Cutting My Finger Off
Size: 3 ft by 3 ft
Medium: acrylic on canvas
Date Finished: February 2021
The goal of Cutting My Finger Off was not to make the piece gory or bloody, but rather make it uncomfortable to look at and unusual. A knife sits on a counter beside the hand threateningly, but doesn't reveal the entire story behind how the hand got where it is. It is intentionally out of proportion to the rest of the painting, making it look unrealistic and impossible. It was an experiment from start to finish as I tested different blending methods in ways I never have before.
Inspiration
My inspiration was Sign 6 by Denis Sarazhin. This piece is from a series of paintings of hands in a similar style to this one. I knew from the start what I wanted to portray in this project but I was unsure the style I wanted to use to take it on. I was drawn to this piece because of the very real texture created with angular lines and almost impressionistic blending techniques. I've always loved this painting technique but I've never actually tried it before until now. This technique is seen in all of Sarazhin's work and it is something I admire about him as an artist.
Sign 6 by Denis Sarazhin
These are close ups of Cutting My Finger Up showing the blending techniques I used from Sign 6.
Planning/Experimentation
The idea for my project came to me while I was thinking about a fact I had heard recently that we could easily bite our fingers off but our brains prevent us from doing so. I was telling this to my mom, who shuddered in disgust because she gets squeamish easily. Most people, including her, feel uneasy when a lot of blood or gore is involved in anything, and although that interested me, I wanted to be able to make someone feel the same way without the blood or gore.
There were two main components to this project that I would have to practice to carry out this idea. First was drawing hands and second was the painting technique. I practiced drawing hands using the references shown above, and the picture to the left is some of my sketches.
Sketchbook page of hand practice
Next I planned out how I wanted it to look on the canvas. I went through a few ideas. At first I wanted to show the knife cutting through the fingers but then I decided it would be more ominous to have it resting beside the hand. I looked at doing an overhead view but it didn't resonate with me. I decided to have the hand in the position of the first model sketch to the right. To use up more space I would extend the counter or table it was on across the canvas and show the knife there.
Sketchbook page of beginning idea sketch
Process
I had to mix many of my own colors for this piece. For the flesh tone, I mixed a very pink color and blended it with darker browns and beige colors. I didn't want the skin tone to be entirely realistic, rather I wanted it to look as if it were under some strange lighting. I used a more red color for the tips of the fingers, and a dark brown for the outline as well as the surface of the chopped thumb pieces. I practiced blending in my sketchbook first, using a flat paintbrush and choppy strokes. I also practiced thin lines with my smallest thin brush, which would be used for details on the hand.
Sketchbook page of color swatches
I took this photo as a reference to use to draw the hand for my piece. I noted the shadows on the chair it was on but I ended up manipulating them in the painting to look slightly different. The highlights and shadows on the hand, however, were going to be exaggerated in the painting with lines and impressionistic blending. I began the process by painting the entire canvas black. Sign 6 has a dark background that I wanted to incorporate into my piece.Then I used a white pencil to sketch the hand. On the thumb, I drew the circular shapes of the cut up thumb. I tried to make it look like how it would appear if you chopped carrots or hotdogs up, with the pieces leaning back against each other.
Because the majority of my work was being done on the bottom half of the canvas, I would often flip it upside down so I could see it better. I don't have an easel so I was just propping it up against my bed and placing cardboard underneath. For the ground the hand was resting on, I used a red color that I mixed myself and loosely blended a very light yellow in with it. This is a texture I have seen in several paintings before and it suggests a textured ground. When starting on the hand, I mixed a base color for everything (the nails, the sleeve, the skin, etc) and applied two coats without doing any blending. This way I had a secure base color. Then I added the blending colors and did the choppy blending technique I had practiced. I added in the details next. The last part of the painting I did was the counter with the knife on it. I painted it with the same colors and blending as the surface with the hand on it, and then I used the white pencil once again to sketch out the knife. I didn't use a reference for this because I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted. The knife is intentionally made to look flat and unrealistic. The purpose of this is to bring in another aspect of fantasy/strangeness; my piece is not meant to look realistic. Finally I did another coat of black in the areas that needed it because droplets of paint and smudges of white pencil had gotten on it during the process.
Compare and Contrast
Cutting My Finger Off
Similarities:
- Both pieces use a combination of thin lines and choppy blending to show texture, detail, and highlights/shadows - Both pieces have a dark background that makes it unclear where the subject is - Both pieces use color to show different areas of lighting/shadow. - Both pieces are paintings/have the same medium |
Sign 6 by Sarazhin
Differences:
- Sign 6 has more distinct detail in the hand, it looks more realistic - Cutting My Finger Off has less focus on the hand itself because there are other objects in the painting. Sign 6 shows a closer view of the hand - The colors in Sign 6 are less blended, you can see little lines of different color as if they weren't completely mixed together, where my painting has well mixed colors so it lacks that effect |
Reflection
I often make it my goal when doing art to make it look as realistic as possible, because realism is more relatable and easily understood. This was one of my first pieces where I wasn't intending to make everything look realistic. I was intrigued by this new idea, and I wish to work on it more in the future. I struggled because I have a tendency to want to make everything look as realistic as possible, and I had to hold back for this piece. I enjoyed bringing strange aspects into my work and manipulating my ideas to look weird and unnatural. I wish I had brought more color into the hand to show texture and line, but I'm proud of how the chopped finger turned out, I think I got it right how I wanted it in my head.
ACT Questions
1) Clearly explain and describe how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
My inspiration shows itself in my work in color, line, blending, and contrast. In both pieces there is a clear contrast between the main idea (the hand) and the dark background. They also have similar color schemes and blending techniques.
2) What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author seems passionate and well educated on art and the artist community.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
People are often attracted to what unsettles them, for example, people who like horror movies or true crime aren't necessarily interested in becoming criminals themselves, rather the idea is so horrifying that it reels them in.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I was looking for an artist who drew me in by the detail put into their work and the way it focused on the subject, which is what I wanted to do with my own work.
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
I concluded that Sarazhin is a passionate artist who is well educated on art and the artist community and seems to have a handle on what he is doing and what he wants to accomplish.
My inspiration shows itself in my work in color, line, blending, and contrast. In both pieces there is a clear contrast between the main idea (the hand) and the dark background. They also have similar color schemes and blending techniques.
2) What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author seems passionate and well educated on art and the artist community.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
People are often attracted to what unsettles them, for example, people who like horror movies or true crime aren't necessarily interested in becoming criminals themselves, rather the idea is so horrifying that it reels them in.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I was looking for an artist who drew me in by the detail put into their work and the way it focused on the subject, which is what I wanted to do with my own work.
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
I concluded that Sarazhin is a passionate artist who is well educated on art and the artist community and seems to have a handle on what he is doing and what he wants to accomplish.
Bibliography
Wilkinson, A T. (2020, October 21). Interview With Denis Sarazhin. Retrieved from https://www.visualatelier8.com/interviews/2020/10/denis-sarazhin .