Emotions series

Early in my undergraduate career I had a very defining point where I was struggling to answer the question, What? Watching my colleagues find their niche as artists made me force myself to find mine. Now equipped with the vague knowledge and abilities and plethora of resources to learn, I knew I would be able to explore any avenue of Fine Arts.

Not only was I at a defining point in my artistic career, I was also at a trying time in my personal life. I was struggling. By a very wise and trusted mentor, I was advised simply to "paint what I feel". From baring heart ache, to learning about the responsibilities (and consequences) of becoming an adult, these paintings express what I couldn't in words. To learn more about my story, check out my first blog post.

Emotions Series: A Deeper Understanding

They are all custom framed, stretched 48" x 48" canvas of raw interpretations of what my adolescent self was going through emotionally and mentally at the time. Ahh, to be 20.

Please enjoy,

Kayla Jenkins

Emotions_007/ 2012

Latex paint on Canvas. 50"x 50".
Original $300

By the time I completed this work, spring was in full effect, I was only dipping my toes into the pool of experimenting with technique. The color shifts in this piece are truly memorizing. Layers of paint succeed others in such a way that it adds a multi-dimension sense of depth. The diamond- like figure placed just so to force your eye back to the foreground, and yet again into the intersecting lines. Materials used in this piece include latex paint mixed with colored inks.

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Emotions_005/2012

Latex paint on Canvas. 50"x 50".
Original $500
Prints $85-$285

STOP! If you haven't read the description for Emotion_004, do that first!
So, Ive pulled my paint covered canvas up off the floor that would eventually become Emotions_004, and Im left with a sheet of plastic covered in paint that actually, looks really cool. If you're familiar with printmaking, you may have heard of the term, "ghost-print". A ghost print happens after you've made any print, without re-inking your board, you make a new print, to create a faded sort of look, and that's exactly what I did here. I added some water to help my paint flow and laid another piece of canvas down. This time, after it was dried and stretched I did a lot of extra paintings, emphasizing the movements that were already present. I absolutely love how this piece turned out.

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Emotions_004/2012

Latex paint on Canvas. 48"x 48".
Original Sold
Print $85-$285

By the time I created this piece, I had overcome so much, mentally and emotionally. Winters are always hard for me but this one was especially difficult. In retrospect though, whatever strifes I may have faced were chiseling me into the artist I was going to become. I was starting to finally tiptoe into the boundaries of my raw creativity and especially excited to try new techniques. I bought a large rolls of plastic, laid it on the floor, poured paint all over it laid another, unstretched piece of canvas down over it, almost like a print. After I stretched it I used some different colored Bombay inks to liven up the details. This technique has stuck with me over the years. I liked letting the paint do what it wanted to do.

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Emotions_003/2012

Latex paint on Canvas. 50"x 50".
Original $200
Prints $85-$285

I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I stood in front of this blank canvas. Can you guess my mindset here? These big, fluid gestures intertwining across the piece are summon you to a calm, deep breath. Things in my life were finally working themselves out. I wasn't so worried anymore, for whatever reason, and my new sense of understanding was made apparent here.

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Emotions_002/2012

Latex paint on Canvas. 50"x 50".
Original $200

I probably should have named this piece, panic or something of the sort, because that was definitely the emotion while creating this. I was in jeopardy of the time at not completing my degree and feeling very uncertain about the future. Another piece created with layers of latex paint.

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Emotions_001/2012

Latex paint on Canvas. 50"x 50".
Original Not for Sale
Prints $85-$285

It's funny how our perception of things change over time. My feelings about this piece are no exception. I painted this with such raw emotion. I was certainly heart broken at the time, coming upon Valentine's Day- I remember drawing the sketch of this like it was yesterday. It felt like my entire soul was gushing out onto the page with grief. Today, this painting hangs in my bedroom. It truly signifies the journey of love for me. I reminds me where I've been and how incredible lucky I am to be where I am now. This piece was not only the start of a series, but of a healing process. I used watered down latex paints for the heart, and a heavy bodied paint for the rib, Francis Baconesque structures.

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