Artist Statement

Ever since I was little I always found enjoyment in painting. Whether it was finger painting, water colors or acrylic painting I had always loved the way the paint showed up on the paper or canvas. Looking at paintings of landscapes has always interested me. I love the concept of someone taking something that is already so beautiful and turning it into a different form of beauty. Last year I painted my first landscape painting for my dad for fathers day. It was very special for him since the picture was of one of his favorite views in the world, the top of mount Sunapee looking onto the lake. Since my family owns a house on the lake, this specific view is very special to all of us. By painting that, not only was I creating beautiful artwork but there was a lot of meaning behind it and that made it very special. Ever since then I have loved painting landscapes and things that are important to me.

Name Drawings

symbolic portrait

Process Reflection #2

In this past week I have accomplished many things on my independent project. I now have a sense of exactly how it is going to look when it is finished and I feel really good about it. I have accomplished creating the background for the lighthouse and I feel that if I keep going the way I have been, this painting will turn out really good. A challenge that I have faced is trying to get exactly the color I want when mixing paints. It usually takes me a while and a lot of paint to be able to get the color exactly how I want it. I am planning to start working on the larger, closer up objects. I am going to use a lot of detail and take my time to make the rest of it look perfect.

Process Reflection #1

This week I had accomplished finishing up all of my projects that were previously assigned. I had done my last finishing touches on my sculpture and now I am just waiting for it to dry. I also had finished my symbolic portrait that I have been working on for weeks now. Out of all the projects I would say that I spent the most time on the symbolic portrait so it is a big accomplishment for it to be done. Also I started getting the canvas ready for my next project, where I will paint a picture for my parents. A major challenge that I faced was deciding when I was finished with the symbolic portrait. I had no idea if i should keep going or if I had found a good place to stop. For me I have a hard time being satisfied with my artwork so it was hard to determine when I was done. Another challenge was deciding what I was going to do for my independent project. It is always hard for me to think of something new to do and be creative. Next week I plan to work on my individual project.

Art 21 #3

Mike Kelley always knew he was going to be an artist. He focuses a lot on ritual. Kelley likes to work with stuffed animals and put them together in certain ways to create a story. He enjoys to get peoples responses since they are always different than what he was expecting. Most people thought that his work was representing abuse that had happened in his life. Kelley had no intentions of that but for some reason that is how it came across to people so he took that and incorporated it into his other artwork.

Hiroshi Sugimoto uses the windows and shading to create interesting photographs. He first showed in interest in photography when he visited a lot of 20th century architecture to take pictures. Sugimoto likes to play with the positives and negatives of certain pictures.

Art 21 artists number 2

Arturo Herrera likes to experiment with collage. While he works he has a bunch of paper all over his work area that has been piled up over the years from his collages. He was very poor so he used what resources he had. He is interested in the fact that a big picture with so much detail can be created out of different pieces of unwanted paper and color. He likes to take pictures of his drawings and then put the film into water and see how it turns out. He likes playing with materials and not knowing how things are going to come out exactly.

Kiki Smith likes to create sculptures that tell stories. She has many sculptures of people doing certain things and some just standing there. Kiki likes to create certain people to remember them. She had made death masks of members of her family so they would continue to live on after they had died.

Project Planning

I am planning on making a painting for my parents. I don't know exactly what it will be of but I am guessing it is going to be some sort of landscape. My parents would like me to paint something for them so they can have more artwork to hang up. I have been giving them paintings for their birthdays and they really like what I do. I usually paint a place that is important to the family and that is probably what I am going to do this time.

sketchbook reflection

Looking through my sketchbook I see a huge improvement. I notice that at the beginning of the year I was very focused on exactly what I was supposed to do and fulfill the requirements. Towards the end I see myself more playing and trying materials and seeing how things work together. I notice that I used the paint pens and oil pastels a lot. I really like the way the paint pens look, and it is really fun to use them. I like the idea that you can put tape down so that you can get a picture inside your paint pen design. Also I love the way that the oil pastels blend together and create a tie die effect. I feel that the sketchbook has been a great way to use new materials without me worrying about ruining a project. I think of it as a test so I can see what works. Overall I really enjoyed the sketchbook and creating different things inside of it.  

reflection

Looking at my blog I see some improvements in my work. Especially when I look at the pencil drawings that we did on drop everything and draw Tuesdays. With each drawing I use more and more detail and shading to show a certain perspective. My overall artwork has improved a lot since the beginning of the year also. I think that the course has gone great for me, and it has overall helped me improve. I think one of my strengths is definatly drawing from observation. I am very good at creating something that is right in front of me and making it look close to what I see. Something that I enjoy is playing with different materials and seeing how they work. I love to experiment and create pieces that I am not sure how they will turn out. One of my challenges is thinking of ideas. It is very hard for me to sit down and think of a good idea to use, but once I get one I can just jump in and get started. Leaving this class I will think about how I can do some more art in the third term. I will also think about doing some more drawings on my own.

Art 21 artists

The artist Raymond Pettibon has a very interesting style. He likes to create pieces with both writing and drawings and somehow incorporate them together. Most of Raymond's pieces have the concept of humor, and he doesn't really enjoy making artwork that is too serious and concrete. I enjoy his art because the pieces are humores and easy to understand.

The artist Elizabeth Murray likes to paint large pictures. She also is very spontaneous and doesn't care when she makes mistakes. She just lets the paint go where it decides to go. Her pictures are usually very cartoony and wacky. I like how big and unpredictable her artwork is. 

Clay Project brainstorming

I have chosen to make a sculpture of my friend Isabel. Isabel is very sassy and cute and that is why I chose to build a cat. Cat's are not only sassy and cute but they also always land on their feet. No matter what happens in Isabel's life she always lands on her feet and she always has everything together. I have chosen to put the cat in a sauna since Isabel likes to go to warm places.

Scarlett

I have chosen to make my portrait about my friend Scarlett. I chose her because she is one of my really good friends and she is a very interesting person. Also this painting will reflect our friendship as well as who she is as a person. I am planning to use an ice skate to symbolize how much she likes to skate. Also I am thinking about using a cross because recently Scarlett and I have been going to church together. I am also planning to use her favorite saying "shoot for the moon because even if you miss you will land among the stars" and putting a moon into the portrait and possibly some shooting stars.