Unspoken thoughts often manifest themselves through artistic language—something that senior Ariana Rowell has mastered through her thought-provoking paintings.
When one yearns to express themselves, they often look towards art to convey what they have to say. Many look towards music or literature, but Rowell found herself using paint to convey powerful messages through her extraordinary use of art.
As early as she could remember, Rowell recalls her mother’s beautiful drawings and paintings, which inspired her to create her own pieces. The first piece she remembers making was a gift for her nana to expand her water coloring.
From there, Rowell continued to build her foundations as an artist by exploring the web and finding inspiration from YouTube animated videos, solidifying artistic interest.
“I was like ‘I wanna do that,’” said Rowell. “So, I started using Flip A Clip [animation software] until I realized it was too hard, so I stuck with drawing.”
Rowell then continued to experiment by starting to paint in middle school, a skill she once considered terrifying. With acrylic painting, the process can be seen as messy and unorganized in the beginning, but the more layers the canvas fills with paint, the more complete it becomes, regardless of rough sketches or mistakes.
Therefore, Rowell considered acrylic painting to be untrustworthy, as she believed perfection was a must for her art. However, with enough practice and resilience, she reluctantly began painting in order to step out of her comfort zone. Eventually falling in love with the medium, she’s now rarely without a paintbrush in hand.
What was once a forbidden skill quickly became a favorite, as acrylic painting became a primary use of media in many of her pieces.
“It taught me that you don’t have to be perfect, just keep working at it and it’ll work out eventually,” said Rowell.
A piece that manages to convey an emotion and sacrifices realism to achieve this feat is considered expressionism, a style of painting often used by Rowell. Her use of expressionism is unmatched, with contrasting colors and tones constantly being used to create projects that range from beautiful, thought-provoking, impressive, and even terrifying.
While acrylic is her preferred media, she also dabbles in ink, watercolor, pencil, and even clay, with her award-winning piece. Rot, which was a fusion of painting and clay, won second place in the 3D category at the ArtEx competition on May 5th, 2024.
With many inspiring pieces in her portfolio, such as The Fruit of Desperation and Too Close, she is currently working on what she considers her magnum opus: Memento Vivere. This painting has been in the making since last semester, and was planned before that, with Rowell now marinating this powerful project in its final stages before completion.
The piece portrays a cicada in an acrylic painting, with hints of wash for subtle radiants, packed in a canvas littered with scattered colors and details that burden the viewer. Memento Vivere is a Latin phrase meaning “remember to live,” complimenting the piece’s theme of the unexpected beauty of life.
The canvas is a whopping 40×30, which challenged Rowell to fill in large spaces, as shown by her tremendous efforts in painting murals in the art basement. The painting conveys a symbol of rebirth, using ethereal colors, subtle radiants, and a chaotic use of space.
“The idea of life is overwhelming and so I wanted the painting to be overwhelming too,” said Rowell. “Life can be overwhelming yet beautiful”
To convey these powerful emotions into her painting, she utilizes many artistic techniques to her advantage, such as shattering imagery and provoking tones.
Shades of blue are commonly used to convey both somber and depressing feelings, often used as a synonym for sadness. While blue is an uncanny color—even lacking natural presence—it is also a gorgeous tone that can display beauty, as seen in bright skies and lights that display baby blue tones.
Rowell utilizes these tones to dig deeper into one’s discomfort and sadness, such as dark shades of indigo, violet, and navy, while also illuminating the beauty of the painting with its nature-based imagery and use of light blue, baby blue, and sapphire.
While Rowell shows a deep interest in art, she does not plan on pursuing it after high school. She still looks forward to painting in the future by attending art classes and selling pieces as a side hustle, so she doesn’t have to worry about the pressure of being burdened by the hobby she adores.
No matter what state it is in—whether it is a dragon drawing for a relative, a fish painting for practice, or an expressionist piece for a competition—art will always be an essential part of Rowell’s life. Art speaks to many in ways that words can not, and utilizing unique colors and combining media to convey powerful messages will always be a part of Rowell’s legacy.
“If you can’t express yourself sufficiently,” said Rowell, “don’t be afraid to express yourself in unexpected ways.”
