Final Thoughts

     One highlight was the still-life. At first I didn't like using acrylics or capturing the likeness of objects, but by the end of the unit I felt more confident with the paints and felt like I was getting the objects on the canvas fairly accurately.
     Another highlight was the imaginative self portrait. I loved the fact that not everything was set in stone, and that it was me, so I could fill my head in the way I am and the way I feel. It looked like everyone had fun with this unit and came out proud of their work. I was pretty proud of my work, but it didn't really come out how I imagined it.
     The last highlight was the watercolors. The painting that I am working on will probably end up being my favorite. Even when we just started working with the watercolors, I felt it kind of click, I really like the way that watercolors don't give second chances, and that if you make a mistake you have to take that mistake and try to turn it into something beautiful.
     These experiences impacted my learning because they made me like art more, and looking back, they have taught me important life lessons as well. Like when something doesn't turn out the way I imagine it, I have to look at it in a different light, and accept it and take it in for the way it is. Also, if you make a mistake, there won't be second chances, the only hope is to approve upon the mistake, or take the mistake and make it into something worth being proud of. They taught me things about my life that I didn't even realize at the time, and they helped me look inside. They have given me a different outlook on the outside world and the way things work.

Work of Art I am Most Proud Of

I am most proud of the still-life painting. At first I wasn't good with the acrylic paint or capturing the likeness of objects. But after a long while spent on the struggle bus I started to enter a flow. Mixing the paints and putting them on the canvas became easier. This impacted my learning because it's made me realize that even if something is hard, if you stick at it, there's a possibility of improving the quality of my work. I feel like I really pulled through on this painting, and it's one of my favorites of the year.

Watercolor Techniques

Purpose: To experiment and learn a variety of watercolor techniques

The most important concepts I learned from the watercolor practice techniques is to start light, how to layer on paint, and how unforgiving watercolors are. Layering on color after color will make the color darker, but too much water and paint will break down the paper. The thing about watercolors is that once you put paint down, you can never get the white back, so before painting use masking fluid or tape to cover the parts you want to keep white. Also, if you put a dark color on the paper, you can not make it lighter. Watercolors are so unforgiving that if you so much as let a drop of water land on your painting where you don't want it, the whole painting could be ruined. This could be bad but it's also good. It teached me to be careful what I do because there aren't second chances.

Final Still-Life Painting

Purpose:
To communicate all of your knowledge about color and painting techniques to create a final, more complex, still-life painting (than your smaller still-life studies);

• To use your knowledge about composition and placement to arrange your fruit and/or vegetable to create a strong composition.

Responses:
I said that I wanted to work with yellows, reds, oranges, and browns. I used a blue/purple/green background, but besides that most of the colors I used were the ones I wanted to practice with such as in the starfish, the seashell, the wood, and the blocks. I also wanted to use a textured background which I got by mixing paints on the canvas I was using, while painting it.
 I felt like the background was the easiest part, I just layered on paint then mixed. It was a time to let the part of me that likes abstract peek through in my painting. I also learned how to mix colors much better. One of my challenges was shadows. I overcame my inability to make the shadows seem right by just trying something and going with it until it looked decent then going back and glossing over it.

Perspective Strategies

1. Linear perspective is the organization of shapes in space using straight lines to create an idea of an object's size and 3D shape.

2. Aerial perspective is the organization of the atmospheric effects on tones and colours and the way colors change depending on their distance from the eye.

3A, Horizon Line: It is a point of reference used to judge the scale and distance of objects in relation to us. In perspective drawing, the horizon happens to be the viewer's eye-level. In art, the term 'eye level', is used rather than 'horizon' because in many pictures, the horizon is hidden by walls, buildings, trees, hills etc.

3B, Vanishing Point: The point at which receding parallel lines viewed in perspective appear to converge.

3C, Orthogonal Lines: Lines pointing to the vanishing point. The lines are parallel to the ground plane and move back from the picture plane and they set the varying heights or widths of a rectangular plane and always appear to meet at a vanishing point on the eye level.

3D, Transversal Lines: Lines that establish a fixed height or width between two orthogonal lines, and lines that form the nearest and furthest edges of a rectangle as it recedes from view.

Still-Life Studies

When I start my final still-life I want to remember to start with the background and slowly layer on paints. I also want to be less cautious and remember that acrylic paints are forgiving. I can make a mistake and fix it by layering more paint on. The orange scheme worked better for me than the blues, so I want to work with yellows, reds, oranges, and browns. The only thing about that is that I have a hard time creating a shade for orange, but that will be a good thing to learn. I also want to use a slightly textured background of one color, or one color and different shades of it.

