#10- Choice Project

For our final two assignments in Art 4, we were tasked with creating any two choice pieces that we wanted. I decided that I was going to take this opportunity and create two pieces that I felt really represented me as an artist as well as how much I have grown throughout this semester. For my first one, I wanted to do one final, all out mixed media piece. I heard the idea of "Owning Your Future" and was immediately inspired. I didn't have an exact plan in my head but I knew what I wanted to portray so I went for it. 

To me, when I think about the future, I get pretty overwhelmed. There is so much to consider and so many options that will impact the rest of your life at age 16. I thought about what I wanted my future to look like and honestly, I didn't have a picture in my mind. All I saw was trying to be a light in all that I do, no matter what I end up doing, who I end up doing it with, or where I am end up doing it. I want to be a light. I was immediately inspired to create a piece that would represent this idea as to what it means to me personally, as well as inspire others. 

I began by painting a large canvas board in varying shades of red watered down acrylics. I then spent hours layering and layering various interesting papers, ripping them, sorting them, replacing them. You get the picture. I had to be very careful that it did not get too messy or too overwhelming, but that it would remain visually interesting. 

I then began sketching figures of people, two who are vibrant and exuberant, and the rest that look tired and a little worn out. I then watercolors the two vibrant ones in bright colors to emphasize the point of being a light and the others with black and white. The two bold figures appear as if they are leadin the rest of the group and spreading their light wherever they go. It was challenging getting the composition right and again, not making the piece too busy. At one point, I was struggling that I thought the figures did not stand out enough, so I placed extra pieces of paper behind them and I think it made all the difference. 

I learned a lot about mixed media through this piece. I learned most importantly that there is no magic trick to get it right. You just visualize what you want to portray and literally use every medium you own on one piece. Not really. But kind of. I am super excited about how this piece turns out. I believe it showcases a lot of skills that I learned this semester, even skills acquired through all of the paintings I completed. I think this is one of my best mixed media pieces and I look forward to entering it into shows soon.