Art 1 Final Portfolio

For our final exam in Art 1, we were asked to create a portfolio of all of the pieces that we have created this semester that reflects on how we have grown as an artist. Enjoy!

 

1.) Which project was your favorite or most successful this semester?

My favorite project that I completed this semester was the print of the Bubble-net feeding whales. I think that this was also my most sucessful because of the techniques that I used including having the differences of value to make the focus stand out. I also believe that the print ended up being my most sucessful because I was really inspired as an artist. I actually saw this in action for myself this past summer while my family was visiting Alaska, so I was able to use some of my own pictures and experiences as my inspiration. Being there for myself really made this successful for me and I enjoyed every minute of creating it. I think the most valuable thing that I took away from this piece as an artist was not just the technical things that I learned about how to make the final piece a success, but was the knowledge that you truly have to be inspired as an artist for your piece to be successful. I think that I have grown as an artist because of this and will be able to take that knowledge and use it in my entire career as an artist.

2.) Regardless of whether you liked or disliked a project, which one did you learn, grow, or developed the most from?



I think that I developed the most as an artist throughout the process of creating this clay tile. I enjoyed this project because it allowed me to explore a different medium that I wasn't used to and combine it with skills that I learned throughout the year. While the final product was not exactly what I had in mind, I think that I developed a lot as an artist. I learned a lot of new techniques about how to work with clay and the process that it entails to create a final clay piece. I also learned about the importance of color choice and that values really help to create a more realistic piece. I used different tints and shades to create the illusion of where the peacock is placed in relation to the background. Different values help also to create the perspective of the objects. I believe that I developed as an artist because of the techniques that I learned, and while it may not have been my most successful piece, I know that I can take those mistakes and just grow from there. The skills that I will be able to take from this project can be taken to all of my future pieces.

3.) Choose 1 piece of Art that you used skills and techniques learned from previous projects. Discuss your growth as an artist and how you incorporated these skills and techniques to create the piece.

I think that in this piece, I really used all of the skills and techniques that I had already taken from the class to create it. We had discussed a lot about the importamce of value and how much it impacts the realistic quality of a piece of art. For this assignment, I really played up on the value to give the VW Beetles depth and put them into perspective. Also, the value gives the cars their cast shadows which we had learned from doing our value solid practices. I was able to take all of these elements that I had learned and turn them into a piece that I am really proud of. I think that learning from mistakes and past experiences as an artist is extremely important to growth. You can never grow or become better unless you learn from past "art experiments." I think that I really grew as an artist not only because of what I discovered from this piece, but from the whole course because I now have the tools to combine all of these skills.

4.)Which project do you feel was the least important in learning the concepts taught in this course?

 

I think of all of the projects that  I completed this semester, this was the least important in learning concepts taught. It was a cool assignment, I appreciated the opportunity to create something unique with different tools. This was not my most successful piece, but I enjoyed being able to spray paint my best friend and I, how often do you get to say that?? I did, however, learn about how contrast and color choice can make or break a piece of artwork. I think that I can take what I experienced about that into other pieces, whether or not I am using spray paint to paint myself :). Despite this, I think that this was a poor representation of what I learned in this course and how I was able to grow as an artist. I feel as if I learned alot throughout the semester about value, perspective, fixed figures, color theory, I could go on and on. However, I don't believe that this piece was able to represent me personally as an artist and represent how I have grown in my knowledge as a result of this course.

 

5.) Choose a piece or artwork where the subject matter reflects you as an artist. One that you have a personal connection to. Please explain your choice.

This piece I think truly represents ME as an artist. Not who other people want me to be as an artist, but who I truly am. I took the picture that was the inspiration for this painting. The true inspiration, however, came from being there and the feeling that being there evoked. I was able to take that emotion and reflect it in my painting. I think that this piece turned out to be very successful and I think that that was a result of it being our final project. I was able to take every skill that I learned throughout the course and transfer it into one final piece that I am very proud of. We learned a lot about value this semester and the importance of it to make a painting more realistic. For example, the light is reflecting in the water towards the back, so closer to the subject, I used tones of the same color to create a more realistic perspective. I also blended all of the different colors together to create the true hues of the painting. I also discovered who I am as an artist and what my painting style is that will make my paintings unique to me. I think there are things that I could have done differently in the final piece, but I am proud of what I created and believe that I can take what I learned and just grow more as an artist!




I am very thankful for the opportunity that I have had this semester to learn and to grow. This course was just the beginning and I am certain that I will take all of the tools that I learned and grow even more. I believe that I have also grown as a person and that is ultimately what is important. I have learned that not only as an artist, but as a person, you have to stick to who you are and what you believe in. This course has given me the tools I need to pursue a lifetime of creativity!