What is Still-life?

     Still-life is the showing of an everyday object depicted in a painting or drawing or sculpture. More importantly it helps an artist understand lighting and shading. Still-life can be tracked back to Egyptian art, but it is still used in the modern world. Some artists like to make still-life portraits traditionally, but some have taken a new approach to it.
     I chose this image, Made in China Blue painted by Gigi Boyle because I really like how the color of the white and blue stood out from the brown background. I also liked the amount of extreme, careful detail. I liked the way Boyle shaded it, it looks like the sunlight is shining into a darker room from a window. The bright blue and the stacked bowls drew my attention. I love the way Boyle shows the precarious balance of the stack of bowls. This could influence my work by making me want to use more detail, but still concentrate on the bigger picture and create a beautiful painting.

How might any aspect of this influence your work?

Imaginative Self-Portrait

1.

1. Triple Goddess Crescent Moon: This symbol represents the three phases of the Triple Goddess. This practically symbolizes my religion in a whole and it's a big part of who I am, so it only seemed right to add it to my drawing, it is an essence of me. It's in the middle because this is a central part of my life.
2. Box With Heart: Symbolizes the metaphorical box I've trapped my heart in. It is located to the back because it is protected by everything else.
3. Vines: Symbolizes the vines that protect the box, they surround the box, surrounding it in a black cover of protection.
4. ID: Infected Design "insignia", the concept I use in many of my drawings, and since I draw with it a lot, it was important to add.
5. Triskelion: This is a symbol of action and moving forward, this shows how I jump into things quickly, it is a part of my personality.
6. The Mark of Bendrui: Symbol of the High Priestess of the Triple Goddess, again references to my religion, it's towards the center because religion is a central part of my life.
7. The Sun: Symbolizes the light and goodness within me.
8. The Wisps of Wind: Symbolizes the windows that will open for me in my life, and how I will continue to blow forwards.
9. Design 1 (lines): The actual design of infected design. Shows the corruption within to balance out the good from the sun. Since I draw with it a lot, it was important to add.
10. Design 2 (swirls): The good that comes from the infected design pattern and the flower of life. The swirls are eye captivating and pretty.
11. Eye of Horus: A sign of protection, shows how I protect the ones I love. Also represents one of my eyes, which explains the placement.
12. Eye of Ra: A symbol of power, shows how I'll need will power and strength to get through the stages of my life. Symbolizes my other eye, although it is on the wrong side of my face.
13. Angel Wings: Shows the influence of goodness and moving forward and the wish to fly free.
14. Hourglass: This shows that my time is ticking, and to live life to the fullest before time runs out.
15. Heartagram: "Modern Yin Yang", and is meant to represent the juxtaposition of 'good and evil', 'light and dark', and 'love and death'. I love balance and this is a cute way to use it.
16. Upside Down Cross: Refers to curses and bad things I have to face in my life.
17. Flower: The flower of life, turns the corruption into good which fills the rest of the head and spreads everywhere. It was a good addition because it turned something infected into an eye catching swirly design.
18. Crescent Moon: Symbolizes that I'm in the first stage of my life, it is the first stage of the three of the Triple Goddess.

2. 

The spots of dark balance out where from far away most of it looks a medium grey. I used the white value to show my skin and hairline. I feel like I have an even amount of dark and light, and that it balances out, for example, the dark wisps of wind around the sun balance out the white and the lighter color around the sun.

3. 

The strengths I found while completing this drawing were the small details and the laying everything out. I had a hard time with the balancing of light and dark, because when I drew little details it looks like more of a grey. I wish I had had more time to make this better and turn it into what it really deserves to be.

Grading.

I think I deserve a 3.5 because I worked really hard on this one, and I made sure to balance it out and lay it out so it fit. It doesn't deserve a 4 because with more time I could have done much better.

Realistic Self Portrait

I was told that the features of the face (eyes, nose, mouth, etc) were not in my face but on my face and that they didn’t sink in, but that they come out of my face. They are 3D not 2D. I think I got better at this on the chin and cupids bow, as well as the nose.
Shading. I shaded the side of my face in the final, but in the pre-instructional I didn’t do any shading, but I did try to by smudging the black, but it’s not as dramatic as it needs to be. Eyes. The details in the eyes got better. I did it more accurately, and I got the lines under my eyes better as well. Mouth. My pre-instructional mouth was not the shape of my mouth and it wasn’t shaded at all. All the lines are the same width and darkness. Outlining. On the pre-instructional I outlined everything in black, but I fixed that where I could in the final, especially on the mouth and cupids bow and the right side of my face.

