10.5" by 14.5"
Water color, Acrylic paint, Graphite, Colored pencil
This piece was based on the song "Something Changed" by Creep-p. For this I used watercolor for the background, acrylic paint for the eye and the outline around the person, pen for the words, graphite for the person, and colored pencil for the blood. This song has a very paranoid vibe that I tried to capture in this piece. The line "something changed" repeats 81 times so I wrote it in the background that many times. I made it monochromatic except for the blood to give it a darker feeling and draw emphasis to the blood. I also added the eye to make it more unsettling.
Giants
11" by 15"
Acrylic paint, graphite, watercolor
This piece was based on the song "Giants" by Imagine Dragons. For this piece I used acrylic paint for the background, watercolor and pen for the hands, graphite for the person, and chalk pastels for the puff of blood. The song I chose for this gives me the feeling of falling into darkness so I tried to replicate that feeling in the piece. One of the lyrics is "Coming up for air in the deepest of deep ends" which was the inspiration for the ocean. I also added the hands to seem like they are pulling the figure further down into darkness.
Daniel in the Den
15" by 23"
Acrylic paint
This piece is based on the song "Daniel in the Den" by Bastille. This piece was done with acrylic paint. This song's lyrics are about the biblical story of Daniel. I didn’t know this before I started the piece so what I painted has nothing to do with the lyrics, more about the background music of the song. When I listen to the song and ignore the lyrics it seems hopeful. For this piece it might be harder for others to connect the song to the art because it is very specific to how I hear it and it has no influence from the lyrics unlike my other pieces.
Overdose
15" by 23"
acrylic paint
This piece is based on the song "Overdose" by Grandson. I used acrylic paint for this piece. To me this song feels somewhat angry and hopeless. Originally the smoke the figure was breathing out was supposed to just be regular smoke but I decided to change that and make it a mess of colors to try to show that helplessness.
Waterfalls Coming out your mouth
15" by 23"
Acrylic Paint
This piece is based on the song "Waterfalls Coming Out Your Mouth" by Glass Animals. For this piece I used acrylic paint and hot glue for the drips in the background. I also decided to use colors that are from the album cover as the main colors, mainly the blue and pink colors.
Earth Boy
15" by 23"
Acrylic paint
This piece is based on the song "Earth Boy" by Tony22. I used acrylic paint for this piece. To me this song has a kind of sad and dark vibe to it. The background music and singing are pretty soft so I tried to match that energy in some of the colors I used in the hand. I also tried to make it look almost like the hand was reaching out to the Earth but it was just out of reach so it feels more hopeless.
The Search
15" by 23"
Acrylic paint
This piece is based on the song "The Search" by NF. I used acrylic paint for this piece. This song follows the singer as he talks about having a breakdown and trying to find a way out of it. I choose to show the faces in shards of a mirror to symbolize how sometimes people get trapped in their minds. I also choose to make the hands red because red symbolizes anger and the song has a bit of an angry vibe to it.
Way Less Sad
15" by 23"
Acrylic paint
This piece is based on the song "Way Less Sad" by AJR. I used acrylic paint for this piece and card stock for the clock hands. I decided to try and use some more symbolism in this piece because I haven’t been using any. I did a flower, bluebird, and the color yellow to symbolize happiness and a blue-ish color on the shirt for sadness.
A Sadness runs through him
15" by 23"
Acrylic paint, yarn
This piece is based on the song "A Sadness Runs Through Him" by The Hoosiers. I used acrylic paint for this piece and blue yarn for the string. For this piece I decided to base it pretty heavily on the title with the blue yarn representing the sadness. I also decided to make the figure monochromatic and the background a solid color to make the yarn stand out more.
Dynasty
15" by 23"
Acrylic paint
This piece is based on the song "Dynasty" by Miia. It was done in acrylic paint. One of the lyrics in the song is "And all I gave you is gone; Tumbled like it was stone" which is what inspired the figure turning into stone and falling apart.
Housewife Radio
15" by 23"
acrylic paint
This piece is based on the song "Housewife Radio" by Ghost and Pals. It is in acrylic paint with staples in the eyelids and yarn over the mouth. This is another piece that was based more on the feel of the song rather than the lyrics. The song has a sort of unsettling vibe to it so I tried to match that in this painting. I chose not to add pupils to the eyes and have the eyes stapled open and mouth stitched shut to try and give it the same feeling as the song.
Stuff is Way
15" by 23"
acrylic paint
This piece is based on the song "Stuff is Way" by They Might Be Giants. It was done in acrylic paint. I based this piece on the lyrics because the lyrics of the song are basically a bunch of random words jumbled together, like the title. I decided to make the facial features of the figure mixed up and moved around to try and match the lyrics.
Me and the Devil
15" by 23"
acrylic paint
This piece is based on the song "Me and the Devil" by Soap&Skin. I used acrylic paint for it. I decided to try and make this piece based on the title. I was originally going to have the shadow interacting with the main figure more but due to time constraints I decided to just make it a shadow.
