AP Portfolio
Artist Statement: The Weight of the Gift
Media, Techniques, and Work Processes I utilized a precise colored pencil and graphite technique on a textured surface to capture the dusty reality of 1970s Venezuela. The central focus is the Toyota FJ40, rendered in an earthy olive green. I chose this specific vehicle not just as a family icon, but as a technical symbol of mobility and resilience. The composition uses split-color semiotics: the right side of the piece features a blue house wall, representing the COPEI political era, while the shadows of the building on the left hide a subtle, subversive rendering of Chávez’s silhouette in muted reds and greens. This layering of "future" ghosts into a "past" setting reflects the cyclical nature of Venezuelan politics.
Intended Audience Experience I want the viewer to feel the tension between the loud, generous spirit of my grandmother and the quiet decay of her surroundings. While the truck carries bright gifts, the background is marked by cracked walls and makeshift infrastructure, like the blue water tank. I intend for the audience to question the nature of wealth in a country famously rich in resources but plagued by systemic poverty. The goal is to make the viewer feel the irony of a family living in scarcity yet traveling to Carúpano to give to others, embodying my grandmother's soul: a woman who demanded to be heard through her kindness.
Decisions and Difficulties A major conceptual decision was the license plate labeled FREE, transforming a utilitarian object into a symbol of rebellion and the literal liberty of movement that is often the first thing lost under oppressive regimes. The greatest difficulty was the color palette of the gift boxes. I chose red and yellow to represent the gift of communism that my grandfather—a devoted activist—believed he was bringing to his family and country. Balancing these bright, hopeful colors against the drab, impoverished background was essential to show the cognitive dissonance of that era.
Research and Investigations My research focused on the socio-economic dichotomy of 1970s Venezuela. Despite the oil boom, I investigated the real neighborhood aesthetics of the time, such as the specific look of the barrios and the prevalence of political propaganda like the COPEI newspaper included in the frame. I also delved into my family’s history with socialism, looking at how my grandfather’s activism shaped their reality. This research helped me understand that whether the government was right or left, the human outcome for families like mine remained a constant struggle for growth when humanity is ignored.
Successes and Future Changes. The most successful element is the hidden militaristic imagery within the shadows of the house, which bridges the 1970s setting with the contemporary political movement I experienced while creating this in January 2026. It creates a haunted effect, showing that the seeds of the future were already planted in the past. If I were to change anything, I might further emphasize the scarcity of the interior seen through the small window to create an even sharper contrast with the abundance of the gifts on the roof.
The primary inspiration for this piece is the origin story of my grandparents’ relationship in Venezuela. I was moved by the contrast between my grandmother’s repressive family environment and the rebirth she experienced upon meeting my grandfather. Their story is one of necessity, secret communication, and the transformation of a heart of wood into one capable of love.
Media, Techniques, and Work Processes: I chose a mixed media approach to reflect the multifaceted nature of memory:
Textiles: I used a wrinkled handkerchief as the canvas to ground the piece in the physical excuse my grandfather used to meet her.
Embroidery: The butterfly was hand-stitched to represent the delicate, growing nature of her feelings.
Wood: I used physical wood for the hearts to literally represent the song Corazón de Madera by Orlando Contreras.
Illustration: The rotary phone was drawn to emphasize the vintage, communicative element of their secret calls.
Markings: The intentional dark marks on the fabric reference the constant smoking of both grandparents, adding a sensory detail to the history.
Intended Audience Experience: I aim for the audience to experience the tension between secrecy and discovery. At first glance, it appears to be a collection of vintage tokens, but I want viewers to look closer and decipher the hidden messages. I want them to think about how love often begins as a need or a refuge rather than just a simple emotion.
Decisions and Difficulties: A major decision was the non-linear arrangement of the numbers on the telephone. Rather than a standard dial, I chose the sequence 1, 9, 4, 2 to mark my grandmother’s birth year, symbolizing her rebirth through this relationship. One difficulty was balancing the messiness of the handkerchief with the precision needed for the embroidery. I worked through this by allowing the fabric to remain wrinkled and stained, letting the damage tell the story of the original handkerchief that was lost in the wind.
