Work of Art that I am the most proud of

I am most proud of my still-life painting because of the effort that I put into every detail of the painting. I have a painting style that tends to be more precise and focuses more on details, so I think that this work is a successful example of what I strive to achieve. While I prefer to be precise, there were some aspects of the painting that required me to paint with a looser brush and move out of my comfort zone. It was a new challenge for me to tackle, but I think that I handled it well enough and did my best to paint loosely. While there are still aspects of this painting that need more work, I am satisfied with how it came out. By stepping out of my comfort zone to paint loosely, I introduced myself to a new style of painting. If I can attempt things out of my comfort zone more often, I can widen my style of painting which could ultimately improve the quality of my work. It can be hard to be precise with some mediums, so it would be good for me to extend my skills. Ultimately, I am proud of the work that I put into this painting and the different techniques that I used.

Final Watercolor Landscape

Purpose:

To use and demonstrate what you learned from the watercolor exercises you did in class to create your own landscape painting.

In this painting, I used a few different techniques. For the sky and some parts of the mountains I used a sponge to create clouds and shadows, while I used white crayon to create the look of snow in the mountains. I also used wet on wet and plastic wrap to blend values and colors. My techniques weren't executed very well and didn't turn out like I had intended them to. Besides the fact that I didn't quite finish my painting, I scrambled to add patterns using the sponge on the mountains that ultimately made for confusing shapes that are out of place. The saran wrap worked well in some places, but in others it didn't show up very well. Wet on wet was somewhat effective, but in some places created a greenish value that I didn't aim to create. All in all, I learned that planning my painting out would have helped me a great deal and that a less complex landscape could have produced a better painting.

Watercolor Exercises and Techniques

Purpose:

To experiment with a variety of watercolor techniques;

To make connections between experimenting with watercolor techniques learned to creating your own landscape watercolor.

With the large watercolor study I experimented with techniques, attempting to create patterns that I later learned about in the watercolor book. I had relative success in some areas but in others I definitely needed some guidance in terms of how to execute certain techniques. While completing my watercolor technique book and large watercolor study I learned of several different techniques for altering watercolors and adding effects using outside factors. For example, I used a sponge to create cloud-looking patterns with blue paint. I also learned about mixing of colors and how blending paints when they are wet creates a much different effect than blending dry paints. I think that my collective knowledge of watercolor techniques will guide me in my final watercolor painting and help me to create varying patterns and textures in my painting.

Watercolor

Purpose:

To become familiar with the history of watercolor;

To become familiar with various watercolor artists throughout time;

To make connections between watercolor purposes and techniques from long ago to its uses today.

The first watercolor painting was used in a prehistoric (approximately 15,000 BCE) cave painting in current-day Lascaux, France, but the Egyptians and ancient Chinese also used forms of watercolor. Albrecht Durer was considered one of the first “watercolor masters,” producing most of his work in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Durer exhibited mastery of the wash technique, which allowed him to create forms through and atmospheric space. Durer was also famous for using incredible detail with watercolors. Two other noteworthy artists were Anthony Van Dyck and Claude Lorraine. Van Dyck was popular for his detailed and skillful watercolor landscapes which were utilized as studies and backgrounds for his oil paintings. Van Dyke was also praised as a pioneer of the use of translucent watercolor washes. Claude Lorraine painted many large Roman landscapes which were commissioned by kings and clergy. Lorraine was said to be “the best landscape artist in the world,” mastering the use of shadow and light. Watercolor was at its peak in the 1800s, when watercolor was starting to be appreciated by the British monied elite, leading to the spread of watercolor popularity. National academies of watercolor artists were established in most western nations. Women also became involved in watercolor by the late 1700s. It became a popular hobby for women to paint over black and white prints. By the early 1800s upper-class women were being tutored on watercoloring techniques; the Queen even took lessons, inspiring many women to do the same. Watercolor regained popularity in the 1970s and 80s due to a renewed interest in late 19th century art. This renewed interest led to more and more people wanting to be instructed, subsequently leading to more watercolors being produced. While there are many types of watercolor being used today, some of the most popular are environmentally safe types of paint. Fade-resistant and water soluble paints are also popular.

Albrecht Durer, Wing of a Roller, 1512

Anthony Van Dyck, Landscape, 1632

Claude Lorraine, View of the Tiber at Rome, 1635

Works Cited

Batten, Anthony J. "HISTORY OF WATERCOLOUR." CSPWC English History of the Medium. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014.
"History-Overview." Watercolor Watercolor Painting Watermedia History Contemporary Exhibitions. Watercolor.net, 2012. Web. 15 May 2014.

