Artist: Ana Alvarez
Exhibition: Jen Redwater
Media: Animated
Gallery: LBSU School of Art, Dr. Maxine Merlino Gallery
This past Wednesday I stopped by the LBSU Art Show known as “The Enchanted Borderlands”. I was immediately drawn to the animated/cartoonish style of Ana Alvarez and how this specific gallery was a mix of the Wild West and whimsical fantasy.
Ana Alvarez is an undergrad student here at California State University Long Beach. She is majoring in pre production. And differing from my last post this artist makes animated work, yet she also has a passion for ceramics too. She uses character design and concept art in her major frequently. Not only that but she genuinely enjoys her major. For instance when I asked her what was her favorite parts about her major she responded with storyboarding. She thought of it as a “sweet in-between of illustration and animation”.
Nevertheless, in continuation with her piece “Jane Redwater” it was a style of art that I had never experienced which amazed me. Not only that but the overall piece had many great qualities. Specifically the muted color scheme fit very perfectly with the Wild West theme as well as the the amazing line work. I also admire her sense of shading and sketchy style because it works very well when looking at the image as a whole. Additionally I appreciate how detailed and realistic looking her background is. Not only that but in comparison to her characters it works well because they don’t wash out or outshine each other.
Regardless of my admiration of the piece itself it has more meaning behind it. This piece shows the importance of being united and sticking together which is why Ana used the three cowboys aka the border elves in her piece. Back in the day the cowboys’ kinship is what helped them survive specifically sticking together and handling every situation as a team. Not only that but the togetherness meaning also relates to the gallery’s overall story. For instance the whole story line is based off of border elves being robbed of their mined minerals and how they get them back.
All in all the whole gallery was a very uplifting and amazing experience to me. Just seeing all the different styles and media showed me not to limit myself to just paper medias like painting or physical medias like ceramics. This gallery has made me want to try animation and graphic design. Not only that but the gallery also showed me togetherness specifically noting how Ana worked with her colleagues to put on this entire gallery.
Art 110 Blog 