Lauren

**Lauren Walter** Through my work with faces I tried to gain a deeper knowledge of cultures around the world as well as develop my skills and technical abilities as an artist. To achieve this I experimented with different medias and pushed my limits by painting on large canvases and loosening my brush strokes. Many artists have influenced me, most recently, while I was working on my Native American pieces the artists Harley Brown and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith inspired me. I also found the magazine Art In America to be a valuable resource. Another artist that influenced my work was Levi Van Vleuw. His contemporary face art inspired me to experiment with colors and expand my art onto the human face as seen in my pieces that represent traditional Maori tattooing and make-up form the Chinese Opera. During the course my theme has also developed along with my skill. Initially I choose Facial Decoration as my theme but as I began researching the cultures behind the decoration I became very interested and decided to change my focus. Faces of Culture is my theme now and is expressed in various ways. My first pieces are masks that represent the African countries I have lived in. In my later pieces I tried to focus on individual cultures across the globe. Now I have even incorporated social commentary into my piece “Welcome to Zimbabwe. In my work I believe the strength is the face related details. And in representing these faces I have used photography, oil paints, plaster, wire, cloth prints and other medias. This range in media parallels the diversity in the cultures I have focused on. Using different medias and techniques was challenging but overall satisfying and educational. This course has allowed me to expand my knowledge as an artist as well as my knowledge of the world surrounding us. Oil on Canvas 60x120 cm || Seeing Color Acrylic on Canvas 56x35.5 cm || Oil on Canvas 60x90 cm || Sisters Oil on Canvas 51x41 cm || Multimedia 62x46 cm || Separated Self Portrait Oil on Canvas board 45.5x75.5 cm || Face paint & Photography 62x62 cm || Chinese Opera Face paint & Photography 48x85 cm || Multimedia 61x54x16 cm || Faces of Africa (Cote D'Ivoire) Multimedia 42x72x16 cm || Acrylic on Canvas 90x45 cm || Faces of Africa (Senegal) Multimedia 73x175x16 cm ||
 * Personal Statment:**
 * Welcome to Zimbabawe
 * Chief
 * Buffalo Dream
 * Ta Moko
 * Faces of Africa (Zimbabwe)
 * Home