Drive Through Art Show Virtual Tour

"Breaking Dawn" by Lydia Larsen
Acrylic On Canvas 16” x 18”

Artist Statement

Hi, my name is Lydia Larsen. I am 15 years old and a ninth grade homeschooler. This was my fourth year of PV and session was definitely weird but I made the best of it. I created Breaking Dawn using many layers of acrylic paint on a canvas. This session I was hoping to have my mentor Matt Heabert teach me how to use oil paints, but because we had to do most of the session through zoom I was not able to do that. Instead I used acrylic paint which I am very comfortable working with and have used for my finished piece for two sessions in the past.

The inspiration for this piece came from the idea that as followers of Jesus we are lights into the darkness. I wanted to do a night skyscape/landscape with lots of stars to convey this idea. My painting evolved a lot over the months since I started it. At first it was cliffs looking out to the ocean, then cliffs with a river, then a mountain with a river. I was trying to challenge myself to paint something other than a mountain because I have done mountains before, but I felt that this piece needed a mountain and I really like the mountains, so I painted a mountain. I titled my piece “Breaking Dawn” because I like the metaphor of night not lasting forever and the fact I couldn't think of anything else to call it. Even though my painting looks like a sunset it is decidedly a sunrise.

This session of PV was very different but I am glad that we were able to continue it through zoom. I was one of the few people who got to share their like story in person before the lock down. I was really glad that we were able to still do life stories on zoom. The one thing that was great about zoom was that everyone could chat affirmations to someone after they shared their story instead of only three being able to share. I benefited from checking in with my small group each week and talking about life and our artwork. It was something I could look forward to during all the long days stuck at home. I appreciated all the positive critique I got on my painting all throughout all of my creative process. I would like to thank Matt for his encouragement throughout this session and all the mentors for making PV happen.

Oral Statement