MELAIA ARSENAULT

Everyone is Equal (2023)
Melaia Arsenault, 17, Waterloo Collegiate Institute
(oil on canvas)

“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting
that is felt rather than seen.” – Leonardo da Vinci.

When I produce art I create it with the intention of inspiring others. Whether it’s something simple that sparks an idea or a complex piece, with a deep meaning hidden within each individual stroke placed by my hand. For this particular piece, I wanted people to look at my painting and ask questions, I wanted them to feel like they were drawn into each and every part on the canvas but couldn’t quite figure out why. The theme we were given was “The Nature of Things”. My first thought when looking at this was the circle of life or literal nature. After thinking more about this prompt I came to the conclusion that I wanted to do something about sexism. After brainstorming multiple ideas, I decided on doing a piece to show how men have it easier than women in society. In my painting, you will see many stairs in the background. The focal point of my piece is the man rising to the top of the canvas in a blue elevator, while a bright pink woman is at the bottom of the page taking the confusing stairway up. I chose to paint with oil rather than acrylic or another medium because I wanted to add a lot of texture and make it look slightly abstract or surreal.