Up Close and Personal

For this piece, the theme was "Up close and personal." I played around a lot with what I thought truly fit this theme. I actually was pretty far along in the design phase working on the idea of "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear," really just doing it because I was running out of time and couldn't think of anything better ;) However, as I was planning out that project, the idea of bubbles came into my head. And it stayed there. And I couldn't get it out. So I went with it! And I have to say, I am really pleased with how this turned out. It was definitely a risk but I think that it paid off. I think that I really grew as an artist through this piece, not only in the skills that I learned, but in being inspired and really going with my gut. I truly believe that to create a good piece, you have to put all of your soul into it; that will show through in the final outcome, no matter how the technique is showed.

With this piece, we were told to focus on emphasis. I showed emphasis by playing up the size of the bubble and making that the focus in proportion to the rest of the piece. I used oil pastels to create this piece because I have worked with them before but never on such a large scale. Also, I was really interested in improving my technique with them and learning how to use them better. While I definitely think that I can continue to improve my technique with pastels, I am really happy with how this turned out! This piece symbolizes a lot of growth for me as an artist in my skills, concepts, and most importantly, in emotion. I am excited to take this growth and apply it to future works!