Elements of Art: Personal Assessment

Water

I am forever drawn to water. Oceans, lakes, streams, waterfalls, rain... the list could go on. Water can be peaceful, quaint, and quiet. It could also be loud, roaring, and consuming. Either way, water is a force to be reckoned with. It can save your life, as well as bring an abrupt end to it. An immaculate ecosystem lives under the water that I love so much. Sea mammals and thousands of creatures dance and swim under our boats, kayaks, and canoes. I mentioned in my previous blog post that I am most interested in art that involves water and sea creatures. I have a couple of personal favorite artists, but my most treasured one is a woman named Brianna Reagen. 

Brianna Reagen Art

Brianna Reagen lives in the same small town as I do, Fairbanks, Alaska. She and her family are frequent customers at the coffee hut I work at. She is an absolutely lovely person, with a beautiful family, and a breathtakingly talented mind for her artwork. She specializes in drawings and painting of animals, women, sea creatures, and geographic art. I have a print of one of her paintings hanging in my bathroom, and it's one of my favorite pieces of all time. Titled "Salty", a slender women with soft brown hair and pink lips appears stoic while wrapped up by an immaculate octopus. You can only see what's below her nose, but she gives the impression that she is calm and collected, even under the grips of the octopus' tentacles. By studying the painting, it is safe to conclude that she is one with the octopus. The sea creature protects her, and she protects it. She is safe, and in her element. She is effortlessly beautiful and strong enough to withstand the grips of her protector. A copy of this painting is attached below. 

Salty

Salty was created in Fairbanks, Alaska in 2016. I found this information from her official art page on Facebook (Brianna Reagen Art. https://www.facebook.com/Brianna-Reagan-Art-167463019963577/?ref=page_internal). Salty was one of the first pieces of local artwork I have purchased here in Alaska back in 2017. When I visited her website, www.briannareaganart.com, I scrolled among the many gorgeous pieces she had listed, but I utterly fell in love with the woman proudly wearing the octopus. When I look at her, she inspires me to persevere through any hardships I may face, and to carry it well as I go. She encourages me to open my heart to new faces, experiences, and more. I hope my readers enjoy this piece as much as I do. Thank you for reading. 

From, Chandler




Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 17, 2020 at 8:27 AM

    This painting is beautiful! I love the colors, lines, and shapes. The circles on the octopus really draw my eyes in. All the lines seem to be straight except for the octopus. I agree that the girl in the painting looks calm and in her element as if the octopus is protecting her. Did you use the painting in a certain room?

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  2. UnknownSeptember 17, 2020 at 9:48 PM

    Hi Chandler! I really enjoy the painting as well, there seems to be a cool sort of calmness to it, despite the warm colors. When we think of the element of color we can think of a variety of different things that are being portrayed in this piece. I noticed that there you didn't specify the elements that drew you into the piece, but I can kind of understand what this artwork means to you.

    The visual element of color as mood—as I mentioned before, even with the warm palette the artist used, it portrays a cool and calm mood, the warm pinks and browns are soothing the way we might expect blues and greens to be.

    The visual element of line—the curving lines suggest ease and comfort, which is how we see the woman with the octopus. She's comfortable and so too, is the octopus. The thin quality of the line suggests delicacy, so although she is portrayed as calm and comfortable, she seems delicate and vulnerable.

    I definitely appreciate the piece you chose as it gives us a sense of what kind of artwork resonates with you.

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  3. UnknownSeptember 21, 2020 at 4:19 PM

    Hello Chandler! I love the way you explain water. It can be quiet, peaceful, and quant, but also crashing, roaring, and destructive. Water is a force to be reckoned with and the way you explain it shows that you respect water as the force it is, along with for its beauty. From looking at your profile and reading your introduction, I feel like the work of art you chose is a strong representation of who you are and what you value in life.

    I really like that you found a local artist that you know for this blog assignment. Brianna Reagen’s art is something that I would hang in my house as well. As you stated, you can only see half of the woman’s face, but she appears to be calm and almost soothed by the octopus wrapped around her; almost as if the creature is something she adores. This work of art makes me feel calm, soothed, and almost tranquil.

    I noticed that you did not touch on the specific visual elements of this art too much. The art elements that stand out the most to me in this work are color and tone. The warm colors and tones in this work portray a calm and soothing mood. The tone of the woman’s skin against the pink octopus sets the two apart just enough but also makes it so that they go together in harmony. Another element that I noticed is lines. The sloping and curving lines in this work suggest that it was painted with ease and comfort. The lines are also small and delicate. This suggests to me that although you described her as strong, she is also delicate at the same time; kind of like water!. Overall, the elements in this work are beautiful and help make the work more vulnerable to the viewers.

    Thank you,
    Allie

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  4. UnknownSeptember 30, 2020 at 10:28 PM

    Wow I absolutely love this piece. Octopus (octopi?), are my favorite animal on the planet because of how intelligent and complex they are. This art is so "Alaskan" and cool I want to hang this on my wall.
    I also like the way you describe your love for the water and all the life it possesses. I am inspired, and terrified by the ocean and all it holds so I thoroughly enjoyed seeing someone else hold a similar fascination!

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