Sketchbook, Portrait Drawing

Should've shaded the background better, and blended the colors more. I used the wrong color to darken the red for shading (should've used green instead of black). Should've spent more time on the dog. I also missed the hand holding the dog (because I wasn't sure how to draw it). I should've done the face with craypa instead of colored pencils.

Sketchbook, Half-Portrait Drawing

I learned that I should shade more, and add more definition to the face and hair. The cheekbone looks a little too skinny, and the lips a little too full. I should've shaded in the shirt, sweatshirt, and chains better as well. I didn't color in the background either. The ear is a little misshapen.

Eyes, Nose, Mouth Exercise

Purpose: To demonstrate understanding of the structure for each feature: eyes, nose, & mouth; To practice using black & white charcoal to render a drawing, using brown paper as the middle value.
 
For the mouth, I need to remember not to blend the colors, and to use the brown as the middle value, and make the light part of the shading more prominent. The lines that I draw need to be darker. I also need to shade the cupid's bow better and make it more accurate.
For the eyes, I need to remember to let brown through as a middle value. I also need to shade under the eyes more accurately and add that glimmer in the eye that makes it seem alive. I also need to work on the curving of the eyelashes and make them curve the right way and the right length.
For the nose I need to make it bigger, and less narrow. I also need to shade around the nose better to make it look like my nose is coming off my face and not flatly pressed into my skin.

2-4-15 Portrait Homework

Part I: Biographies:
Alice Neel: Neel was born and grew in Pennsylvania. She was a descendant of a Declaration signer. She graduated high school and took business courses after school, then takes the civil service exam. She then worked as a secretary for the Air Force Corps while taking art courses by night. When she leaves her job with the air force, she declines another secretarial position at Swathmore College.
Robert Shetterly: Was born in Ohio, graduated college from Harvard University with an English Literature degree. He taught himself drawing, printmaking, and painting after moving to Maine. Did the editorial page in The Maine Times Newspaper for twelve years and illustrated a children's newspaper called Audubon Adventures, as well as thirty or so books. He is well known in the US and Europe. His painting has tended towards narrative and surreal, but has also engaged in a wide variety of political and humanitarian work. Robert Shetterly lives, with his partner Gail Page, a painter and children’s book writer and illustrator, in Brooksville, Maine.
Rembrandt van Rijn: Born in Leiden in 1606 and was the son of a miller. Although his family was somewhat poor, they thought education was important. He first studied at Latin School, and at the age of 14 he was enrolled in Leiden University, but his studies did not interest him. He soon went to study art, first with his local master, then in Amsterdam. When he finished, he then started to teach art. Had four children, but only one survived. And she ended up dying soon after at the age of thirty. Died in Amsterdam in 1669.
John Singer: Son of an American doctor, born in 1856. He studied painting in Italy and France until 1884. Was England's leading portrait painter.
Part II: Similarities:
They all used some amount of color, not just black and white. A solid wall of color behind the person being drawn. They could all draw/paint ears better than I can. No one in the paintings are smiling. Can't see pupils of the eyes in any of the portraits. All people had wrinkles/creases in skin. All of them used shading to some extent.
Part III: Differences:
Most paintings had one person, but one of them had two people. Different amounts of color used (painting four was mostly shades of black, white, and brown while painting three had many colors like red, yellow, blue, green, and purple). Paintings one and two go down to the shoulders while three and four are full body. Some people look more formal/dressed up than others.
Part IV: Purposes of Portraiture:
Wikipedia Definition: "A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, or even mood of the person." (Wikipedia). I agree with this for the most part, but I do not believe that the face needs to be predominant. Like in portrait four by John Singer where the girl is turned away from the painter, that itself can show a characteristic of a person being solitary, lonely, isolated, or shy. It also shows an elegance of the woman being painted in the portrait (portrait four).
Part V: Copy Drawing:
Picture I am going to copy-draw: (Margaretta Drexel, Countess of Winchilsea and Nottingham by John Singer).

I am motivated to be successful by my music and the few people that are close to me. I like to take the emotions I feel and the feeling and beats I get from music and incorporate them into the drawings I do.

The teacher can help me to be successful by letting us listen to our own music, but with one ear bud. If we have one ear bud we can use our own music and be inspired in our own way, but still be aware if another student is asking a question that we might need later on.

I really want to get better at shading and shadows, mostly in painting, but in drawing as well.