war

Artwork: Sorrow (Heritage Series)

. Art by Sherrie Thai of ShaireProductions.com

Sorrow

Sorrow is my third piece of the Heritage Series (Ghosts of Khmer Rouge and Contemplation), a self-initiated project concerning the historic atrocities in Asia. Originally a personal tribute to my family in regards to their experiences via the Khmer Rouge, I think this particular piece is applicable to the current events as war is still prevalent. Regardless of your position, the effects of war is saddening.

The background of this image was similar to the rest of the Heritage series–patterns from a brush pen infused with a cloud texture in Photoshop. I’ve always loved trees and thought they have many human aspects. The trees of Angkor Wat have so much life to them–they seem to cry out in pain. Combining horror elements with social themes may have a greater impact to the message of the artwork.

Artwork: Contemplation (Heritage Series)

. Art by Sherrie Thai of ShaireProductions.com

This is the second piece of the Heritage Series I started concerning human atrocities in Asia, particularly the Khmer Rouge–a tribute to my family and to the countless innocent people caught in the crossfire.

The inspiration of this composition was from an old photo (perhaps National Geographic) of an Asian male digging through a pile of bones, looking for the remains of his relatives. What furthered my interest was a photo my friend, Ricky, took while visiting Angkor Wat; it was a simple image of monks looking off into the distance. Merging the two, I came up with this piece. The colors are subdued, with accents on the focal points–the robe and the flames surrounding the bones. The image on the right contains the monotone graphite drawing. I chose not to apply color to the monk’s face to give a sense of humanitarian loss–of being a ghost in a world of struggle and hate.

Artwork: Ghosts from Khmer Rouge (Heritage Series)

. Art by Sherrie Thai of ShaireProductions.com

This piece was inspired by the stories of my family–of tragedies from the hands of the Khmer Rouge (Pol Pot), military intervention, and refugee camps. Different times beget different circumstances, but overall, history repeats itself. In a general sense, this piece is also a commentary on the atrocities of war, power, and corruption. Because this artwork comes from a very personal space, it holds great sentimental value. My family is ethnically Chinese, but have faced the same atrocities as Cambodians and Vietnamese from the Khmer Rouge. Modern Pan-Asian pollination has unified different cultures through basic life experiences. Sparked by personal events and a sense of self-exploration, I’m glad to have finally created the first (in hopefully–many) artistic tributes to my family and culture: The Heritage Series.

The initial illustration on the right is graphite on vellum. From there, I scanned in the artwork, collaged patterns (created from my brush pen) and digitally colored the piece. In many of my mixed media pieces, I tend to leave certain areas in grayscale. I’ve always loved juxtaposing detail with simplicity–in concept or through visual elements (Graphic Alchemy). While the Buddha monument is in the foreground, it’s mostly monochrome–the viewer gets drawn into the detail, and not distracted by color. Although color can be a powerful tool, I like to emphasize the simplicity of the subject matter by taking color away. View Larger Version