The Journey: Part One

During my junior year of high school I was fortunate to get a scholarship to attend a Saturday drawing class at the prestigious Art Center College of Design. Although I had pondered going to art school I was also interested in English literature, Psychology and Photography. So, every Saturday morning I would get up super early and drive my little red VW bug out to the foothills of Pasadena. The class was specifically focused on life drawing from live models, sometimes dressed in fanciful costumes, sometimes nude.
One day after our break, I walked past a classroom that had a full time students work on display, most likely their portfolio. The work broadened my perspective and made me conscious of illustration. I saw the work and thought, that's what I want to do!
I attempted to get into Art Center out of high school but did not have the qualifications. Instead I enrolled in drawing classes at my local community college and a pre-college program at Otis Art Institute. At the junction of the 101 and the 134, rather than heading toward Pasadena, I drove South toward Otis in the heart of downtown Los Angeles.

Image information: “Vision” © Roxana Villa
Medium: acrylic veils of color on gessoed board
Image dimensions: 5 x 5

“Vision” was commissioned as one of five other paintings for the City of Hope 2002 Annual Report. The concept for the Annual Report was “Hope is”. This painting titled Vision was to accompany the section for Hope is Imagination. The expansive qualities of the imagination are evoked by using the metaphor of primordial waters, where all is born. The figure in the boat doubles as an eye representing the creative vision found amongst the doctors at City of Hope.

Art Center College of Design
Otis Art Institute