My artwork can usually fall into three categories; repression, "freedom", and things that I think are cool.
With repression I try to stick with grayscale, monochromatic, or generally dull color schemes. Usually, if I'm using ink, I won't use any color. The worlds I make with repression in mind are usually horrific and endless, like hallways with no end or rooms with no doors and as much oppressive black space as possible. I want nonsensical architecture that goes on forever, but to keep the theme of being restricted I will keep a format that reflects that. If an artwork I make about repression has color, it will at the very least be in a very boxy format. I won't make a custom shape for it like I would for a "freedom" piece, and will use a regular canvas or piece of paper to portray a sense of feeling trapped.
I do the opposite with "freedom" pieces, heavy quotations on the freedom part. It isn't completely about freedom, but rather the consequences that come from not repressing certain parts of yourself. I try to think of using color as something expanding inside the people I paint. I Think about oil spills in gas station parking lots, Pediatricians offices, and what colors I think angels would be made of and I go from there. Either way I want to show something uncomfortable. I use paint and 3-d aspects more often in this group of work to give the sense of something overwhelming.
I want so much repression in a piece that it feels suffocating, or so much freedom that it feels like something is being torn to shreds. I like to make pieces where non-organic things look like they can die, and people and flowers look weak and malleable in comparison. I think a lot about how the bible gives directions on how to cure a house with leprosy.
The cure requires cruelty against birds and a "scarlet string".
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