Rhea Sarmah

My body of artwork is meant to capture the extraordinary beauty that kind be found in nature, the kind of beauty we may not be aware exists. My initial plan for this project was to depict the relationship between nature and humankind. As I continued creating artwork for the theme, I realized I wanted to take it a step further and exaggerate the extraordinary beauty found in nature by adding fantastical elements. My goal was to showcase nature in a way that can only be imagined, in a way that only art can seem to depict. The purpose of my artwork is to instill a sense of awe into the viewer and have the viewer think about the fine line between fantasy and reality by looking at my body of artwork, using nature as a catalyst.

To fulfill this purpose, I made use of several different elements in my artworks. The most prominent of these would be the use of unrealistic, saturated colors in most of the pieces. Blue, purple, and magenta are used combination as they can be difficult to find in nature, adding to the extraordinary feel of the artworks. Even though these subject matters are all based on what can be found on Earth, such as with Crystal Clear Discovery being based on caves where large crystals are found or Mysterious Reflection inspired by the Salar de Uyuni Flats in Bolivia, changing the colors and adding hints of colors not found in the real world adds a mystical atmosphere to the pieces. I also chose inspirational artists who were well versed in creating artworks inspired by nature and drew from techniques they used while adding my own twist. For example, I admire how Aldro Hibbard depicts snow in his painting, creating a simulated three-dimensional effect, but I chose to incorporate hints of purple into my shading to reflect the mysterious and peaceful mood of Soundless Snow. Similarly, in Mysterious Reflection, I was inspired by Silva’s technique to capture reflections in water, instead using this for shallow salt flats. Color choices are significant throughout my body of work since using hues alternative to what is found in the real world allowed me to explore different atmospheres and suggest a more mystical vibe in my art. I used painting techniques to create these pieces, whether it was using acrylic paint or using digital brushes, as changing my strokes allows me to render works realistically with sharp edges and shadows, or with a dream-like feel using soft edges, blended colors, and blurry shapes. In the pieces that are more on the side of realism, such as in Soundless Snow, I use mostly sharp edges, grounding the artwork in reality. In my fantasy-driven artworks, such as in Deer Spirit, I use soft edges to add a glowing effect, drawing the viewer’s eye to the emphasis and supporting the point that the deer is spiritual. In A Different World, I used thick, larger brush strokes inspired by Leonid Afremov in addition to a color palette of dark blues, pinks, and purples for the portions outside of the moon gate portal to highlight the fact that the world is not based in reality, while I used more realistic colors and sharp edges for the moon gate and the real world within.

To evoke the feeling of awe within the viewers, I chose to arrange the artworks so that A Different World was in the center of the exhibition, with the most realistic pieces (Soundless Snow and Blue Ocean Breaching) at the edges. This was done to remind the viewer that each pieces’ concepts are based on things found in reality. I chose a light blue for the background wall because each of the pieces in my body of work had this color, whether it was as an accent like in Deer Spirit or the main color scheme such as in Blue Ocean Breaching. The color choice creates a sense of unity amongst the different pieces, but allows each artwork to stand out due to being overall lighter in value and creating contrast. While looking at my exhibition, the viewer should question the line between fantasy and reality in nature.