Monday, September 21, 2009

Old Fence
Emily Holland


This week I get to brag a little about my youngest daughter Emily who starts college at UC Davis today. I'm going to feature her artwork all week so you can get a glimpse inside her world through her art. All my daughters are smart and creative in their own ways, but Emily really got my "art gene" in a bad way. She has been blowing us away from an early age with her abilities to work and be successful with different media.



These are examples of her scratchboard drawings. Scratchboard, if you don't know, is thick white paper with a thin layer of black (I think clay) on top. You simply scratch away the black with a sharp tool (like an x-acto blade) to create your drawing.



This forest scene was one of her first scratchboards and it's got to be my favorite. It has such a German Expressionist feeling to it. For me, it vibrates with the same intensity of the artwork from that turn of the century era, a time when the world was changing and the images born reflected that unease. Art critic Robert Hughes called it, "the shock of the new", when all the academic ideals of art were challenged. So perfect for Emily, (who's always questioning and challenging the status quo), as she enters college and the beginning of a new century.

On Wednesday we'll take a look at her sculptural work and on Friday her oil paintings.

12 comments:

  1. Just plain scary! Emily's work gets more awesome all the time. Thanks for posting this.
    Marty

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  2. Oh my goodness she's incredible. I had no idea! I am quite envious.

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  3. What a truely creative young lady! I wish her all the very best and hope you and your wife enjoy sitting back and watching her every success in the coming years :))

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  4. Denny,
    Little Emily did these? There's so much emotion in them. The drawings actually speak to me.

    Barbara

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  5. wow Denny you've been busy getting another daughter off to college...her forest scene is wonderful! "The acorn doesn't fall too far from the tree" :)

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  6. Marty~
    She's definitely giving me a run for the money...great to see you Saturday!

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  7. Fern-like-a-plant~

    I know, who'd a thought? Now if I can just get her to clean her room... say hello to your parents for us!

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  8. April~

    Thank you, it is like having front row seats to the best rock show ever...flash pods and all!

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  9. Barb~
    Her drawings speak to me too. They're saying, "I'm so much better than you, I will make so much more money than you, I will exhibit in museums you'd only dream of exhibiting in, I will rule the WORLD!"

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  10. Kit~

    It has been a virtual conveyor belt of colleges these past four years. Like something out of an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon.

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  11. Wow, these are very impressive. I bet doing these is great practice for value patterns.

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  12. Jeremy~

    Thanks, Emily is excited by all the comments. You're right, these are great for exploring value contrasts. Wouldn't they make great large painitngs?

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