Inspiration

Here are some of the artists who have influenced my body of work (in its final, resolved form) for this show the most:

Charles Burns:
The first comic I ever read by Burns was Black Hole, which is all about high school drama and creepy alien STDs. I love his slick, precise style of inking and all of the weird creepy stuff he throws into his comics (which I really need to read more of...)

Sophie Campbell:

I fell in love with Campbell's series Wet Moon way back in high school. It was the perfect combination of slice of life and weirdo small town/Twins Peaks style horror. Plus her art is gorgeous! Now she's been working on mainly licensed comics (and kicking butt at them) but I hope she returns to indie comics one day.

Bernie Wrightson:

Wrightson is the only artist here whose work I haven't read. He got his start doing horror comics but eventually left to pursue illustration (also because he wanted his work to remain in black and white but his publishers would wreck his lifework with color). I found a poster of one of his illustrations from Frankenstein and I was hooked! What amazing composition and inking. I really ought to track down a copy of Frankenstein with his work in it...

(the fateful image itself!)

Art tips and an awesome game!

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got for making art was to have something playing in the background, whether it be music, a podcast, or a silly tv show that you aren't too attached to. I find it helps me know how long I've been working, lets me pace myself well (aka I don't get caught up working on a single corner of a picture for hours), and makes you feel like you have some company if you're working alone! Plus it's a bit easier for me to get in "the zone" when I have music to distract part of my brain. I don't always have music playing and in fact it can sometimes be a distraction but most of the time I love working to it.

One of my favorite things to listen to while I work is let's plays! They don't take up a lot of your attention like a television show might and it's like listening to a podcast but with visuals. And I get to review potential games before I buy them!

The Wolf Among Us is the game I was watching most recently and it looks so cool! The story is really good and it's so beautiful! I may have to study its art style for some future inspiration...

This is the let's play I've been watching:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkLPqO4B7FI&index=1&list=PL9TOK99LnYFeg1D-Xs1-qOgpASkXLv2Lv

So close and yet so far

I feel like I'm about 95% done with my works for the big show but I still have some minor adjustments to make...

Still working...

Partway through shading!

Awesome Painting Videos!

I've been watching a lot of speed paint videos on youtube as inspiration for this and future projects. I just love watching other artists work; there's something about it that's just so reassuring and makes me feel connected to all of the other creative people out there in the world. Gouache and marker videos are what I have mainly been focusing on, as they are the two mediums I am currently trying to get the hang of! Here are some especially good videos I've found:

Progress!

Revised Artist Statement

Here's my (hopefully) final, polished draft of my artist statement for my show in May! I combined my two proposal ideas into one that is, in my opinion, stronger than the sum of its parts. What do you all think? (It's in third person, which may seem a bit strange, but it's a pretty useful trick to use when trying to get out of your own head to write about yourself!)

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Mary Claire Rooney’s artwork focuses on humanity’s search for satisfaction and the pull between a person’s desires and fears. Her latest series of drawings is based around the idea of a girl going on a late night snack run who runs into a series of strange events that prevent her from  accomplishing her goal. The girl’s search for food is stymied by the unnerving events that she encounters during the “witching hour” of the night, forcing her to go on a hunt which never reaches its conclusion.

The central idea for this body of work came from Rooney’s experiences as a college student. She would often  stay up late to finish schoolwork and strives to emulate the unsettling, dream-like world that she experienced around 3:00 am in her works. Rooney’s drawings place more emphasis on the hunt itself rather than the goal at the end of the search. This reflects Rooney’s personal ideas on life: we are always searching for something and it will never truly end.

Rooney has always loved comic books and that style of illustrative, sequential storytelling informs her artwork. Her subject matter is informed by Charles Burns’ grotesquely beautiful illustrations while the dreamy yet sharp style of her work is influenced by Sophia Campbell’s art style. Each piece in her series of drawings tells its own self contained story while also functioning as a moment in a larger narrative structure. 

Style tests!

Here are some of the sketches I did to prep for this body of work! I was trying to figure out what kind of style and medium I was going to go for. I like them all to some degree but I'm leaning towards the redhead's design...

Past Work - Influence on Present Exhibition

Some of my past work to give you an idea of the aesthetic I am going for in this new series.

May 2016 Exhibition Proposal: Accompanying Powerpoint

Here is the Powerpoint presentation that went along with my proposals! Hopefully the two together will help to flesh out my ideas some more.

May 2016 Exhibition Proposal

Here is the original text for my proposals for my show in May! My concept has changed a bit after presenting them but my original ideas are still present in the final theme. Essentially, I want to have a series of drawings forming a loose narrative that follows the story of a girl on a very surreal snack run in the middle of the night. It has a definite form but gives me the freedom to play around with matters of length and structure. You can see the beginnings of this idea in my proposals below!

Proposal 01

1. My concept for this exhibition is to explore the relationship that humans have with food: the myths and associations we attribute to it as well as its role in forming our bodies. Food becomes more than just a source of nourishment; we have a tendency to attribute various characteristics to different foods and give them personalities. In this exhibition, I want to show human bodies interacting with their food in unusual ways, placing edibles in a new context and questioning if it is food that gives a person their character or the other way around.
2. My audience would be viewers with a humorous mindset towards art; I am not looking to be grave or dramatic in this exhibition. It would include anyone who has an offbeat way of looking at the world and a tendency to make strange connections between the things around them.
3. My goal with this exhibition would be to get a laugh out of viewers and possibly unnerve them a bit. I would also like to share some of the weird ideas I have about food and see if viewers agree with me.
4. My work would take the form of 4 to 6 paintings, approximately 12x16 inches. I want to work in either gouache or watercolors on paper. The paintings will be mounted on to panel or wood board and hung on the walls. They will be archival. The paintings will be fairly small so I should be able to transport them in a portfolio case.

Proposal 02

1. My concept for this exhibition is to explore the idea of the witching hour, the point in the night where the world is asleep and all of the strange things come out. It is the time of day that lends itself best to the realm of the fantastic and horrifying and the boundaries between what we know and what we dream of are at their weakest. In this exhibition, I want to try and capture this setting and bring it into the daylight for my audience to see; I want to depict the kind of uncanny moments that can only occur at 3 in the morning. 
2. My audience for this exhibition would be fans of the supernatural and horror, as well as anyone who has a tendency to stay up too late. I want to reach people who can relate to this strange feeling as well and who probably have their own strange stories to tell.
3. My goal for this exhibition would be to have my audience experience this particular setting and the mindset that goes along with it. Ideally, they will see the strange sense of wonder and terror that comes from being awake in the witching hour.
4. My work for this exhibition will take the form of 2-3 drawings approximately 24x32 inches. They will be done in ink on paper. They will also be archival. The paper will be suspended from walls by tabs of tape. Since it will be unstretched, it can be rolled up and transported in a cardboard tube.