Etching and Printmaking - Illumination

I started the project by reading lots of poems, I ended up choosing one I had first read in sixth grade, called Oranges. It's a poem by Gary De Soto about a his childhood and this one time when he walked with a girl on a snowy night past a car dealership. I always imagined it was in the 50's because of the language, so I wanted to do scene set in that time. I was also inspired by a painting of an American dinner, so using those aspects I imagined an image of an old car dealership at night when it's snowing. I want to highlight the way the lights shine and how it's darker in some places. 

Early Modernism Painting Reflection

                  When we first chose our strips for this project, this was not my first choice (nor my second or third). I couldn't even tell what the subject was until a helpful classmate pointed it out--they're boats. From there I composed a quick sketch of some sailboats sitting placidly on the water. It seemed promising so I went with it, adding color and trying to add brushstrokes that had an abstract-enough that-they-weren't-planned,-but-still-kept-the-idea-of-the-water-and-boats,-even-though-they-were totally-planned kind of look. Surprisingly the most difficult thing was the background foliage. At first it was just a block of green then I realized I still had to create a sense of depth and layers of trees. I struggled trying to add texture and uniformity. My classmates noted that the painting had a calm middle of the day feel to it, they observed the reflections in the water were successful and difference in brushstrokes was interesting. They didn't offer any suggestions for further improvement, though now looking back at it, I notice the shoreline is a bit blurry and could be refined. Yes I am a painter, I put paint on a canvas. Anyone can be a painter, the question is whether or not what someone makes is art. I've realized that I should trust more in my abilities and have fun exploring abstract forms of art.  

Feedback on Impressionist Project

1. Intrigue 2. Opportunity 3. Concern

Chantal 

1. the colors used and brush strokes in the water draw your eye

2. Maybe add a bit more color to the boats like in your test page

3. The strip is a little less precise, the brush strokes in the boats and houses are a bit looser in the strip

Jasmine

1.Your ability to blend the colors in the water and sky is phenomenal. I love how the style is abstract yet I know exactly what I am looking at

2. I think you have the opportunity to use even more brush strokes because I think the strokes in different directions really portray the style

3. The houses are lightweight floating which is really cool but not as realistic. Not sure if there's anything you can do about that but otherwise your painting is amazing and I wouldn't change much! 

Ellie

1. Interesting color scheme, I love the little houses in the background. 

2. Water looks beautiful and the shadows and highlights of the boats are really well done. I would create more of a middle ground between the water and the trees.  

3. I would also experiment with more wild brush strokes, the ones in your painting are much smoother compared to the original. I suggest that you incorporate the boats more into the middle ground, it seems as though they are touching the forest banks, create a better sense of depth. Overall really great! 

Concluding Project Feedback and Reflection

Feedback:

Shading(value scale)

Negative space

Fills the page 

Darker 

Texture

My intentions for this project were to correctly represent the unique geometric shapes of cameras in the still life. I wanted to show what might not normally be noticed in a still life; the background. I started out drawing the curtain the first day, when we were supposed to be doing line drawings because I had learned a little about Sargent. I then focused on the cameras, and while sketching the corner of a box I experimented with negative space which we had seen in a presentation at the beginning of class. I completed a smaller model of what I planned to do for my final using tracing paper and a printed picture of the still life. Once that was completed I started on my final. Over the course of the drawing, I made it darker and attempted to clearly define the outline of the objects. Throughout the project I learned that I really enjoy using pencil and attempting to make things look realistic. I feel that I was too cautious at times and I wonder if there are any parts where I could've taken a risk. Looking back I wish I had added a pop of color or done another series with just the cameras as a cut out and placed it next to the final drawing. Although I liked my concluding project, I feel as though I didn't explore as far as I could have by using different materials such as ink and pen. The feedback I received from my group was overall positive. They noted my skill in shading and using the value scale as well as negative space. They liked how it filled page and how I was able to show different textures with a pencil. I think that that was my main intention when completing this project, and I agree with their feedback.

Feedback

Learning To See

While doing these drawing exercises I have noticed that I am drawn to more abstract ways of drawing things such as blind timed drawings versus detailed line drawings. I prefer using pencils to charcoal and only like using the ink for less definite things like the curtains, I especially like 6B. For the final project I would like to try a mixed media drawing using ink and pencils, focusing on the little details but also the feel of the lines through partially blind drawings.