Research and Investigations: My research involved the lyrics of Orlando Contreras and the mechanics of vintage communication. I used a T9 code for the number +58 66 33 33 3, which translates to the word NEED. This code works by using a standard telephone keypad, where each number represents a set of letters. To get a specific letter, you press the corresponding number multiple times. For example, 66 represents the second letter on the 6 key (N), and 333 represents the third letter on the 3 key (E). This highlights the effort and secrecy involved in their early contact.
Successes and Future: The most successful aspect is the coded symbolism. The duality of the butterfly, representing the blue fear (marked with an F) and yellow love (marked with an L), successfully captures the internal conflict my grandmother felt. If I were to do it differently, I might have integrated the pillow element she used to muffle the phone’s ring to further emphasize the theme of hiding the relationship.
This piece is inspired by a tragic and pivotal day in my grandmother’s youth when she lost her brother and saw her father arrested simultaneously. The work explores the sudden thrust of responsibility upon a teenager during a family crisis. It reflects the historical context of communist persecution, where false accusations led to her father’s imprisonment on the same day as her brother’s fatal accident.
Media, Techniques, and Work Processes: I utilized a mixed media approach to create a stark contrast between two different realities:
Watercolor: The left side uses light blue watercolor to represent the sky and heaven, a place of peace for her brother.
Burned Paper: I burned the edge of the black paper on the right to create a jagged, organic boundary that represents the "hell" of her reality and the harshness of the accusations against her father.
Graphite Drawing: The ear and the chained hand were rendered in graphite to provide a realistic, human connection to the physical trauma and the loss of freedom.
Found Objects: I integrated real electrical cables from my room to physically represent her brother’s passion for sound systems and the "connection" she still feels to him.
Silhouette: The central figure of my grandmother is drawn with a bold, striped pattern to signify her as the "marked one" in the family who had to carry the burden of responsibility.
Intended Audience Experience: I want the audience to experience the overwhelming weight of Heaven vs. Hell. I intend for viewers to see the contrast between the ethereal sky and the dark, oppressive reality of the arrests and hospital emergency. The goal is to make the viewer think about the moment a child is forced to grow up and take charge while the adults around them are unable to act.
Decisions and Difficulties: A major decision was placing the cables near the ear, referencing the specific accident where a sound system exploded during testing. One difficulty was balancing the composition so that neither side felt more important than the other, as both events happened at the same time. I resolved this by placing the grandmother's silhouette in the center, acting as the bridge between the grief of death and the fear of the law.
Research and Investigations: My research involved looking into the communist persecution of that era to understand why her father might have been falsely accused of harboring bombs. I also investigated the mechanics of mid-century sound systems to accurately portray the wires that led to her brother’s tragic accident. This investigation helped me understand how political suspicion and personal tragedy intersected on that day.
Successes and Future Changes: The most successful aspect is the use of the electrical cables, as they provide a literal and metaphorical link to her brother’s life and death. If I were to do it differently, I might have added more detail to the "neighborhood" background on the dark side to further emphasize the community's role in the false accusations against her father.
My artwork, titled "The Burden of an Early Habit," is a detailed drawing created using a limited palette of graphite pencils and black colored pencils on paper. I chose this specific medium and high-contrast, black-and-white technique to deliberately emulate the aesthetic of an aged photograph from the 1950s, which is the setting for the scene. The margins of the paper are intentionally styled to reinforce this antique, photographic appearance. The primary technique was detailed rendering, focusing on manipulating value and texture to create a deeply moody and evocative atmosphere. By restricting the color, I forced the focus onto the symbolism and the emotional tension in the scene.
The Big Idea and Artistic Goals: The big idea behind the artwork is to explore the initiation of addiction and its long-term, devastating consequences, using my grandmother's life as a deeply personal case study. The piece serves as a commentary on how small, seemingly innocuous decisions can set a person on a tragic path.
