Statira Alyea
Doha, Qatar (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Statira Alyea attended Wackers Academie in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. At Wackers, she was trained in classical art and exposed to many different mediums and techniques, ranging from drawing and sketching to oil paints and sculpting. Nearing the end of her time at the Academie, Statira discovered monotypes. The style and the flexibility appealed to her and opened a new world of possibilities.
Statira likes to have the freedom to explore different themes and styles within her art. She will commonly mix different artistic methods to develop a concept. What might start life as a charcoal sketch can develop into a watercolour and transform into a series of monotypes, dry point prints or paintings.
Artist Statement
As I create my art, it can inspire new or different emotions and it is important to be able to pursue these to capture the message of the work as it develops, before the raw emotion of the message is lost. I prefer to tell a single story across multiple works, switching topics as the story progresses. My art is consistent, but with a variety.
I focus on monotypes because I enjoy the freedom to explore how an idea develops. My prints revolve around dramatic lighting and strong contrast, and shadows play a prominent role in my work. I prefer a limited palette to focus on the subtle tones and the relationship between light and dark, and I appreciate the possibilities monotypes provide to combine a variety of additive and reductive methods and to use unconventional tools for creating expressive marks.
My inspiration comes from surroundings, situations and emotions. Recently, as the ability to interact with the outside world has been limited, much of my work represents a journey towards normalcy and the inner societal struggles to overcome media-fueled vision of an unforgiving world. Rather than focusing on the noise of society in my works, I look for the peace, serenity and individualism one can find with introspection.
Images of Work
Techniques
- Monotype
- Drypoint
- Gel Printing
- Drawing / Sketching
- Watercolor / Gouache
- Oil / Acrylic Painting
Favorite Products
I like many products from the Akua product line but my top three most used are the Akua Intaglio inks, the liquid pigment inks and the blending medium.
I generally like to mix and match but I use the intaglio inks and blending medium the most. With the intaglio ink I am able to take advantage of the thick, tacky characteristics of the inks for the parts of my monotype that I want fixed as it does not move or bleed and limits the blending of colours. This allows me to introduce a finer level of detail into my prints with fewer surprises. The blending medium is great for adjusting the consistency of the ink flow to my desired level and creating wash effects and more transparent layers.
Akua liquid pigments are very vibrant and lightfast colors that do not fade. They are wonderful to use by themselves or mix with intaglio inks. They react and blend with water creating stunning wash effects.
One of the greatest characteristics of Akua inks for me is its unprecedented open time. I can use the same ink palette for a very long time, up to weeks. As long as I store it covered, the inks do not dry or become unusable. This introduces a great deal of flexibility to my topics, techniques and approach. Together with the Release Agent, I can print a ghost print of an old monotype plate even weeks later!