Title:Split Flower
Size: 16 x 20 inches
Medium: Acrylic paint on canvas
Summary: It started simply with the butterfly trying to save the caterpillar who was not ready to fly yet. Through the painting process the plant with two different flowers started, which represent the two different feelings that were felt while trying to drag the caterpillar away.
Write-Up: This is one of the first paintings I created with a purpose and a clear message behind it. I had something to say that I didn’t want to put into exact words. I was not ready for that yet in this situation.
I chose the yellow background as a way to hide what I thought was dark. This painting is about an internal struggle and I did not want to be honest about that fact. However, when the background was just yellow it felt like too much of a lie. I added shades of splattered red to give a messier feeling; this is about a struggle even if I wanted to hide some of that fact.
In this painting I split the canvas in half diagonally. The lower half has the darker flower, with a darker explosion of feelings behind it. It is also underlined with an unnatural dark green fire that is almost translucent.
The top right half is lighter. The flower has more white in it and the feelings behind the flower are light pinks, yellows, and white. There is also cleansing and peaceful lavender water dripping down.
The main focus is the butterfly who is trying to rescue a caterpillar. The caterpillar itself is basic with only stripes, but the butterfly’s wings are complex with different layers and sections.
This panting represents my struggles to accept that the person who I wanted to love was not ready or not interested in the change I had gone through. I was different and happy with becoming a Christian and felt as though I was given a new life. I was a new being and wanted him to be one too. I wanted to rescue him from what he was, instead of letting him find his own way.