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".