Distractions: A Junior Conceptual Project by Niamh McLoughlin (2014)

The concept for my project is ''unease while meditating.'' Meditation is usually practiced to soothe the mind and find peace in one's life. Unease while meditating is frequently caused by distracting thoughts and the inability to stay focused. The girl in the white dress resembles the mind still at peace, but more drawn to the colorful sky, rather than the tranquil meadow. The black corner shows the distress and how it's coming towards her. The girl in the white dress is in a peaceful stance and looks confused by the sky because often times while meditating you can lose sense of your surrounding environment. The goal of meditating is to center yourself and this piece shows the difficulty of doing so.

To feel the sense of unease, I painted shapes and strokes using red, blue, black and white watercolors. While the water color was still somewhat damp, I shaded in regions using soft pastels to form depth and to get a stronger color. Once this was complete, I scanned it and displayed it on Photoshop. I used the smudge tool to blend the colors better. I added the previously taken photograph of the girl in the white dress and placed it behind the tall grass. I later changed the grass black and white, so it wasn't distracting from the main object of the picture, which is the girl in the white dress.