Choose a project that you felt was challenging but yet successful. The project should incorporate innovative solutions to the artistic problem given to you. Discuss how you generated innovative/original/creative ideas for the project and how you developed them to complete your final piece. Explain why you chose this piece. How did you think outside the box and challenge yourself as well as the restraints of the project.
My personal favorite and one of the most enjoyable paintings I’ve ever done was the Textured Landscape oil painting. My reference photo for this painting was the Delicate Arch in Utah, which I was able to visit over the summer. This painting was intimidating at first because I wanted to portray the Delicate Arch in all its beauty. I decided that I should have a thorough sketch so I could get an idea for the colors, textures, and composition. I ended up loving my colored sketch, and I was excited to start painting. After I sketched it, the first couple of days I worked on the background and the textured clouds. I wanted the clouds to have the texture because I felt that if the Arch had texture on it, there wouldn't enough negative space. Soon after I began painting the Arch I realized how difficult it would be to represent the texture of the formation of the rock. After a couple of attempts to show to detail in the rock, I decided to make the painting more abstract and Georgia O’Keefe inspired. That way I’d be able to use the same colors but it would be less realistic. I was incredibly skeptical because I thought I wouldn't like the painting, but I ended up loving it. The contrast between the background and the arch was perfect and I thought it flowed really well. Another problem I ran into was the canyons in the background. I wasn't sure how to make them appear as canyons without adding too many details and maintaining the overall aesthetic of the painting. After experimenting with different colors, the contrast, opacity of the colors I finally came to a solution. I ended up painting lines in different colors, to give it a more geometric look like the arch, and then I blended the edges to give it a seamless appearance. In conclusion, I ran into a lot of problems with this painting, but those struggles helped shape this painting into the final product.
My personal favorite and one of the most enjoyable paintings I’ve ever done was the Textured Landscape oil painting. My reference photo for this painting was the Delicate Arch in Utah, which I was able to visit over the summer. This painting was intimidating at first because I wanted to portray the Delicate Arch in all its beauty. I decided that I should have a thorough sketch so I could get an idea for the colors, textures, and composition. I ended up loving my colored sketch, and I was excited to start painting. After I sketched it, the first couple of days I worked on the background and the textured clouds. I wanted the clouds to have the texture because I felt that if the Arch had texture on it, there wouldn't enough negative space. Soon after I began painting the Arch I realized how difficult it would be to represent the texture of the formation of the rock. After a couple of attempts to show to detail in the rock, I decided to make the painting more abstract and Georgia O’Keefe inspired. That way I’d be able to use the same colors but it would be less realistic. I was incredibly skeptical because I thought I wouldn't like the painting, but I ended up loving it. The contrast between the background and the arch was perfect and I thought it flowed really well. Another problem I ran into was the canyons in the background. I wasn't sure how to make them appear as canyons without adding too many details and maintaining the overall aesthetic of the painting. After experimenting with different colors, the contrast, opacity of the colors I finally came to a solution. I ended up painting lines in different colors, to give it a more geometric look like the arch, and then I blended the edges to give it a seamless appearance. In conclusion, I ran into a lot of problems with this painting, but those struggles helped shape this painting into the final product.
How do you describe your artistic style/perspective? How do you define success as an artist? What do you find most rewarding about being an artist? What are some of the most important skills you draw upon to create your work? What are some of the most significant things you've learned through art-making?
I would describe my artistic style as Precisionism. My style is taking the basic shapes of the image and blocking them in with color, but I still use shading. You can see this in my landscape painting. I took the basic shape of the Delicate Arch but I didn’t try to make the painting realistic. As an artist, a successful painting is a painting I’m proud of and happy to share. As long as I’m proud of it, it's a success to me. I have run into situations where I’m proud of my art, but other people are not so to me the most rewarding thing as an artist is feeling proud of my artwork. In order to create a piece, I’m proud of, it takes a lot of planning, and personally I need to prepare myself by telling myself that I’m going to make my best painting yet. I also need to find the motivation to paint. Being forced into it, can lead me to not care about my paintings from time to time. When I do paint, I enjoy every second of it and art has taught me how creative I am, how to express myself and how to relieve my stress.
I would describe my artistic style as Precisionism. My style is taking the basic shapes of the image and blocking them in with color, but I still use shading. You can see this in my landscape painting. I took the basic shape of the Delicate Arch but I didn’t try to make the painting realistic. As an artist, a successful painting is a painting I’m proud of and happy to share. As long as I’m proud of it, it's a success to me. I have run into situations where I’m proud of my art, but other people are not so to me the most rewarding thing as an artist is feeling proud of my artwork. In order to create a piece, I’m proud of, it takes a lot of planning, and personally I need to prepare myself by telling myself that I’m going to make my best painting yet. I also need to find the motivation to paint. Being forced into it, can lead me to not care about my paintings from time to time. When I do paint, I enjoy every second of it and art has taught me how creative I am, how to express myself and how to relieve my stress.
