Final Art Reflection

Over the course of the year, I have found that my most successful project was the Artist Emulation project when I emulated the work of Joan Miro.  I developed craft in this project because I learned how to successfully paint exact lines with acrylic paint, and I also learned how to plan out a major composition correctly and with detail.  The outline of my project helped me organize my painting and it enabled me to know exactly what to do for each step of my painting process.  A large canvas, primary colors and green acrylic paint, brushes, and a pencil were essential for this project.  The pencil allowed me to plan out my final piece on the canvas, while the different brushes and paint colors allowed me to change the color and change the quality/size of my line.  My goal of this project was to express a sense of infiniteness with the never ending shape, and also use vibrant colors to portray a simple yet intriguing color palette.  The most challenging project was the strip project because I was just learning how to use colors and paint, so it took me a while to feel comfortable with the mediums.  My final works are different from my preliminary sketches because I usually change my mind in the middle of my painting/drawing process and get inspired by something else, and therefore my sketches are different from my final work.  A challenge that emerged was that a lot of my colors looked flat on the canvas, so I had to add more varieties of color and use a different brush and different brush strokes to create depth.  One strength I've developed over the year is the ability to get inspired by something and translate it to a piece of art.  For example, in the last project, I took the idea of train tracks and used them to portray a bigger idea in the my artwork.  I have also improved my ability to work with paint.  Over the year, I have explored different types of paints and different brushes and brush stokes, which all enable me to express myself differently.  I have also developed the ability to plan out a whole composition and think about things in a group and how they relate to each other rather than separately.

Landscape Final Reflection

My intentions for this piece was to make a minimalist drawing of a single vantage point drawing of a railroad track going into a tunnel with empty space surrounding it.  I addressed the theme of landscape by drawing a continuation of land and not separating them.  My work is representative of my "artistic voice" because my work conveys a message/a deeper meaning within my painting instead of just painting something aesthetically pleasing or realistic.  My ideological intention for this project was to show a transition between a barren land and "the American Dream".  I wanted to write the American Dream on the sign next to the railroad track, but I ran out of time and space on the sign, so there are squiggles there instead, making my painting harder to comprehend ideologically.  I used the railroad track to show a specific way to achieve the American Dream and I made the ground next to the railroad tracks a desert-like color.  Also, I drew graffiti on the side of the tunnel and a vibrant sunset on the other side of the tunnel to contrast the difference between both sides involving color.  I also wanted to make the train tracks leading to a light source, like the sunset, to incorporate a little bit of transcendence, which goes hand in hand with the American Dream.  I didn't incorporate much texture because I wanted a minimalist look.

List of words in discussion:
- values of color are bright
- good use of space/extending far away
- symmetrical
The phrase about my use of space makes me feel successful about my intentions because I wanted to portray minimalicity and have a lot of "empty space".  The phrase about my color value also reflects my intentions because they draw the eye to specific parts of the painting and contrast the ground.  "Symmetrical" resonates with me the most because I never thought about my painting being symmetrical, nor did I strive for a symmetrical composition, but it ended up like that in the end. I developed a skill of the amount of water applied to watercolor paints to affect the color of the paint.  Since it's hard to mix a lot of different colors together unlike acrylic paints, adding water helped a lot to add a variety and depth to the colors.  This project reflects my developing craft throughout the year because I learned how to work with the materials that are available to me and I learned how to use them in an effective way on paper towards my overall goal of the composition.  I feel as though I did "stretch & explore" during this project because I incorporated a specific ideology in my painting and I feel as though I portrayed it well, besides the sign next to the railroad which I would've finished had I budgeted my time better.

Landscape Interim Reflection

My definition of a landscape is a continuation of objects (people/places/things) that all flow together, are uninterrupted by lines dividing two or more separate landscapes, and relate to one another.  I was sick the day we actually painted landscapes, so I haven't experimented with the paint or nature, but I think I still want to do a one-point drawing of architectural landscape using pencil.  I like the concept of drawing a hallway-like landscape, and I think I may want to draw train tracks or something along those lines.  I may use water color paint later to add some color, but I will decide that closer to my final piece.  I like the control of line quality that the pencil gives and I like how it enables you to draw a lot of small detail a lot easier. I want my train tracks to be the only things on the canvas, with surrounding land being barren and mostly just dirt.

This first picture is a drawing of a hallway near the old dining hall.  This is an example of a one-point view and drawing because the hallway disappears at one point.

This is a drawing of the path leading into the gym.  This is my example of a two-point landscape. I prefer the one point to the two point because I like the idea of just one thing disappearing at a point rather than having two walls or objects intersect at a common point.

