Skip to Content
This painting depicts a figure from the shoulders up, with seemingly no clothing, the only fabric is a thin, gauzy fabric that covers the face. Hints of the figure's facial features are muted but visible through the somewhat transparent material. They are positioned predominantly in the bottom left quadrant of the page, allowing for the background to fill a notable amount of the composition. Chest toward the viewer, they peer over their right shoulder, as short, dark, wavy hair frames their face and hangs just at their pale shoulders. A faint shadow is cast along their left (our right) shoulder, positioning them in front of the background, which is nondescript and hazy. Created by painting thin layer upon thin layer, there is a richness to the fog that covers the background. It is lighter toward the top, a grayish white, as it gets darker and warmer near the bottom third, hinting at a potential landscape hidden in the haze. The color of the fabric mimics the color of the background, almost implying that the background is what the figure struggles to see as they look through the material. The piece has cool tones and a somber yet eerie mood, evoked by a looming sense of the unknown.

Optical Asphyxiation

Grace Queen

Oil on Canvas

Undergraduate
Through meticulous washes of oil paint, and an accumulation of transparent layers, the hazy depth of this painting comes to fruition. The swathe of material covering the face of the figure in conversation with an unfocused background prompts the questions: what prohibits us from seeing clearly, and what exactly are we missing?