Question 4: Look at your body of work over the semester and choose 2 pieces that show your growth as an artist. Discuss each piece and how you grew in the following areas: application of materials, techniques and skills, artistic vision, use of the principles and elements, creativity, intuition and subject matter.
To show my growth this semester I chose my two water color paintings, which were our first and last major paintings. I think this shows my growth because I struggled with using the water colors at first. The first painting is of a sunset with many colored clouds. I think I could have added more depth with different layers of paint rather than blending it so much. My last painting is of buildings in Italy. Although it has straighter lines and less blended aspects, I think I learned a lot from it. The second painting isn't necessarily better looking but it was certainly more challenging. This is why I chose watercolor as my final painting. I think I grew in my techniques because I learned how to layer the paint layers better so that the paper wasn't covered in so much water. In the beginning I think my mind set was to pick something easy, but now I chose something that had more detail. Overall, I think I learned a lot about water color from this class and grew my talent for it.
Question 5: Choose 2 mini lessons that you felt were the most beneficial in your learning for that particular project. Include photos of these and explain thoroughly. Do you feel you needed more instruction for success? Explain or did you feel that the instruction given was enough to ensure success? Explain.
The first mini lesson I chose that was the most beneficial was the 4 water color fruits. This is actually because I didn't do that great on them (some were good, some were bad), and I had also used water color before but had always struggled with mastering it. One of the issues I had on this lesson was adding too much paint before the layer before it dried. So a lot of times the paper would roll up and the colors would blend together. However, because of this mess up, now I realize that I need to wait for it to dry and add thin layers on top. This helped me learn and grow to do better on my final. Also the next most beneficial mini lesson was the oil paint fruit. This because I had never used oil paints before this class. This lesson taught me all about Liquin, turpentine, and how to blend colors which helped me with future paintings.
Question 6: 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. Make sure you have the image of their artwork along with their name (first name only) posted with this response. Also include a link to their portfolio.
https://oliver-apex-2020.weebly.com/painting-fall-2019
For this certain project, we were to choose a landscape picture and recreate it using oil paints. And so for the student that I think showed exemplary work, I chose Oliver Gibson's painting. This is because I think they did an amazing job creating texture, depth, and using color. I also like how they didn't make the piece a plain landscape that matches the photo. It amazes me that they were able to take a simple picture with neutral colors and turn it into a bright, colorful, and interesting picture. I know we are always told to add pops of color, but I never would have thought to completely change all the colors in the picture. You can also see how they took a lot of time to add in every detail and also kept in the brush strokes. I definitely think Oliver went out of the realm of the requirements and created a very beautiful piece.
For this certain project, we were to choose a landscape picture and recreate it using oil paints. And so for the student that I think showed exemplary work, I chose Oliver Gibson's painting. This is because I think they did an amazing job creating texture, depth, and using color. I also like how they didn't make the piece a plain landscape that matches the photo. It amazes me that they were able to take a simple picture with neutral colors and turn it into a bright, colorful, and interesting picture. I know we are always told to add pops of color, but I never would have thought to completely change all the colors in the picture. You can also see how they took a lot of time to add in every detail and also kept in the brush strokes. I definitely think Oliver went out of the realm of the requirements and created a very beautiful piece.
Question 7: 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 was the oil paints. This is because I felt it was easier to blend and work with for long periods of time, unlike acrylic. It also helps allow me to create a more blended and realistic look, which is more my style. I had never used oil paints before this class, so it was intimidating at first. I think the way I was able to master it was by mixing the colors before hand and and then blending on to the painting. One of the other things I was able to master was the liquin. I was able to use it to my advantage by using certain amounts to create different thicknesses and affects. For example, in my glass painting, I made the paint really thin to make it look like translucent glass. Overall, despite the many added steps and cleaning, I like the way oil paints turn out most.