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Giraffes, 2017, pastel pointillism

Haley Odom

This was the piece I did the half semester after the octopus. It took me just as long and it was just as difficult to create.

However, I wanted to try and convey some more life and emotion in my animals because a lot of people don’t see that in them.

I have spent more time than I would like to admit watching animal live-streams from sanctuaries, zoos, and the like of animals just doing animal things, and at first this might sound extremely boring; but it changes your outlook on them.

Animals have incredible personalities that are as complex as ours. Yes, they do sit pretty for pictures through glass at the zoo but they bring this overwhelming sense of awe that, to some, can be so intense it brings them to tears (me).

I was always very isolated in my upbringing, I am more of a “one man wolf pack” as Zach Galifianakis would say. I wanted to portray something through animals that I had yearned for so badly as a child.

This portrait of a mother and baby giraffe at first glance may seem as, just that. A mother and her child. But it is a lot more than that.

This is a mother and a child simply living in a small, eternal moment of unconditional love. Pressing their heads together, eyes closed, they are silently communicating to each other that until their last breath nothing can separate them or break their bond apart.

Some of the spots are made to be gemstones, signifying the beauty of these animals and their bond to each other that is everlasting.

The background radiates calm, soothing energy from the figures. When they experience this moment everything else simply fades away and there is nothing but love and peace.

So I hope that this piece brings something to you, or out of you. Maybe you can relate or, like me you can’t, and only attempt to understand, and convey through art.

Thanks for looking, thanks for reading. I have prints available on my Etsy.

[hopaints-blog]

Octopus, 2017, oil pastel pointillism

Haley Odom

I guess I should start from the beginning.

This piece was the first one that I ever thought was worth something.

I did this at age 17 three years ago, seems like forever), during my senior year, which was turbulent to say the least.

All through high school most of my art was random, unfinished, or just nothing to write home about. I never won awards for my projects in class, never really got a lot of compliments, never really believed I had any sort of skill or “eye” for good art.

Senior year the class I took was focused on solely building a portfolio and we had pretty much open rein to whatever medium/style we wanted to go for as long as it was within reason. We had a half semester to finish each project if I remember correctly (about 9 weeks).

At the end of junior year I was exposed to oil pastels and at the time was inspired a lot by pointillism and other types of “dot work”. Although it was daunting to think about.

But senior year for my first project I took a leap, and I tried something absolutely out of my comfort zone.

This piece you see here that I can now so casually post and make prints of to sell or give away, cost me almost 2 1/2 months of my time, hours daily, droning on and on and on.

Just

taptaptaptaptaptaptaptap

Literally every bit of free time I had.

All that crouching down, losing my mind over the constant tapping, and thinking it will all be for nothing, almost 2 months later I ended up with this

I’m 20 now, and I don’t know if my art is going to go anywhere, but for the first time in my life I believe in it and I’m giving it everything I’ve got.

So if you’re interested, stay tuned, I’ll have loads of posts like this explaining my artwork, bless your feed with some of my pieces and whatnot.

Thanks for looking. Thanks for reading. I have prints on my Etsy if you’re interested.

[hopaints-blog]

I have created a tumblr now. Expect lots of artwork and nonsense writing.