Unicorns

When Ms. Smith suggested that I do unicorns, I was elated. I finally could paint a unicorn and have it pertain to class! I was thinking of doing "eyes are the windows to the soul" but seriously struggled forming ideas for pieces, which means to me that I probably wouldn't be as satisfied with my work as I had hoped. With the unicorn idea, I could work with abstract ideas considering its a mythical creature. My interpretation of a unicorn would be displayed in my work through the rejecting stereotypes for some pieces, while embracing the fluffy side in others. The problem I'm having is coming up with the phrase that would embody my project and subject idea. Also what am I'm concerned about is how to make my ideas for paintings have a deeper meaning. The more I think about ideas for pieces, the more excited I get. Finally I can paint a subject I've been looking forward to for about 2 years!

Latest work

Right now, I’m just glad that I’ve submitted my application and portfolio for Skidmore. That being said, I have to expect to apply to other schools, so I will continue my portfolio work until I’ve filled other portfolio requirements. I’m really excited about where this new piece is headed. When I looked at examples of how to speed up my pieces, the fairytale approach really stood out to me. I love princesses and fairytales, so when I started creating my background collage of silver, violet, dark and light blues, an image of Cinderella came to life in my head. With such a busy background, I might stick with something simple, like her pumpkin carriage. This way I can use orange and white, (maybe even have it in mid transformation!), to separate it from the background, but also display my use of line. I’m curious to see if I can add sparkles. It would be added around the edges of the transforming pumpkin to give it a magical effect. For my next piece, I’m thinking of using another idea from the article of portfolio pieces, and stain a canvas with one color, while using that same color to work with the lights and darks. I have a decent amount of people in my portfolio already, so I’ll have to think of a different subject to make it stand out. Lastly, Pj wants me to paint a scene from outerspace for his room at school, so I’ll have to squeeze that one in during my free time. Thanks Smitty for helping me with my portfolio process!

transparency

Although I am working on my portfolio, I am doing something similar to my class. This is the first line drawing I've done, and I think it's interesting. My drawing is not the most impressive piece, but I think the more I explore this area of work then the more I will become familiar and skilled. Drawing has been a challenge for me in the past, but after doing it for so long this fall I think I'm becoming better at it. Usually so much time and attention is spent on how to correctly shade, use the number 3 rule, or find the proper proportions of whatever the focus of the work is. Transparency adds a new level of skill and dimension. Simply put, it's not very hard to just outline an image of what you see and give it the title of transparent. The real challenge comes when an artist has to decide what they want to portray in their work, what medium to work with, and how to demonstrate transparency without drawing or painting something that has no depth. I definitely aproached my self portrait without the usual confidence I have when I paint myself. The reason I am confident with painting myself is 1. because it's my favorite medium, and 2. it's myself! How can I screw up painting something I see everyday? It's possible, but I usually pick up on my mistakes at one point or another. Anyways, back to transparency, I didn't have confidence starting my transparency self portrait because I'm drawing myself for the first time and have little to no experience shading with black ink. There are times where I have to turn to Ms. Smith for all the answers and advice I can get, and this would definitely be one of those times. We'll see if this thing ends up in my portfolio or not, but I'm too damn stubborn to leave out something I put serious effort into. I'll be visiting the art studio this weekend, hopefully to finish up the last two pieces of my work, and maybe even do my día de los muertos project. I can't wait to see how my "transparent self-portrait" comes out because right now it's a little too scary for the public.

Día de Los Muertos

I've taken Spanish classes since I was in kindergarten, and this was my favorite topic to learn about. I loved the art and Halloween-like culture, which is why I want my project to be outstanding. I'm going to use a fellow classmate (Helena) as a canvas. Helena always lets me tattoo her with pen, but this time I will be using her entire back to depict a skull decorated in flowers. Hopefully my idea turns out as cool as I'm imagining it. I will be using body paint, which I've never used before, for the piece. Fingers crossed I can get started asap!

Things that I like

There are certain things that always inspire me to create and look forward to art class. This past year I've had an infatuation with Native American culture, spirit, colors, and landscape. I love the idea of a feather headdress, and a starry night sky over mountains. I love nature, which is a big aspect of Native American life. This now leads me to another one of my favorite things; the ocean. Everyone is tied to the ocean for survival, enjoyment, travel, and any other way you could think. Even the thought of inhaling an ocean breeze or listening to waves on the shore makes me want a nap (in a good way). Coral reefs and brightly colored fish always interested me, which leads me to believe that bright colors is a recurring theme of my art. Lastly, I love painting and drawing women. It's not that I'm attracted to women, but I appreciate beauty and health. When I draw a woman's figure, I often draw the way I would like to look. It's not just their figures that I appreciate, but the meaning behind it. Someone that is visibly in shape has a determined attitude and healthy mindset, representing a whole new meaning to why I choose to draw or paint them.

finished with the anatomy piece

I will admit, it has been longer than two weeks since I blogged. Sorry. But, I am finished with my piece, and I think it's kinda cool. It reminds me of an illustration in a book. I tried using many different colors together to create shadows, contrast, and interesting color. I think people will like the mountains and sky, but I really like the tiger. The eyes are my favorite part. Choosing this animal to ride was a good idea because it really contrasts with its surroundings. On to the next one...will post pictures soon.

pumped to start this anatomy project

Portraits are my favorite, but I always love to figure draw. My body is probably not the best model, but it should be interesting to see my body in a drawing instead of my face. Normally I would paint this, but since I'm really finicky with my work, drawing seems to be the fastest way to portray what I want in the 2 week period. At first I wanted to do a running portrait, but instead I'm leaning toward riding a polar pear or white tiger with some mountains in the background. For some reason I'm into the trippy art lately.

the finished product, detatched from the background piece

the almost finished mailbox

I'm really pleased with how my mailbox is turning out. Besides adjusting the planets to be more circular, fixing the bright stars, and adjusting the orange planet, it should be finished. Along with these touch-ups, I'm hoping to add some planets and stars on the background board to really pull everything together. Lastly, I might add some clay on the bottom surface of the mailbox the resemble the surface of the moon. With all said and done, this project should finally be over by middle of next week.

spring break word: excitement

Over break I'm not going anywhere warm, but instead working nearly everyday. I still plan on having a great three weeks. My brother is playing in the national championship for club hockey in Buffalo, New York. Despite the 8 hour drive, I'm looking forward to spending time with my family and watching my brother play. I'm also going to a concert with Helena, so we should have a great time. My mom, sister and I are going to a fashion show in Boston for Denise Hajaar. Besides going to Buffalo, the fashion show, and the concert, I'll have to make my own fun over break, so I'm challenging myself with the theme of excitement.

female shoulder

male shoulder

mailbox sketches

Sorry this is late, everyone!

Mailbox

I would like to use the mailbox to channel my inner child and display an imaginitive way by which mail travels. Using bright colored paints, I could create an underwater world or show the face of plantes that our mail passes by. For the flag, I could make a shooting star or mermaid. The inside of the mailbox could also be decorated to match the painted outside theme. I could put a layer of sand for the underwater theme on the bottom of the inside, or clay for the outerspace theme.

I have posted two new torso drawings below. I tried to get the most important parts of the shape in my drawing, so I wore a see-through shirt. Usually I draw people way too big, and this time I went smaller to get the main idea. When I draw people I focus too much on clothing and how it fits the body, rather than the shape beneath them. Although these look like quick sketches, I really tried to work on proportions. Practice makes perfect, so hopefully I'll get this anatomy thing down sooner than later.

torso drawings