TIME ON THE EARTH series

Statement

If God exists and God is responsible for creating the entire planet, I respect him as the greatest artist. Looking around I see the earth filled with creations. Everyone is uniquely different. No two items are the exactly the same. Everything is constantly changing. Nature: Such as trees, stones, mountains and animals are all different in shape, size, color and texture. The patterns on the surface change with time. The morning sunlight brings freshness to everything while the shadows created by the dimming light of the evening uncover different forms. A tree viewed during the morning, afternoon and evening will take on a different character with each stage.

Humans are all different. Twins, even though they resemble each other on the surface, are different in emotions and personalities and even the expressions on their faces. All creation, including humans, is beautiful. I am particularly interested in humans as subjects in my art. I like to focus on the face, which expresses feelings that are shapeless and difficult to quantify. The face can speak without words. It creates complex patterns and colors of moods. Faces change to match the emotion of each moment. In my work, I try to capture the momentary expressions that interest me revealed by the face. My interests as a painter lie with accuracy with the human form and explorations in color. 

The polyptych painting, "Time on the Earth," is my most conceptual piece of artwork. I used two different female figures to represent time. The female figure on the right has long wavy hair, blushed cheeks with no make up or no accessories. Her style is typical for females living in the classical period. While the piece on the left is of a female who has short hair, pale skin, thick makeup, a tattoo and many pierces on her ear and nose. She represents a style existing only today. The female figures contrast each other. The different styles of the two figures represent the time difference from classical time to the present. In these works, I use female figures to represent time. No other meaning should be attributed to them. The two landscapes between the figures, water and desert, also contrast with each other and represent changing conditions on earth. As time changes, feminine styles also change. I use them to reflect the conditions of the earth. All humans are part of these changes.

I want the viewer to come to their own conclusions, and create their own narrative based on my paintings.

Kumiko S. McKee