Maya Watson

“What is your favorite artwork?”

Curatorial Rationale

In this exhibition, I hope to create an unique experience that feels as if the audience is weaving in and out of different dreams. All artworks are connected with the theme of dreams, and depict mystique and fantastical worlds full of imagination. Art should be thought provoking, and by having a mysterious element on my artworks, I hope it will make the audience a bit confused at the first look so that the initial questioning will act as a catalyst into them wanting to explore my artwork. My arrangement of artwork is grouped with works that are similar in style and theme. The bottom two are my darker, “nightmare” inspired artworks. The right of them are my night sky themed artworks. The above three are my mysterious world landscape works. Last but not least is my fantastical character design at the top left. That way they are organized and help create movement to guide the audience’s eyes.

As stated, my overarching theme that was explored in all my artworks is dreams. I chose this theme because I have always found dreams very fascinating and intriguing. Dreams only limit is the person's imagination; thus it can show so many fantastical, whimsical, or even scary scenery to the dreamer. Our brains combine our imagination and experiences to create new images and ideas in the form of dreams or things that don’t exist in real life like flying animals. Some of them also are messages to the person from their own subconsciousness, it can show things they miss, are afraid of, or things they desire. My artworks explore and depict these diverse types of dreams. Some include common symbolism found in dreams like oceans, falling off mountains, clouds, a night sky, pillows and clouds, and more. There are also symbols and items that are related to dreams and sleeping like clouds, night skies, stars, sheeps, and rabbits. There are also artworks that have a darker tone to show dreams are not all pleasant, but can be in the form of nightmares.

My artworks all have varying styles, color schemes, and are made on many different mediums. I have 1 3D artwork while others are 2D. I have gouache paintings, watercolor collages, ink paintings, and an acrylic painting. Some are very bright and colorful, some are more muted, and some are black and white. I hope this will make the viewing experience for the viewer interesting. As previously stated, I organized my exhibition by common themes and ideas, which create bigger sections in the overall area that make it easier for the audience to pick a spot and start viewing the artworks. After, their eyes can be led easily to the next area because there are already sections that can be easily found. The gallery is too small for all artworks to be lined up side by side, so this is the best way to create a coherent and visually pleasing exhibition.

Maya’s Artwork

  • Creepy Friend

    Wool with clay and resin

    14x9x4 cm

    This piece was made to give an eerie but cute feeling; an odd creature that may visit you in one of those dreams that make you wonder what it was all about. Being made from wool adds to the cuteness of the creature’s design.

  • Golden Ducks Flying in a Fantastical Landscape

    Acrylic on canvas

    30x40 cm

    This piece aims to create a mystical landscape through its use of “incorrect”colors. The focus point of the ducks is emphasized through the darker forest. The bright ducks are then balanced with the colorful sky and waters.

  • A Visit In The Sun

    Gouache and chalk pastel on watercolor paper

    36 x 30 cm

    This art piece aims to capture a dreamy and moody atmosphere. A sense of oddness is added through the various objects including the pillow, hourglass, clock, and the planets in the sky. In this piece, an old friend notices the viewer and turns around while riding a horse. The crocodile is a resident of this dream world. To add a sense of mystery, their faces are shaded.

  • Serenity of Healing

    29 x 20 cm

    Gouache on hot press watercolor paper The piece “The Serenity in healing”, works to bring the viewer into a dream-like world, where it reflects the dreamer’s mind which is at peace and healed from a past hardship. The piece incorporates two common recurring symbols that are found in many people’s dreams; windows, which symbolize change, and water; in this case the calm water reflects the person’s calm mindset. Lastly the sleepy eye symbolizes the dreamer who is asleep as well as reinforcing the “dream state” the painting is set in.

  • Goodnight Sheep

    Gouache on watercolor paper

    30 x 30 cm

    This piece was inspired by the saying that counting sheep will help people fall asleep. I also wanted to show a big beautiful moon and night sky to emphasize the night aspect. The circle shapes thought the piece represents how the sheep would go round and round as the person counts them.

  • Nightmare

    Ink on rice paper

    22 x 33 cm

    This painting was inspired by the common dream of falling. The use of monochromatic ink with dramatic values are used to show the fear felt in these types of dreams. The tryptic is used to show different perspectives; one from a distance, one from top view, and one from the falling person’s perspective.

  • Fantastical Character Design

    Watercolor on watercolor paper, glue

    22 x 30 cm

    This triptych piece was created with the focus on character design, which aims to create visually appealing characters. This was done by using bright colors, bold patterns, various poses, and non-human heads to add a fantastical element as well as adding to the interest.

  • Engulfed By White

    Gouache on watercolor paper

    29 x 20 cm

    Inspired by the dreamy aesthetic of clouds against a night sky, I created a piece with a dream-like fantasy of a blonde haired individual getting engulfed by a storm of white rabbits to tell a story of a person who slowly disappears and their eyes droop with sleepiness.

    I used many round lines to create a similar shape to clouds, used warm colors for the person as emphasis and contrast against the rest of the cool colors. The pattern of the rabbits along with the composition create movement to the person. The yellow stars are added for balance as well as help emphasize the dream-like feel of the piece.