Discuss one project where you felt you were the least successful. Explain why you felt this way. What would you do differently to change this piece? Explain.
In my opinion, the painting that was the least successful was the Pet Portrait. Although, I worked the hardest on the painting, the outcome was not what I had imagined. I personally wasn’t happy with the body and the fur. The final product was better than I thought it would be but the white fur doesn't look as realistic as I thought it would be. I even used texture to emulate fur but the contrast between the black and the white was hard to portray. I also had a difficult time adding shadows. These two things made my painting less realistic. Along with that, the background was different than the original picture because thought the original picture’s background would take the focal point away from the dog. I did however like the face of the dog. The motion of the fur and colors were perfect.
In my opinion, the painting that was the least successful was the Pet Portrait. Although, I worked the hardest on the painting, the outcome was not what I had imagined. I personally wasn’t happy with the body and the fur. The final product was better than I thought it would be but the white fur doesn't look as realistic as I thought it would be. I even used texture to emulate fur but the contrast between the black and the white was hard to portray. I also had a difficult time adding shadows. These two things made my painting less realistic. Along with that, the background was different than the original picture because thought the original picture’s background would take the focal point away from the dog. I did however like the face of the dog. The motion of the fur and colors were perfect.
Look over the portfolios of other students in our class. Choose a piece of artwork from one of your classmates that you feel is an exemplary showcase of what the project was to depict. Discuss how the artist used the medium, utilized the elements of art and design principles, was original with their ideas and went beyond their comfort zone or the realm of the requirements.
One of my classmates that showed an exemplary showcase on one of the projects was Jude’s Hundertwasser painting. Her painting was of an Alien holding the solar system. She used acrylic paint and her colors, designs and composition was perfect. The contrast between the cool and warm colors was one of my favorite aspects of this painting. It helped the focal point of the painting to be prominent. She also used a plethora of designs which flowed together seamlessly throughout her painting. It was a combination of curves and geometric shapes but the noticeable difference helps defines the image. This painting is also very different from the classic Hundertwasser landscape paintings yet it incorporates elements from Hundertwasser work. The eye is one of the most prominent features in the painting which is a classic Hundertwasser artistic element. I love this painting because of the creativity, colors and contrast. The image of her painting is down below and this is the link to her blog.
One of my classmates that showed an exemplary showcase on one of the projects was Jude’s Hundertwasser painting. Her painting was of an Alien holding the solar system. She used acrylic paint and her colors, designs and composition was perfect. The contrast between the cool and warm colors was one of my favorite aspects of this painting. It helped the focal point of the painting to be prominent. She also used a plethora of designs which flowed together seamlessly throughout her painting. It was a combination of curves and geometric shapes but the noticeable difference helps defines the image. This painting is also very different from the classic Hundertwasser landscape paintings yet it incorporates elements from Hundertwasser work. The eye is one of the most prominent features in the painting which is a classic Hundertwasser artistic element. I love this painting because of the creativity, colors and contrast. The image of her painting is down below and this is the link to her blog.
What medium was your favorite to work with? Explain why and how you were able to master the techniques associated with this medium.
My favorite medium to work with was acrylic paint. I have been working with acrylic paint for over seven years so I’m used to it. Over the years I’ve learnt how to conform the paint to achieve the result I want. Acrylic is also the perfect thickness in my option. Oil paint is thick, takes too long to dry which can lead to excessive blending and watercolor is too thin and I always tend to use too much water. Acrylic paint is thick enough to use alone but can be used with water too. Acrylic paint also dries really fast so if I didn’t like something, I was able to fix my mistakes easily by painting over it. Stippling, blending, and mixing colors are some of the techniques I’ve been able to learn with this technique due to the paint being easy to manipulate. I’m the most comfortable with acrylic but I also love the finish of the paint and the opacity of the colors which is why it’s my favorite medium to work with.
My favorite medium to work with was acrylic paint. I have been working with acrylic paint for over seven years so I’m used to it. Over the years I’ve learnt how to conform the paint to achieve the result I want. Acrylic is also the perfect thickness in my option. Oil paint is thick, takes too long to dry which can lead to excessive blending and watercolor is too thin and I always tend to use too much water. Acrylic paint is thick enough to use alone but can be used with water too. Acrylic paint also dries really fast so if I didn’t like something, I was able to fix my mistakes easily by painting over it. Stippling, blending, and mixing colors are some of the techniques I’ve been able to learn with this technique due to the paint being easy to manipulate. I’m the most comfortable with acrylic but I also love the finish of the paint and the opacity of the colors which is why it’s my favorite medium to work with.