Payton Azhocar

Freshman
Paintings- True Colors
DAVINCI Showcase Statement
For my showcase project, I created a series of acrylic and watercolor paintings titled True
Colors. These three paintings feature my friends all outlined in a specific color that I associate
with their being and personality. In the piece subtitled Confetti Hair and Mountain Air, the
subjects, Ian Mattox and Emma Jaber overlook a large mountain range. Mattox and his curly
locks are outlined in a rich green, similar to the soothing valleys and lush meadows that surround
Durango which represents his lively and stimulating nature. Jaber is outlined in a zesty orange,
the shade of a ripe tangerine, that hints at her bubbly and bright personality. In the piece subtitled
Sawyers Sunset, my late friend Sawyer Ward is outlined in a golden yellow and a bold color of
orange that resembles the sunset behind him. This represents his warm and radiant character that
reflected upon all those around him. The final piece subtitled Fawn the Wonderdog + Sweet
Caroline features Caroline Knight and her dog Fawn. Knight is outlined in a mellow yellow to
highlight her steady and soothing ways while Fawn is outlined in a light purple to accentuate her
light, carefree attitude. I chose to create separate paintings combined into one piece in order to
show how everyone has a unique and specific personality and being. In order to create this piece
I used the creativity skill Combine and Synthesize because I created several paintings and
combined them into a single piece and made the familiar strange and the strange familiar by
taking the subjects personalities and all that remains inside and making it their outline.I also
used the skill Put Your Ideas in Context by taking colors I associated different people with and
recreating them in a tangible form of art.
I chose to submit this piece, which was created outside of school. However, I took many
skills learned from Mr. Kauppis Visual Arts Rotation in DAVINCI Foundations class. In this
class I learned how to critique art and incorporate the principles of design and the elements of art
into my work. I used the Principle of Design, Unity, to tie my three paintings into one complete
piece. This creation is a great example of the Integration of the Arts that is used everyday in
DAVINCI as we interpret our surroundings and incorporate them into our artwork in order to
demonstrate our learning and understanding of our environment.
Before I could even create this project, I discovered that I could connect my friends and
family members, people I knew really well, to specific colors that reflected their personality and
how I viewed them. I was walking around school with one of my peers and they mentioned
someone I knew very well. Their color just popped into my head and from then on I paid closer
attention to how my brain was wired around people that I knew and understood. Ive always had
a passion for sketching, watercolors, and graphite shading, but this time I decided to take my
work a step forward and use acrylic paint as well. I soon discovered that acrylic paint was very
hard on the paper I was using so in the future I will use actual canvas, for a more polished and
professional look.
I chose these three paintings because they all display my strengths and growth as a
developing artist and they display my subjects on a really up close and personal level. If I could
do it all over again, I would work on time management because these several paintings took up a

lot more time and energy than expected, but now that I have an idea of how long a painting will
take to complete, I believe that I will improve greatly in the near future and set more realistic
timelines for myself. I now understand how to use acrylic and watercolor paint together in order
to create a more wholesome piece. This process helped me realize my true abilities and style, and
yes, maybe even colors when I fully apply myself to my art. I also learned that there is often so
much more than it seems to an individual as there are a lot of colors, emotions, and personalities
brewing under the skin.