by Gonzalo Malagon
Olivia Parsons, a senior at Valdosta State University is preparing to showcase her work in the Senior Exhibition. Originally from Mint Hill, North Carolina, Olivia has been around art nearly her entire life. Her mother was a self taught interior designer who made sure to educate her children on art. Early on Olivia fell in love with art and being encouraged by her parents is what ultimately led to her decision to pursue art. She grew up near a farm and spent a lot of time outside, and she became enamored by the beauty of nature. The Impressionist movement is a big inspiration for her as it was the movement that brought importance to the everyday moment, and that is something that Olivia often tries to accomplish with her art. She likes to take a moment that lasts for two seconds and extend it so it can be reflected upon for years. A “painter of moments” as she describes herself, Olivia has chosen six moments to put on display at the Senior Exhibition.
The first moment is one from her childhood, a birthday party. Her brother’s birthday party to be exact; he is seen blowing out the candles to his cake, and right beside him is Olivia copying him and attempting to do the same. She describes her brother as someone who she really looked up to while growing up and perhaps the sibling she was closest to, apart from her twin sister. This scene really strikes Olivia as birthdays seem to have a great importance in one’s childhood, and Olivia in the scene perfectly encapsulates what every kid is like during a birthday party that isn’t theirs, desperately wishing it was.
The palms, or as Olivia liked to call them, her friends, are from a summer where she worked as an intern in Charleston, South Carolina. Olivia describes this summer as a very lonely one as she was in a place where she did not know anyone, so everyday after work she would take a walk through the park where these palms were located. Even though she did not have any human company with her, she was surrounded by the beauty of nature and the palms. Olivia describes the way the palms moved with the wind and how she’d match her breathing with them as a meditative experience and goes on to say how they became her friends.
The next one is a self portrait, but Olivia is not awake in it. Sleep is something that is important not only to Olivia, but every single human, and with this one she is able to view herself in a way she normally would not be able to. She finds this scene really beautiful because sleep is something that takes up a large amount of our time each day and helps us recharge so we are able to function during the times we are awake.
When explaining the next painting, that sits directly behind the previous one mentioned, Olivia says “Even the saddest days there is hope, there is beauty, there are still little moments in every day, even the most painful ones, to be grateful for. And the painful moments make the happy moments even sweeter.” This glistening landscape of a sunset’s reflection on the ocean is from the day Olivia’s grandfather passed away. She was set to spend the day with her uncle when she received a call from her mother informing her of the passing. Olivia sat with her uncle in his truck as they both cried after hearing the news. After a while her uncle told her they were still going to go on their adventure and have a good day. They went to a beach in Cedar Key, Florida and this was when Olivia witnessed, for the first time, a sunset where the sun disappeared into the water. The scenery was breathtaking with the sun’s light reflecting on the water in a way she had never experienced before.
Sunsets became a big part of Olivia’s life because her father watched the sunset every day and Olivia would join him. She fell in love with the cloud in this particular sunset, and wishing she could spend more time with it she photographed it. Olivia wanted to explore it further and dissect the shape and color of the cloud, which then led to her being able to spend more time with the sunset. That is something Olivia desires every time she sees a sunset, being able to stay with it for longer than the fifteen minutes or so they stick around.
Lastly comes a scene from a family tradition where they go to a golf course and watch fireworks on the third of July. This is to Olivia one of those moments where you are cherishing it and wish it could last forever but know that it won’t so you try to enjoy it as much as you can but are sad that it’ll eventually come to an end. While painting this, Olivia listened to “Stop this Train” by John Mayer constantly and it reminded her of the feeling of growing up and having to move on but wanting the good times to never end. So by capturing this moment in a painting, Olivia is able to relive it and remember what she felt during that moment.
Olivia describes life as not just big accomplishments or moments but also a collection of small moments that seem unimportant but add up to a lifetime. With her art she aims to give importance to those small moments and allow them to live on forever. By doing so, it allows one to see and dote on the beauty life contains even when it may not seem like it has any. After graduating, Olivia will take a gap year and then plans on attending graduate school to move towards becoming a professional artist and being able to capture more moments going forward.
Gonzalo Malagon is a Junior at Valdosta State University working towards a Bachelors in Art. After graduating he wants to pursue a career in photography.