trite symbols
trite symbol~ peace
For this project I chose the trite symbol of peace. This is typically depicted by using a peace sign or a dove.
When I think of peace, my mind thinks of nature and the openness it has. I knew I wanted to somehow tie in nature into my project.
I originally planned to draw tree roots that somehow would intertwine and be connected, using that to symbol peace and togetherness. As I continued the drawing, I played with the orientation and decide to have the roots be branched instead.
In the middle of the drawing, the branches come together to make a loose symbol of a dove. I didn't want to make the symbol too obvious so then viewers would have to look at the piece longer to interpret it.
I chose to draw in pencil, making the image darker and more "spooky" because I wanted to symbolize the darkness around peace that we all strive for. There are a lot of hardships and challenges we have to overcome before we reach true tranquility and I think using the darker lines and pencil helps to show that.
Orignally I had the composition too light and I think adding in the darker lines helped make the artwork more successful and dynamic.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. If I had more time, I think I would have incorporated color into the background to make it a little less serious.
For this project I chose the trite symbol of peace. This is typically depicted by using a peace sign or a dove.
When I think of peace, my mind thinks of nature and the openness it has. I knew I wanted to somehow tie in nature into my project.
I originally planned to draw tree roots that somehow would intertwine and be connected, using that to symbol peace and togetherness. As I continued the drawing, I played with the orientation and decide to have the roots be branched instead.
In the middle of the drawing, the branches come together to make a loose symbol of a dove. I didn't want to make the symbol too obvious so then viewers would have to look at the piece longer to interpret it.
I chose to draw in pencil, making the image darker and more "spooky" because I wanted to symbolize the darkness around peace that we all strive for. There are a lot of hardships and challenges we have to overcome before we reach true tranquility and I think using the darker lines and pencil helps to show that.
Orignally I had the composition too light and I think adding in the darker lines helped make the artwork more successful and dynamic.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. If I had more time, I think I would have incorporated color into the background to make it a little less serious.
playing around with composition
prisma color
for this project I focused on adding texture and dimension with prisma color on the legs and the pebbles in the water. This reference photo I used made a big challenge for me because of the shadows and the shimmer of the water. It took me a while to firgure out the angles of the legs and making them look proportion despite the weird angles I had to work with. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with my first prisma drawing and liked the way it turned out. I think my favorite part about this piece is the legs because I normally have a really hard time drawing parts of the body.
i tried to stick with a few main colors in the drawing and pace myself when layering the colors. It was hard for me to stay patient when building up the colors. I ended up using baby oil to help blend the colors together and give the overall picture a more natural, smooth appearance. I also added paint in the very end to give the water a more shimmery and dimensional look.
i tried to stick with a few main colors in the drawing and pace myself when layering the colors. It was hard for me to stay patient when building up the colors. I ended up using baby oil to help blend the colors together and give the overall picture a more natural, smooth appearance. I also added paint in the very end to give the water a more shimmery and dimensional look.
planning/practice
Oil painting
for this project, I chose to challenge myself and use oil paints for the first time. I've actually never painted anything in the traditional way so I had to work a lot with technique and blending colors. I wanted to create something where I could focus more on the elements of design rather than creating an actual picture focused on a topic. So I made something more abstract or nonobjective. Using the oil paint, I focused on the movement and colors of the paint brush and tried to blend them all together while still highlighting the individual colors I chose.
I like the movement of the piece and how your eyes are directed by the brush strokes. Overall, I'm content with my piece, but I wish I had planned more or maybe added something else to the work to make it more special.
originally I planned to use the intense colors and brush strokes of the background as a sunset in the desert. I wanted to put some cactuses in the foreground. However, I decided against it because I liked the movement too much to cover it up with black silhouettes and instead I added squiggles in the dark blue to make the piece more interesting without taking away from the work I put into the background.
i learned that I definitely like the opportunities oil paint gives you over acrylic. In practice, I was frustrated with the fast dying of acrylic and I couldn't blend the colors as I wanted to in time. Oil gave me the ability to work slower and think through each stroke instead of having to rush through it.
Figure Drawing
i was really nervous for this unit. Before, I had been able to get by without doing any drawings of people really in art class. In the end I was really happy that I pushed through and improved my skills with proportions and faces at different angles. Proportions were definitely the hardest part for me. I had a picture I knew I wanted to draw, but the angle of the face threw off everything I had learned prior. I had to adjust the way I looked at the photo and focus on a small part at a time and worry more about the shadowing to add detail in the picture. I think the mouth and the eyes were hardest for me to get as accurate as possible. I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out, although I definitely like the picture better from far away than up close (because I focus more on what I don't like about the picture when closer). I think I still need some improvement with proportions, particularly in the shape of the face.
practice and final
i also learned out to do hair finally, another thing I e been avoiding. This figure drawing unit forced me to work on my skills in figures that I've tried my hardest to stay away from. I found that charcol worked really well for me and helped me loosen up with my drawing.
FINAL POST
i think I learned a lot in art this year. I tried more mediums and definitely pushed myself to do the one thing I avoided all of art- drawing. I learned that charcoal and clay were my favorite mediums to work with, and probably my more successful ones I've used.
for me, the most challenge thing I've done this year is figure drawings and proportions. In the charcoal drawing (above) I had to learn to loosen up when drawing, and it helped me fix what was wrong with my piece. I drew the mouth countless times. Also, in my prisms drawing, I drew and redrew the the legs countless times. The lighting and shading was the hardest part for me on those
for my final project I only had the time to complete four pieces. I made three clay items; a succulent pot, a boxed-clay bowl, and a cheese board. I wish I had done more clay stuff in this class to grow more in this area. So I could see myself in the future picking it up as a hobby.
my last piece I made was a screen print design, which I printed on two shirts. I wanted to relate it to the next chapter of my life: college at Appalachian state, living in the mountains.
overall, I had so much fun in all of the art classes I have taken in high school (especially art 3!) I'm proud of the skills I've learned and I plan to continue growing as an artist (as a hobby) when I'm older. I'll miss art class with Mrs. Purtee of course!!