Alyssa Canafe

My body of work encompasses the youthful innocence and vulnerability of childhood. My initial vision for these artworks was to create art pieces that represent the exuberant and blissful memories of childhood. As time passed, I took a different approach to my theme and began integrating the negative aspects of adolescence. These negative aspects include the childhood fears of isolation, the dark, and the transition into adulthood.

These selective pieces were carefully chosen not only to reflect my art style, but to also express how I perceive and interact with the world through incorporating personal experiences and storytelling these real moments in time through art. This portfolio embodies the artistic idea of taking simple, mundane concepts from reality and twisting it into unrealistic, cinematic scenes. These 10 artworks have been intentionally positioned in a circular format, symbolizing the desire of an infinite innocence and a never-ending childhood. 

These selections are composed of a variety of mediums to cover all three of the traditional, sculpture, and digital aspects of art. Most of these pieces are paintings, more specifically watercolor paintings. I enjoy brushing one light wash at a time and building layers upon layers, creating intricate colors filled with a variation of hues and undertones that you don’t expect to see. For instance, ‘Creature Under the Bed’ depicts a scene of a child having nightmares, feeling threatened by the bogeyman hiding under the bed. I incorporated warmer tones on the girl, while in contrast, painted cooler tones onto the creature and the areas surrounding the girl. 

Oil painting was another medium I chose to experiment with. Featured in the Crocker Art Museum and other publications, ‘Back in Time,’ an oil painting inspired by Wayne Thiebaud, depicts a child happily eating ice cream living carefree in her best life. I expanded my use of mediums to digital art and created ‘Imaginary Princess’ using the digital drawing program Krita and a Wacom tablet. In terms of 3-D art forms, I constructed a mobile and sculpted an air-dry clay sculpture. 

This body of work is comprised of warm, pastel and mellowed colors with the recurring theme of a small girl reliving her childhood. In all of my pieces I have incorporated meaningful imagery and symbolism and in, ‘Dead End,’ I focused on that aspect the most. This specific piece is placed at the bottom right of the body of work to show how quickly childhood comes and goes. ‘Dead End,’ is meant to conclude the portfolio with thematically connecting to the concept of transitioning out of adulthood, effectively ending with the girl’s skates underneath the “Dead End” sign, akin to a grave.

My theme is shown through symbolism and personal experiences presented within my artworks, personifying the youthful innocence, imagination, and the vulnerability that adolescents hold. We cherish the happy memories we had as a child- without any worries or burdens, but we have grown and learned from our juvenile mistakes and childhood fears. I hope my audience feels a sense of nostalgia and reflects and connects while viewing and reading about my artworks from their own life.