Francesca Eraso
9/16/2014
Goodbye Flatrions, Welcome to NYC and A Self Portrait (Self Portrait Series) by
Elizabeth Fox
Watercolor and ink on paper
An Interpretation
Elizabeth Fox’s Self portrait series represent her transition from home in
Colorado to New York City. This series of three 11”x14” watercolor paintings depict two
different locations: the flatirons in Colorado and the buildings in the city of New York
and a more literal self-portrait. Although each piece in this series is unique in terms of
their formal qualities, the three paintings are unified in terms of meaning and possibility
for improvements. The three pieces together suggest a level of insight into the artist’s
personal identity.
The first painting, “Goodbye Flatirons”, is a horizontal landscape of large
boulders. The piece is broken up by a blue sky background, four orange, triangular
flatirons on the right in the middle ground and two large, round and green hills at the
bottom in the foreground. The composition is horizontal and asymmetrical. The direction
of the flatirons creates movement towards the right of the piece. The lines are generally
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Francesca Eraso
soft except for in the dark green texture at the top of the hills. The use of brush strokes
helps to add depth. The colors used are light blue, orange-brown, light and dark green.
The second painting, “Welcome to NYC”, is a vertical one-point perspective scene of a
city street. This piece is composed an orange sky background, two rows of buildings with
blue windows leading towards the center and an outlined silhouette of a girl in the middle
of the foreground. The composition is vertical and asymmetrical due to variation in the
buildings on the right. This creates a forward movement towards the center focal point.
There is a strong use of black outlines in this piece for the buildings and human figure.
The colors used are yellow, orange, grey and blue with varying hues and values.
The third painting, “A Self Portrait”, is a vertical self-portrait of a girl with blonde hair
and white t-shirt on a blue background. This piece is composed of a light blue washed
background with a smiling girl in the foreground. The composition is vertical. This
painting is rougher due to the rough brush strokes in the background and darker brown
brush strokes at the bottom of the hair. The shirt and facial features are also outlined in
black. The colors used are yellow, peach, red, blue, brown and black.
The subject matter in the first painting is the large orange-brown flatirons in
Colorado. This may allude to the artist feeling a large sense of identity in the Colorado
area. The lightness and less intense colors give a sense of reminiscence in the landscape.
The title also alludes to a past time with the word “goodbye”.
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The subject matter in the second painting is the human figure in the middle foreground
and the blue New York buildings. The buildings are very small in scale compared with
the person. They also look very claustrophobic around the person, suggesting a sense of
discomfort in her new environment. The grey color of the person’s silhouette blends in
with the grey color of the street, suggesting the same sense of entrapment. The piece
hence serves as a bridge between the artist’s past in Colorado and present life in New
York City.
The subject matter in the third painting is a girl’s face with distinctive and outlined facial
features. The title, “A Self-Portrait” indicates that this girl’s face is the artist’s own selfportrait. Her positioning on the paper is institutional and is allows for open interpretation.
Her facial expression is a smile, however it does not seem natural due to her still body
language. The piece therefore emphasizes the intention of the artist for this series to be
about her own personal identity, while also contrasting the emotions portrayed in the
previous piece.
In terms of judging the artwork, it is a moderately cohesive self-portrait series.
This is due to a slight disconnect between the aesthetics and meaning of each piece. Each
piece maintains a varying use of line weights, brush strokes, color and composition. If the
series is read as a timeline, the first two pieces demonstrate a transition from living in
Colorado to New York. However, the last piece, “A Self Portrait”, is vague and does not
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allow for much insight into the artist’s life or emotions. As separate pieces, the paintings
may actually be more successful. The pieces also lack originality in composition and
subject matter. It could help to be more intentional and conscious of each aesthetic
decision so that the meaning would come across more clearly. Another improvement
might be staying visually consistent throughout the series.
In Conclusion, this series is comprised of three paintings that are distinct visually
yet united in terms of meaning and possibility for improvement. Each piece varies in
color and subject matter. The meaning of each piece is also distinct but each relates back
to a different aspect of the artist’s identity. The series is not entirely cohesive yet still
somewhat successful in terms of being a series that represents personal identity during a
time of change in the artist’s life. As a viewer, one might look for more unity to bring
insight into this period of time in the artist’s life. It would be a better understanding of her
emotional reactions after moving from Colorado to New York as well as how this event
has shifted or altered who she is.
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