Trompe de L’Oeil

Oil paint on Canvas

28” x 48”

February 2018

My parent's always told me, "if you don't work hard now, you will suffer later." I found the equivalent to be something like,"laugh now, cry later." I found this saying to be quite black and white, for a lack of a better term, and it reflected the way my Asian parents categorized many things. There was only right or wrong, good or bad, success or failure, but never any kind of in-between. I depicted this interpretation through the two clown faces/masks, getting inspiration from drama/theater masks.

I also experimented with layering paint and using complimentary and contrasting colors to create an interesting color scheme. Rather, I was discovering how different color combinations could evoke different emotions such as whimsicality, mysteriousness, confusion, franticness, fractured, or inquisitiveness.