By Sue Turayhi
•
03 Apr, 2023
Art is born of the observation and investigation of nature. Marcus Tullius Cicero iMay of 2020, I decided to create five paintings. Each piece represents one of the fundamental elements that I refer to as, “environmental impacts”; wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Each element has its own color, shape, energy, and season. The process of focusing on one element for each painting allowed me to appreciate and understand how to use each one in my art to create balance and a harmonious composition. Wood Element - The colors that I associate with this element are the varieties of green tones, dark bluish purples, and red purples. I associate, shapes that are tall and narrow with the wood element. The tree trunk energy is active, growing, uprising. It represents the spring season. Symbolically it represents growth, abundance, harmony, and peace. Fire Element - The colors in this element are red, deep oranges, brilliant bright yellows. Shapes that come to mind are triangular or abstract. Fire energy is active and expansive. It represents strength as well as a sense of flare and drama. I associate summer with this element. Earth Element - The Earth colors are soothing and calming. Muted yellows, oranges, browns, tans, gold and clay. Contrary to typical beliefs associating earth to round, I use the square and rectangle to represent earth as a stable structure, firmly grounded. The four sides of the square represent the four directions; north, south, east, earth elements represent stability, grounding, rootedness. I see this element as a holder of water, metals, and nourishment for the woods. As a season I associate late summer with the earth element. Metal Element - The colors associated with metals are grays, whites, silvers, bronze, gold tones as well as pale pastels. Circles represent the metal elements for me and the energy is unity, perfection and completeness. I associate autumn with this element as a season. Water Element - The colors are represented through the deep blues and black. Blue for me conveys tranquility, serenity, and sadness. The color black includes all colors in the spectrum and therefore reflects brilliance. The shapes are always irregular, wavy, and curvy. The water element in my paintings represents the free-flowing feelings of the ocean as well as deep dark stillness of the night. The season I associate with the water element is winter. The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web. Pablo Picasso Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water painting Acrylic 12”x12” Sue Turayhi https://www.sueturayhi.com/ https://www.instagram.com/sueturayhifin/