Hand on Cow

Creator

Julia Huff, Ursinus CollegeFollow

Preview

Student Exhibition Year

2020

Description

Oil painting on canvas of a human hand touching a cow's head. Presented as part of the 2020 Annual Student Exhibit in the Berman Museum of Art at Ursinus College.

Dimensions

14 x 18 inches

Artist Statement

Home evokes a different feeling to many people. Many would describe it as comfortable, a place filled with warmth, or somewhere that they could finally feel at peace.

These are just a few of the words that I would have used in another exhibition—one that would have been planned out of intrigue and freedom. I had begun to put together a series of works highlighting elements from my own home that I had seen time and time again, even from my early childhood. I wanted the viewers to connect with my paintings and reminisce about their own experiences in their homes. Seeing as many things have changed recently, this also did not come to pass. I had to pick up the pieces and start something new. The scenery of my house quickly soured, and I knew that my paintings would need to take a different direction. I needed to make use of the time that I had, but also the myriad of emotions that I constantly felt controlling my every thought. I found myself only thinking of where I should be, or where I could be if things were different.

The works I have created are intended to ease the claustrophobia that many people all over the world have felt recently. Each painting acts as a frozen memory and interacts with the viewer to help them remember their own unique and beautiful experiences in life. Many elements of this planet have been taken for granted by the majority of us, and these paintings help illustrate how even the tiniest of details in life are beautiful.

I have always been inspired by the impressionist movement and the participating artists’ passions in depicting the world around them. The use of dramatic lighting, vivid colors, and vast landscapes has always brought me a source of wonder, and I constantly strive to achieve the same vibrancy in my own works. I want to create a sense of beauty that inspires others to go and experience the original and never-ending elegance of nature. The use of oils on canvas enables me to have a deeper level of intimacy with my paintings, as great care and focus goes into each stroke of the brush and color choice. This intimacy matches the delicacy of different organisms and scenes found within the environment. Observing these paintings through a screen will excite many and urge them to take care when immersed in the charms of the outside world, and hopefully the opportunity to take advantage of all that nature has to offer will be available soon to all of us.

Rights Statement

Copyright of the underlying work is held by the artist. The digital image presented here is for educational purposes only and is not for commercial use.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.