"Sticky Situation"

 

     For this project, the theme was "Sticky Situation." While brainstorming ideas for the new assignment, I came up with lots of ideas that I could just simply paint on the canvas such as different candies and suckers. While sketching out different compositions, I couldn't get the idea out of my head of using actual tape to create my sticky situation. So I went with the idea and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! Creating this piece was actually a very sticky situation because I started out by sculpting the shape of the main rose with layers and layers of masking tape. Let's just say, I got a little wrapped up! After the main rose was completed, I painted the different layers of it being as true to the values as I could be and finished it off by painting the roses in the background. To make repetition a strong element of my piece, I not only repeated the shape and colors of the flowers, but I also tied them all together by incorporating some of the tape into the other flowers. 

     I have worked with acrylics before and I have always been fascinated with how they blend so easily, so I was really excited to have the opportunity to experiment with that with this project. I think there is definitely room to improve my skills with acrylic paint but I think this project really helped to do that. I think that I could have made the highlights a little stronger to show the strength of the light source. I also think that I could have  made some improvements to the shape of the leaf petals, but overall, I believe that this "sticky situation" was a great exhibit of how I have grown as an artist and where I plan to go!  
    

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!

What's the Point?

     Welcome back! So the new semester has started and I am so excited for what Art II has to offer. This year for the new semester, after given a topic, we have the opportunity for each new project to interpret it according to however we feel inspired by it. We started off with our first project right away with the theme of "What's the Point," and I have to say, I am really happy with how the final piece turned out. I started off by coming up with a list of things that came to mind when I thought of this theme. Some things that I came up with included points on a star, Ballerina Pointe, and more. What I felt truly inspired by, though, was the interpretation of an interesting "Point of View."
     I felt really inspired by taking the idea of a unique perspective literally as well as figuratively. I played around with the idea of using contrasting colors to display the idea of a true artistic perspective as well as the idea of people's different perspectives on ways of living. The light, airy feeling evoked from the farm side was created by using white paper and charcoal. It displays a simple feeling and a lighter perspective. The more dark and empty feeling emitted from the city perspective was created with black paper and a white colored pencil. I chose these mediums because I thought that they would do the best job of emitting the contrasting perspectives, but in a cool and unique way! I had never done something like this before, using different media to get across the message of the piece, but I am glad I took the risk and did something that I am proud of as an artist! I am so excited to see what is in store for this year and how much I can grow as an artist!

Acrylic Landscape

For our final project this semester, we were asked to pick a picture of a landscape and paint (for the first time!) with acrylics on a canvas. I was super inspired by this photo because I loved how it translated the feeling that actually being there evoked. I think that I was very successful in my overall painting because of this and also because I was able to use all of the techniques that I have learned throughout the course. I was able to see how the various techniques we learned (value, color theory, perspective, etc.) can really work together to create a final piece.

I have really enjoyed the opportunity to have had this course and I truly value how much I have grown as an artist because of this. I can't wait for Art II next year!! Check back for more then :) Enjoy!

Biomes Clay Tile

For this piece, we were able to work with clay for the first time to recreate a biome and an animal that may be found in that biome. I chose the grasslands biome and decided to create a peacock within that biome. I chose to do a peacock because I am really intrigued by the unique colors and intricate designs on them. I think that I was really able to capture that unique quality of this bird in my final piece. I used all that we have learned about color theory to give the bird this quality, as well as what we were taught about techniques used for clay. I think that this was really successful because I was able to use a lot of skills that I have aquired throughout the course to complete it! Plus, the gold is a nice touch...who doesn't like a little glitter?? :)

Printing Project

For this project, we were asked to get inspired by an animal in it's habitat and sketch it. Then, given linoleum tiles and ex-acto knifes, we carved out the negative spaces. Once we had created our own "print", we transferred the print with ink on brayers onto the paper. The blue areas shown here were what were rolled on after being left raised. We created a series of five final prints using the one tile.

I really liked this project because not only was it fun, I really learned a lot of neat techniques. It was really neat to be able to see start to finish how one tile can turn into multiple prints. Most of my final prints were very sucessful as a result of clean lines, contrasting textures and values, as well as good color combinations. I think that they also turned out so well because I was really inspired throughout the process. I actually went to Alaska this past year and saw this scene for myself.  Being there and actually feeling what the scene provokes truly show through my work. I hope you can see how inspired I was through the final product!

Frog Tongue

??? That's what I was thinking too. But I think that this turned out pretty well. We used another photoshop tutorial to blend a picture of a frog and a tongue to create this. I learned a lot of new tools that are available to be able to blend together two pictures in order to make it look realistic such as brush tools, color changes, value tools, and more. Learning these tools will be very helpful in the future to create new forms of art. I really enjoyed this assignment because it was a new way to look at art!