Daina Mattis

I apologize that I was unable to rotate this image of a painting however, at least it is up. The artist, Daina Mattis has recently displayed her work in the building of Shaffer at Syracuse University. From looking at this painting it seems that it was done with watercolor and pencil on large sheets of paper. The subjects are of a girl and a guy, the former in pink and the latter in blue. The female figure is seated and only the top half of her is defined with color while the rest of her is outlined in pencil. The male is emphasized by his blue jeans and sneaker -a.k.a. the lower half of his body. The girl is shown in profile, looking up at him as his outlined head looks back down at her. Both figures are placed differently and opposite parts of their bodies are emphasized still, they are each touching their shoes. Perhaps this has some significance about their similarities, what their journey together might entail, and gender roles. Nevertheless, this painting as a sweet emotion running through it, one of kind fascination. That only the figures have color seems to show that the setting is unimportant. Together with the lock gazes and turned heads, the viewer almost feels left out of their emotions. The connection between the two subjects appears to be strong, leaving the rest of the world behind.