Print Media Literacy Final Reflection

My initial intentions for this project was to portray the sense of beauty and fakeness that comes along with the idea of fame.  I used the different logos to spell out fame.  I used the Fendi F to portray designers and concern for clothing and portraying an individual's wealth.  I used the A from the Audi logo to show an individual's concern for fancy cars.  I used the M from MTV and the E from E! television to show the media and how they portray these "famous" people.  I thought that by using the litho printing that I could show the "perfection" perceived in the world of fame.  I used the etching for the face from the Chanel ad to get more line quality and also be able to control which colors I used and where.  I first thought I was going to do something like a magazine color, but then I found playing around with the different logos and spelling something was more intriguing and meaningful than just throwing different logos and symbols around on a page over the face.  I could've spent more time sizing the letters differently and making them a little smaller and more in the corners so the face could be more visible, rather than having the big letter almost block the entire face.  I also could've made sure I was working more cleanly in that there were no excess ink marks on my page, but in the end I liked how they came across and I think they added a whole new dimension of line quality to the piece.  In the beginning I wanted to only do etching, but I liked the final result of the lithos.  Even though they took a lot of time inside and outside of class, I liked the final result of them, and how "perfect" they turned out to be.  They also play off my idea of "perfection" among the world of fame and wealth.  I think developing craft is one of my strengths because I learn and understand how to work the machines and use the materials right in the first couple classes so then I can work on my own and construct my piece how I want.  I also think envisioning is one of my strengths because before I begin my project, I envision what I want to include in my piece and what idea I want to portray, and then I let the rest get shaped as I work and get inspired by other works.  I think expressing is another strength of mine because I came up with ideas to express my ultimate goal more, for example, by using the litho to portray "perfectness" rather than drawing it by hand.  I think I could've observed and engaged and persisted more to get inspiration from real artists who practice this medium as a profession.  Also, I think I could've understood the art world more by looking at artists and research different pieces involving these mediums.  I felt comfortable with the etching the most, because with the litho a lot went wrong and I had to reprint my litho prints out again and do several different versions to make sure everything was perfect.  These difficulties didn't really affect my approach because I wanted to use the lithos, even though they were difficult.  I would definitely return to this in the future because now I know how to use it successfully.  Finally, I combined different ads and logos to make my overall theme, and painted eyeshadow and lipstick on the etched face, therefore providing my own "artistic voice".

In Process Print Making Reflection

The etching worked best on the face that I drew because it allowed me to shape the face and draw the features how I wanted.  The different lines that I made in my etch of the face really embody the image and they allow the image to express different shapes, sizes, and qualities of lines, making the image more intriguing.  The pronto-plate works best for the letters that I am using to spell out the word "fame" because they allow me to use logos of different companies and make sure the logos are perfect, capturing the idea of glamour and fame, showing how both of those worlds are perceived as perfect.  The "F" of the word fame turned out a little faded at certain parts, so I don't know if I want to leave it as that or try to fill it in somehow if possible.  I still am deciding which colors I want the letters to be on top of the face.  I made the F black because that's the color of the original logo, and I'm deciding if I want to change the colors of the other letters, alternate them, or keep them all uniform.  I used a wide array of layers because I started with relief printing the face's lines, then I used watercolor and inks to make the blue eyeshadow and the red lipstick, and finally I'm using the pronto plate on top.  All I need to do is finish printing the AME of "fame" and decide which colors I want to use, and then I think I will be done.  I like how the overall composition is turning out because I like the different layers and I like how the eyes and lips pop underneath.

Artist Emulation Reflection

I thoroughly researched Joan Miro and his work in order to emulate his works as accurately as possible.   I made several sketches based off of his work and then tried to add some of my own ideas into my final project, creating a blend between my ideas and his.  My workbook resembles my understanding of Miro's work very well because I tried to redo his own works in a slightly different way to get used to his style and to develop new ideas based on surrealism, which Miro very much supported.  I tried using different mediums to experiment with which one I liked best, even though Miro mainly used pencil to sketch and paint as a final.  I used pastels in a couple of my sketches, which add an interesting texture, but I preferred colored pencils, so I used those for the majority of my sketches.  I think I succeeded in the sketches that mostly resembled my final works because I like how I experimented with shape and color in order to find a perfect hybrid between the two.  I think I could've worked more on drawings that had more of a "shape" to them rather than just the swirly maze-like images.  I tried to capture Miro's principal ideas of abstract shapes coming together to form a larger shape, but they weren't too successful, so I definitely could've dug a little deeper in that field.  I mastered Joan Miro's smooth painting well with the help of the acrylic flow release, which smoothed out the paint and hid the paint brushes as well as helped conceal my original pencil marks.  I could've worked on smoothing out my black lines more in order to give the picture a more "clean" look that Miro expressed in his final works. My studies led to my ultimate piece because I mimicked a lot of my sketches in my final painting.  I knew I wanted to do a maze-like abstract shape in my final, so I focused a lot of my sketches on trying to master that concept.  The majority of my sketches embodied that form of drawing, so they enabled me to have a good idea of how to formulate my final work.  My final work exhibits my understanding of Joan Miro because even though he didn't do a single painting that looked identical to mine, I used his style, such as smooth painting, using reds, yellows, greens, blues, and blacks in my final work.  I incorporated his idea of making "blocks" of different colors and forming them into one big shape, but I added my own style to it by not using it in a different object, such as a man like Miro did.  I made it on its own so it drew the audience's attention and showcased in my final piece.  This also helped my understanding of paint and how much a different brush or brushstroke or surface you paint on can change the overall mood or attitude of the painting.  With my penpal, I tried to point out what he executed well, while also pointing out some ways he can improve his final work.  We discussed back and forth ways to improve the paintings, as well as praising the current works.

I found working with acrylic paint adding some flow release the easiest medium to work with.  I felt very comfortable with it by the end of the project, and I found new ways to employ the paint using different brushes and brush strokes.  I used Joan Miro's idea of using blocks of color with a thick black line outlining the shapes but I added the spiral, circular shape to my work.  I also incorporated Joan Miro's smooth brushstrokes into my painting and used his color palette, but employed my own shape.  I think I used good, bright colors in order to convey my work, and I also outlined and planned by painting very well.

Artist Emulation Final