My overall goal as an artist is to use narrative portraiture and symbolism to explore complex psychological and social themes, making the personal universal. This piece successfully helped me reach that goal by translating the abstract concept of addiction into a coherent visual language. By embedding codes and metaphors within a specific moment, I created a work that invites the viewer to decode a universal truth through a highly personal story.
Subject Matter and Visual Analysis: The artwork is a psychological portrait depicting my grandmother as a minor, seated at a table and holding a cigarette.Subject Matter: The immediate subject is my grandmother beginning a habit, but the deeper subject is the principles of addiction, guilt, and the loss of innocence.
Elements & Principles: The most obvious elements and principles are Value, as the light dramatically highlights the smoke and her face against the dark shadows; Contrast, used powerfully between the focused light and the background gloom; and Rhythm, created by the repeating vertical lines of the door pattern.
Symbolism and Narrative Creation: The inspiration for this piece was my grandmother's life, specifically the poignant beginning of the smoking habit that would eventually lead to her death from cancer. My goal was to represent this moment not just visually, but symbolically, to capture the tension and consequence embedded in that choice.I created the art by carefully constructing a symbolic scenario around a reference image:
The Silhouette: Behind her, an open door reveals the dark silhouette of her father, spying on her, which introduces a powerful layer of familial pressure and hidden guilt.
Hidden Code: The repeating pattern of the door's shadows is a coded message: Morse code for "death," foreshadowing the inevitable outcome of her habit.
The Smoke and Time: The fumes rising from the cigarette subtly form the message of the Bible verse Job 8:7, which alludes to the small, deceptive beginning of a habit. A clock on the left is fixed at 12 o'clock, symbolizing the end of one life stage (childhood) and the beginning of a destructive new path.
Lost Innocence: On the table, a Venezuelan perinola (a traditional toy) is placed in sharp contrast to the cigarette, symbolizing the childhood play she is abandoning for an adult, harmful vice.
Overall Thoughts on the Artwork: I am most satisfied with the layered symbolism and the creation of a powerful atmosphere. Despite the initial difficulty in achieving a perfect likeness of my grandmother's face, the final decision to prioritize the emotional and symbolic integrity was the correct one. The artwork successfully functions as a deeply personal tribute while simultaneously acting as an accessible visual exploration of addiction's core mechanics.
My artwork is a mixed-media piece created by cutting and layering different segments of paper, which were then glued together on a main sheet. I used pencils and colored pencils to create all the visual elements.
The Story Behind the Art: This piece is a visual exploration of a person I don't know, based on a brief description I was given. My goal was to translate their inner world and personality into a single image. The artwork reflects their friendly nature, their love for DIY projects, and their tendency to cut off relationships to avoid getting hurt. It also incorporates their love for Tim Burton movies and their deep affection for their family, especially their younger brother. Finally, it touches on their fear of wasting their potential.
Elements and Symbolism: The artwork is titled "The Mind of a Stranger" and is rich with symbolic imagery. The most obvious elements are the use of sharp lines and contrasting colors, particularly the intense red and the black and white patterns. The brain and roots at the top represent the intricate network of thoughts and feelings inside the person's mind. The entire scene below is a landscape within their consciousness. The scissors, a direct reference to the Tim Burton film Edward Scissorhands, are the central focus. Along with the cut paper and the non-graphic red background that suggests blood, they symbolize the internal conflict of cutting off relationships versus self-harm. The woman is Hestia, the Greek goddess of family, and represents the person's strong bond with their family and their love for their brother. The moon reflects their ideal weekend of sleeping and rest. The beach landscape with water blocked by rocks symbolizes the feeling of wasting potential. The water, which represents their full potential, is unable to reach the shore. The black and white spiral on the sand dunes is a final reference to another Tim Burton film, Beetlejuice.
Artistic Goals and Final Thoughts: As an artist, my goal is to create works that tell a story and explore the complexities of human emotion. This piece was a successful exercise in using symbolism to interpret and represent an individual's psyche. It challenged me to take abstract concepts like "wasting potential" and "cutting off relationships" and give them a tangible, visual form. Overall, I am pleased with how this piece came together, as it effectively captures the essence of a person's inner world without ever having met them.