ARTWORK COMMENTARY: Melancholic Portrait

Date: October 2022

Dimensions: 14"x11"

This was for a school assignment and the first time I have ever used scratchboard. It was also the first time I had ever used makeup as a reference in my work before, despite makeup being a huge hobby of mine for about a year or two since I made this.

I have always loved the idea of the forlorn woman- the woman who looks out for some kind of answer- a woman with dreams. I think it stems from my love of tragedies and how I relate to trying to achieve something despite knowing I'm most likely not able to. This mixes a couple of my identities, from my Han Chinese ancestry with traditional Tang Dynasty makeup and the glitter tears actually being the colors of the asexual flag. In fact, this is the makeup look I ended up wearing to Pride in 2022. White eyeliner also forms a butterfly at the edge of my eyes, representing new beginnings in the turn of my approaches to art.