Cory Willingham van der Does: Painting A Garden!

F5: Painting the Psychological Impact of Extreme Weather

For my thesis (F5: Painting the Psychological Impact of Extreme Weather) I employ the depiction of extreme weather events such as tornados, hurricanes, and dust storms in a narrative format to move the viewer to the unsettling space that lies between basic instinct and self-awareness. Why and how do we react to such severe and life-threatening storms? These paintings work to define and contain these psychological states within a single moment and shed light on the complexity of human motives and the way we relate to the world around us.

Employing painting techniques such as abstraction, collage, and experimental surface treatments, I explore new possibilities within the narrative tradition. I combine images from sources such as meteorological surveys, psychology textbooks, scientific journals and websites, and personal photographs to create highly textured paintings deeply layered with meaning. By exploiting the unique properties of oils, acrylics, and charcoals, and by embedding within the paint natural materials such as pine needles, rocks, twigs, sand, and moss, and incorporating man-made common household construction materials such as spackle and bead-board panelling, the forms within the compositions and the surface of the paintings become interdependent in the translation of the message.

If you are interested in additional information about this body of work or my thesis, please don't hesitate to email me!

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Painting A Garden!

I was honored to be asked to paint a million irises for the 2016 Houston Garden Club's Bulb and Plant Mart event, which runs October 13-15 at St. John's Divine. I know NOTHING about flowers (is there an opposite of the green-thumb? That's me!), so I had to do some research and learn about twenty-five or so varieties of the Louisiana Iris in order to be able to paint some beautiful life-size (or larger) irises, as well as seven 8'-long and 3'tall canvases that were hung together to create an enormous field of flowers. I think it turned out so great, and I was really thrilled to donate my time for this particular job in honor of my amazing mom, Delby Willingham, who has put in countless hours over countless years of dedicated service to the HGC.