Title: Cry Baby

Medium: Oil on hardboard wood

Year: 2020

Dimensions: 8" x 6"

This artwork aims to capture big emotions on a small canvas, using a screen shot of Shelley Duvall in The Shining as a model. 

I wanted to explore how the human face stretches and scrunches to convey mood or expression. I attempted to slightly exaggerate her features, such as the downturned eyebrows or her prominent eye sockets. The way these small changes to the different forms and shapes make up how we perceive her character, and what emotions they evoke in the audience is quite fascinating.

The technique in which she is painted translates into the feeling evoked in the viewer as well. The gestural, unrefined brushstrokes add to the anxious and frantic nature of the piece, reflecting the feelings the character was going through during the scene in the movie. Her unusually red features emphasise the respective features, and in turn her action of crying uncontrollably.