Lino Prints

Purpose:

• To become familiar with basic printmaking history, processes, and artists
• To make connections between the Expressionist Art Movement and artists who worked in that style, including artists from our past and present;
• To respond visually to artists who work(ed) in the style of the Expressionist Art Movement, by creating a work of art in this style.
• To print 2 editions of 2 different drawings/designs, demonstrating understanding of the printmaking process.

During this project I had trouble initially with cutting out my first print because I had too much going on and it the design got too complex. None of the prints from my first design came out well, due to too much or too little ink being applied to the linoleum. With my second design, I made sure that it wasn’t too complex and I paid closer attention to the amount of ink that I applied before each print. My second round of prints came out much better than the first round. I’m most proud of the second design that I created for my prints. My first design didn’t function well for printing, so I took note of what went wrong and tried to fix those things in the next design. I thought that the second design used positive and negative space well and it was easy to tell what the subject was. This design could’ve produced some very good prints except for the fact that I don’t print well, so even though I was proud of the design, I wasn’t as proud of the prints that it produced.

Printmaking History

     Printmaking has been used as an art form for hundreds of years, in the case of some types. For example, etching has been a part of European art since before the 1300s while Asian printmaking became a major form of art in the 1700s. During the 1800s and 1900s, printmaking was used commonly for advertising posters and newspaper illustrations. In more recent times, it has been a subject of fine art as well as being used in graphic design. Printmaking is still used commonly is many forms of art around the world.

     Some different types of printmaking are woodblock (wood), linotype (linoleum), etching (metal), and lithography (stone). Each type of printmaking involves a pattern being carved or etched into a different material. Some types are easier and more simple to produce than others, and each type can give a different kind of print.

Siri Beckman, "Badlands," 2002

Kathe Kollwitz, Self Portrait, 1923

Albrecht Durer, "Adoration of the Maji," 1503

Still-life Studies

Purpose:

• To use strong compositional skills to depict a fruit or vegetable,
• To use knowledge of color and a variety of brush strokes to paint a still-life

As I begin my final still-life painting, I want to remember to paint loosely. In my three studies I didn't paint as loosely as I should have and I think this affected the quality of my work. I feel like using this technique would help my painting have more realistic shadows and varieties of colors. On the studies, my values weren't blended very well and the shadows didn't help the fruit look as 3D as they should have. In terms of a color scheme, using complimentary colors worked well on my studies and I might use that scheme on my final.

Experimenting with Color and Painting Techniques

Purpose:

To review the meaning of color;

To practice mixing color and exploring a variety of brushstrokes

What is still-life?

Still-life involves drawing or painting objects such as fruit, flowers, or household items that are normally arranged on a table or a shelf. Artists typically create still-life paintings to reflect the status of their owner, show a symbolic meaning reveals a hidden story or idea, to capture the natural beauty of an object, or to express the abstract elements of the physical elements of a controlled structure. Still life has existed in different forms, but it dates back to the time of the Ancient Romans and Greeks. Since these times, still life has served as a platform for artists to show off their technical skills.

Realistic Self Portrait

Before

After


In the feedback it was mentioned that my head was a bit wide, and when I looked at the shape more closely I could definitely tell that I had drawn it too circular and that it needed to be modified. I brought the sides of my head in just a little and it made a huge difference in terms of capturing a likeness. I also got feedback to make my upper lip have a slightly smaller curve, so I flattened out the middle part and it seemed more like my lip when I looked closely. One more thing that I received feedback for was my bottom eyelid. The feedback said to make it a little skinnier and with a slightly smaller curve so I erased the bottom eyelid and draw it with a sharper pencil, but I kept the curve of the eyelid pretty much the same.

In my pre-instructional self-portrait I notice that I drew what I thought was the shape of my nose instead of just drawing the visible lines that define my nose. There is also a large gap between my nose and my mouth, probably because I didn’t draw the nose long enough. By doing the project I learned much more about proportions than I already knew and acquired the skills to draw a face accurately. On the pre-instructional drawing the shape of my eyes isn’t very accurate, I didn’t quite get the curves right and they are a little crooked.

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.

Meaning of Color - Pink

At the beginning of the 19th century, pink was the color for baby boys because it was considered a stronger color, while blue was for girls because it was considered dainty.

Male parakeets have blue noses and female parakeets have pink noses.

In ancient Egypt, the flamingo was the hieroglyph for the color red.

To be "tickled pink" describes a state of joy.

I am motivated to be successful by wanting to be proud of the work that I create. Whatever I do, I want it to be done well. The teacher can help me by giving feedback that will help me look at my work and make it the best that it can be. During Art Fundamentals I learned about drawing skills and I'd like to improve those to the best of my ability. I hope that the projects we do help me to get better at drawing things I see and transferring pictures from my mind onto paper.