Two of my watercolor vulva studies were featured in Juxtapoz!

 

"These watercolor studies by Liz Darling explore both the female anatomy and the possibilities of watercolor as a medium. With simple, expressionistic brushstrokes Darling is able to successfully capture the most intimate parts of a woman. Darling is an artist and art educator from Kansas. She earned her degree in Art at Pittsburg State University."


Vulva Study I is on Tumblr, too!

Art teachers!

My work

I have 3 pieces in the Pittsburg State University Art Department's show, Inspiring Voices - an exhibition of works by high school art teachers in the four state area. The exhibition runs from October 24th - December 6th in the Harry Krug Gallery. Here is an article about the exhibit.

Mountain. Watercolor. © Liz Darling  2012.

Ascension. Oil on Canvas. © Liz Darling  2012. 

I haven't decided if I'm finished with this or not. Probably not. There are several things I'm thinking of doing to the eye-like forms, yet right now, I enjoy their simplicity.

Bone Creek. © Liz Darling 2012. 

Bison. © Liz Darling 2012. 

Testing The Water. © Liz Darling 2012. 

Some photos of Bone Creek Lake, Lake Crawford, and Prairie State Park.

Self-Portrait As A Happy Meal Toy. McDonalds Toy, Air-dry clay, acrylic, toothpick. © Liz Darling  2012.

Speaking of experimentation, this is probably the strangest thing I've done in awhile. My daughter got a truly freakish Happy Meal toy from McDonalds. It was a cartoon-like bust of something resembling a Bratz doll. Bleached blonde, highly "made up", alien-sized eyeballs... very hypersexualized. I cringed to think of her playing with this toy (not that she seemed to pay it much notice anyway), so I took it into the studio and attempted to start painting over the overload of makeup and make the eyes a proportional "human" size. I got a little carried away, sculpting the face with air-dry clay, and creating a tiny pair of glasses out of a toothpick. The result of this madness is a tiny version of myself.

Sagittal. Watercolor and Gold Leaf on Paper. © Liz Darling  2012.

Cross section views of the human body are utterly beautiful. Shortly after I finished making this painting, I sold it to a friend whose husband is ophthalmology school. Hopefully it will make a nice addition to his future office.

Warm. © Liz Darling 2012. 

Aerial. © Liz Darling 2012.

Creep. © Liz Darling 2012. 

Don't Look Forward. © Liz Darling 2012. 

Spent spring break in beautiful Eureka Springs. It rained most of the week. Here are a couple of photos from the trip.

Dinosaur. © Liz Darling  2012. 

Love the uniformity of the seeds in this green pepper.

Grind. Watercolor. © Liz Darling  2011.

Undulate. Watercolor. © Liz Darling  2012.

Touch. Watercolor on Paper. © Liz Darling  2011.

These nonobjective watercolor paintings are about balance and sensual, fluid forms. The organic lines, forms, and colors create a sense of compositional harmony in each painting, but as a whole, I tried to surrender control of the work's outcome and paint intuitively. The medium lends itself to much spontaneity.
Now that I am finished with college and once again removed from thinking of art in a traditional, competitive sense, I am striving to return to the core of what creation is fundamentally about (for me, right now). These paintings are a reflection of my journey to create peace and balance in my all aspects of my life.

My oil painting, "Lemacado", will be on display at the Pittsburg Public Library for the next six months. This will be a bi-annual rotating display by local artists and art owners.