Comfort Archive

a place to compile my archive of images that inspire me to be more creative

[comfortarchive]

11. San Marcos River

Pictured is underneath the bridge that crosses over the San Marcos River. I took the trail on the right of the frame for a walk as I studied all the colors around me. Whenever I got to this point in the walk I had to take a break just to sit down and admire my environment. This was easily my favorite point in the walk. The shade was a nice break from the heat of the sun, the view was beautiful, I felt a sense of kinship with the other people in this picture just by being out that day and taking in the environment. Overall, I just had a wonderful time.

I keep a small sketchbook in my bag for times like these where I know I need to capture my surroundings, and this scene was one that inspired me to take it down in that sketchbook. I'm hoping to take many more scenes like this down in my sketchbook to look back on one day.

[comfortarchive]

10. Shopping in Lucca by Norman Bean, Graphite on Paper

One Saturday, I was driving around gathering up things to bring on a picnic I was planning for my partner and I and I stumbled upon what I thought was a farmers market. I decided to make a stop because it was nice outside and I thought it would be nice to take a walk. When I got there I had realized it was an art drive. Norman Bean was a man I met walking through the booths checking out everyone's art. We started to have a conversation about all the places he had travelled and his artistic journey. He was an incredibly kind man and really encouraged me to keep with my artistic endeavors. Bean mainly dabbled in graphite with a bit of colored pencil. I really love how his style is unique. It's almost as if you're looking through a carnival mirror. That eccentric feeling is something I want to implement in my future pieces. Next time I go to the art drive I'm picking up another one of his works.

[comfortarchive]

9. Foreboding by Julie Curtiss, Acrylic and Oil on Canvas

Julie Curtiss is an artist I studied for Art Theory. I had to create an assignment revolving around a central theme. Most of Curtiss's pieces involve hair and never show the face of the person pictured. She focuses on the main theme of the grotesque. The mysterious aura of her paintings come as a big inspiration to me as I focus on surrealism in a lot of my works. Another aspect of Curtiss's works that I am inspired by would be her use of color. All pigments in her paintings are deep and bright, something I strive to replicate in my art as well. I absolutely adored learning about Curtiss. Visually, her paintings are wonderful to look at, and conceptually, her aspirations and the meanings behind her paintings were eye opening. Curtiss is a great inspiration to me for these reasons.

[comfortarchive]

8. Jojo Embroidery

Madelyn has been one of my best friends for longer than I can remember. We have always bonded by watching things together. My earliest memories with her include watching Barbie movies together and making fun videos with dolls and action figures at her house. Last year we started hanging out a lot more and one of the many things we watched together was Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. We spent many long nights together binging the show together, screaming and smiling the whole way through. This was an embroidery she had made for me for my 19th birthday of symbols of my top 8 favorite characters from the series. It inspires me to be creative whenever I look at it because of the amount of creativity and care she had put into it. I keep it hanging up in my apartment so I can look at it whenever I feel uninspired or down in general. This embroidery serves as a reminder of all the good times I have shared with Madelyn. I know that she loves me with every stitch put into this piece and more, and I hope to one day make something just as special for her.

[comfortarchive]

7. Judith Slaying Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi

I had originally seen this painting on a long text post detailing Gentileschi and her life as a painter. The post talked about how her experiences as a woman influences how she interpreted certain stories through her paintings, and how her paintings showed more of the gritty emotions that come with being a woman in these stories. Judith Slaying Holofernes was compared to the painting Judith Beheading Holofernes by Caravaggio. Caravaggio had depicted Judith in his painting to be more dainty, effeminate, and disconnected with the act of beheading, the way women were supposed to be. But the way Gentileschi depicted her to be more involved in the act, making the whole scene more real and less fantastical. I will link the post from my main blog because they explain it better than I can.

Judith Slaying Holofernes and all of Gentileschi's paintings give me a sense of powerful femininity that I really enjoy. The way she paints, with muted tones and a darker values, gives me a sense of realism that I can relate to more than with other paintings of the time period. Gentileschi is one of my favorite painters for this reason.

Original post about Gentileschi's work: https://cubscoutemporio.tumblr.com/post/629829300843151360/calanoida-susanna-and-the-elders-restored

[comfortarchive]

6. Carter

This is my partner Carter. We have been together three years today. He is my entire world and I can't imagine a future without him in it. As with every relationship, there are obviously things we could improve on and roadblocks to get through, but after every roadblock we have come back even stronger as a couple. I can't necessarily put into words how much he means to me.

Carter helps me feel seen, helps me feel valuable, helps me feel comforted in my worst moments. I love you Carter. I hope I can make you feel loved as much as I feel loved by you.

[comfortarchive]

5. Sibley Park

This is a picture of a fountain at Sibley Park in Mankato Minnesota. I try to visit Mankato every year with my partner to see his grandmother. She is one of the sweetest women I have ever met, and I have been extremely sad that I haven't been able to give her a hug since the pandemic started.

Sibley Park is a park that my partner and I go to every time we're visiting his family in Minnesota. I hold many fond memories of that park, even if it is a bit run down and not much to see. The smell of the magnolia trees that grow there will always remind me of better days.

[comfortarchive]

4. SMTX

One of the things that gives me great comfort in life are humans. Knowing that there are humans all around me living their own individual lives with their own goals and aspirations makes me happy and comforts me. That's why I love the lively downtown San Marcos. I took this picture of downtown San Marcos on the perimeter of the Texas State campus. The cars, the lights on in the rooms of the apartment building, even the streetlights and roads. It all shows that there have been humans there. It's incredible to think about humanity and just how diverse and different we all are. I hope the people in the cars, the people in their apartments, and all the rest of humanity can find their happiness too.

[comfortarchive]

3. Smeagol

This is my cat Smeagol. His name comes from when he first came into my life. He was a tiny kitten that we found outside, along with another gray kitten. His voice was hoarse and raspy likely from all the screaming he had been doing looking for help after being abandoned with his brother. His small raspy meows reminded me and my mom of his namesake, who has a voice similar to the manner this new kitten spoke in.

I took this image of him last year for a larger set of images with the over arching theme of comfort. On this blog, I want to encompass the same idea of comfort, or things that give me comfort and inspire me in my art. If things are ever turbulent in my life, I know I can always come to this blog and find calm again.

[comfortarchive]

2. The Kiss by Gustav Klimt Oil on Canvas with added gold leaf, silver, and platinum. 1908. This is easily one of my favorite paintings. The bright primaries with the muted skin tone and deep black makes it extremely visually appealing. And the subject matter really speaks to me. One thing my friends and family know about me is that I love love. I have so much love to give, and too few people to give it to. I constantly have to talk to my friends, send them things, update them on the little things in my life, just for them to know that I’m thinking about them. I just want the people I care about to know how much love I have for them. This painting represents that love.

[comfortarchive]

1. Magnitude by Piper McDonald ( @pipebb ). Acrylic and Oil on canvas. 2020. 

Piper has been my best friend since 3rd grade. We grew up together, sharing our passions all throughout our childhood. I have always taken great inspiration from her artwork. This was a painting I had just recently bought from her last year. I hung it up above my desk where I work on my own artwork. I look at it often, and take great inspiration from it. The way the colors blend together, both vibrant and pastel give me a feeling of longing and accomplishment. The dried flowers, the grooves of the paint, and the confetti stars all give me a sensory experience every time I interact with it. 

I feel like this painting represents how I feel around her: comfortable, excited, and myself. Piper is the type of friend that you can talk to about anything and she would never judge you. Much like her, this painting would never judge you either.

Thanks for being a wonderful friend.