Posts Tagged ‘painting’

Hang It On The Wall

Wednesday, October 18th, 2023

I didn’t listen to music for two months. I hardly ate. I went for jogs along the water every Friday late at night because I couldn’t sleep. 

Painted sketchbook page, I referenced a Russian artist I forgot the name of

It wasn’t like I started painting girls crying or the silhouette of couples embracing. There was an old book from my parents that I had lugged with me to college. One of those massive, expensive books you can pick up at an art museum, full of glossy pages and photos of the art. I would pick a random page and try to replicate it on some canvas paper. No grids or tracing paper; no pressure for it to be good or accurate. It was mind numbing but in a good way, like legos, or a familiar movie. There wasn’t much thought behind it and it got me out of my head and into my hands. I bought thick brushes that needed to be held the same way you’d grip onto a glass bottle. I bought tiny brushes, the three small strands of which would fall off within a week because I was too rough with them. Painting got me into my nose; the smell of the oil paints was somewhat nose wrinkling, like fat turned solid in the pan after frying bacon, but with a less repulsive, animal quality. 

Heartbreak came at a time when I was already not doing great. I got a good kick in the pants, meaning, I started calling my parents more, I budgeted my money strictly, I showed up to work thirty minutes early every shift, I ate kale salads, and I tried to keep myself busy. It worked to some extent by keeping me out of bed and active. Yet I still needed something more.

Painting didn’t magically fix everything, and there was no intention to use it to “heal” anything. But there was certainly a meditative aspect to it. The colors, the lines, the physical exertion of blending and dragging, the little triumph of looking at a finished page and thinking “I am done and I did good”. A little pat on the back. Your roommate saying it looks good. Hang it on the wall and make the space a little bit more your own.  

Being treated badly by someone you are dating can deceive your emotions. Logically I knew it wasn’t about me, there was nothing I did to deserve being treated poorly, and it shouldn’t make me feel bad about myself. Logical and emotions are two very different things. Emotionally I felt this suffocating worry that I was failing at loving, at dating, at making people care about me. Painting was like a shining antithesis to these emotional notions. It didn’t matter that the paintings looked good to people around me. I only cared that it made me feel good at something. Every time I finished a page there was a little success, a little pit of contentment in my stomach. Proof I wasn’t failing in life. 

When I’d finish cleaning the brushes I’d feel hunger in my stomach. I’d go days picking at my food and eating only a quarter of my morning bagel. Bits and pieces here and there, only eating out of necessity. Falling in and out of love unfortunately goes straight to my stomach. But I swear, after closing the paint tubes and wiping down the last brush, I could go into the kitchen and heat up the leftovers, scoffing them down while post-mortem analyzing my work. Painting gave me an appetite. 

I can’t claim art fixes your life, only that when I was at my lowest it certainly picked me up and put me back together better than most things and people could have. I wonder if other people feel the same way.

Another therapeutic activity if painting isn’t your style.

Olivia Sully is a Junior studying English Literature at New York University. Olivia spends most of her school and professional life writing and reading, but she likes to decompress with her paintings.

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Where I’ve Been: A Solo Exhibition by Christine Cha

Monday, December 9th, 2013

In this vast city that is New York, art is all around us. Whether we are observing, analyzing, criticizing, or creating, the artistic realm is always at our fingertips, and it is our choice if we want to be a part of it. As a student at The New School, I am surrounded by artists every day. No matter the focus, whether visual, musical, or written, art plays a large role in my life and in the lives of all of The New School’s students. Some of these very artists will extend their craft past the walls of the Parsons, Mannes, or Lang classrooms and develop a life revolving around their artistic passion. As an aspiring musician and writer, watching my peers establish themselves as creative beings in this bustling, competitive, overwhelming city is nothing short of miraculous and motivational. Christine Cha, a former student at Parsons School of Design, and a former intern at The Campus Clipper, has fulfilled this aspiration as a painter, as a city-dweller, as an artist.

Painting by Christine Cha

At her solo exhibition, Christine Cha displayed her works of art, which express the comparison of  the earth and the body through oil paint on canvas. Through a contrast of reds, browns, and yellows against greens and blues, an image of the abstract human form is perceived, resembling the mountainous terrain of our Earth. Her work is sensual, natural, and incredibly conceptual. With a display of ten different works, visitors at the Wix Gallery in Chelsea could view an array of Cha’s work.

Paintings by Christine Cha

Painting by Christine Cha

The experience, as a whole, was worth the trip into Chelsea from my Crown Heights apartment. In addition to the art viewing, free Brooklyn Brewery beer was available as well as free homemade empanadas. Cha also provided a variety of live music, playing softly in the background to enhance the guests’ overall viewing experience.

Live music enhanced the overall experience of the exhibition!

As a first time visitor at the Wix gallery and a first time viewer of Cha’s paintings, I was nothing short of impressed. The dedication to her craft as well as her appreciation for her followers and peers was commendable. In order to fulfill a life in the arts, a certain drive is necessary in order to succeed, a drive that Cha seems to possess. Since her time at Parsons and The Campus Clipper, Cha has motivated fellow students and created a life for herself among the other great artists in this fair city. For this, we congratulate her and wish her the best of luck in all of her future endeavors.

 

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Daniela Bizzell, Eugene Lang College, The New School University.

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