Map Project Final Installation

Interim Map Post

• How your original intentions for the project have changed through the experience of creating the work
• As i began to work, I realized some of the material I envisioned myself using was not realistic. At the beginning, I was thinking of using sheet of plexiglass on top of a world map to draw the lines to location in the world that I have been. Now, instead of using the plexiglass, I taped training paper over a world map that I brought in. My orginal intention was to just draw lines connecting places in the world that I've been. Now, to further add depth to my project, I am drawing snapshots of scenes that I remember from that place. To help the drawing, I am bringing in photos of the location so I can make the drawing look more realistic. 

• What excites you about the process you are in at the moment
• I really like the direction that my project is headed in. I am proud of the idea that I came up with and now I just need to execute my conceptual intentions. I am really excited about how the final product could turn out. With the world map underneath the paper with the lines connecting all the cities I've been to will look really cool and interesting.

• Devise 1-3 questions to ask your interim critique group
• How should express the snapshot of the places that I've been to?

Self Study Intentions

For my self study project, I want to create a realistic self-portrait. I want my self-portrait to represent me both visually and conceptually. I want to work in either pen or pencil because I feel most comfortable using these materials. I also think that these mediums will also help me create a more realistic depiction of myself. I was also thinking to possible create many smaller pictures of myself but with minor changes that can create a different look or mood that the picture creates. Possibly put different emotions on my face.

Final Blog Post

1. I consider my artist emulation project my most successful project. I believe I was able to emulate Piet Mondrian successfully and I was very happy with the way it turned out. I think this was the first project that gave me an idea of what type of artist I want to become and what styles I want to focus on in the future. I think tape was an essential tool in my project because I was able to create straight lines and even lines. I wanted to create a simplistic feel about my project. I tried not to overwork my art because that was a trait that I saw in many of Mondrian's work. Putting too many lines or colors in the painting would take away from the simple feel and change the style that Mondrian had.

2. I think the ink project was the most challenging for me. I didn't like the style of using ink and I feel that my final wasn't the way I envisioned it. I liked my initial sketches but I didn't like how the ink final turned out. I struggled to create a good print because I used either too much or not enough ink and I also tried to combine two types of prints which didn't work out too well. I think my final work had a similar look as my original sketches which was good but lacked the detail and color that I thought made my original sketches good. I was stuck trying to create a perfect final work that looked exactly like my sketches when I needed to accept that it might not look exactly the same but I could make improvisions that would have made my final work better which is what I started to do, but only at the end of the project.

3. I think I've discovered that I work best in pencil/pen. I enjoy working in more detail, preferably in a small space oppose to a large canvas/paper. Also, I think that I have created a very geometric approach to many of my works. I hope to continue working in these areas next year and expand my confort zone to other mediums and styles.

Final Blog Post: Landscape Project

1.  (re) state you intentions for this work.  Include how you addressed the theme of landscape.  Define how your work is representative of your "artistic voice".  Explain what formal and aesthetic decisions you made to express your intentions.

- My intentions for this piece originally was to create a classic landscape piece but also include a modern structure such as the one I drew in my piece. I also liked the paintings that had a fore, middle, and background and I tried to incorporate that in my painting. I feel that my style as an artist focuses on details and simplicity and I think that I did a good job of expressing that in this project. In my building, i made the decision to leave out doors and windows because I felt that the simple look of the building looked cool in relation to the hill and trees in the background.

 

2.  Provide us with a list some of the words/phrases provided to you in the discussion session.  To what degree does this feedback supply you with the feeling of having successfully communicated your intentions?  What words/phrases resonate with you most and why?

- Simple, Inviting, Peaceful, Geometric, Nice Lines, Calming. I specifically am proud that other people were able to recognize the simplicity and thick lines that I intentionally put into my drawing. 

3.  In the area of "develop craft" how did you improve as an artist through this project?  Does this project fully represent your overall technical and formal development achieved this year?  How, or why not?

- I think that this project helped identify the type of art/style that I want to focus on in the future. Being able to work in the kind of medium that I feel comfortable with and incorporate a simple, geometric style in my drawing was important in defining the kind of artist that I want to move forward as. I think that this project helped me build off of the artist emulation project where I emulated Piet Modrian and enjoyed working in a similar style. 

 

4.  Did you fully "stretch and explore" in a manner that led you to novel representations of your intentions?  In what ways may you have pushed yourself further in this regard? 

- I believe that my drawing represented by intentions fully and I am pleased with the outcome. Possibly working in a different medium (paint, ink) could have pushed me further in creating a final piece. I also could have improved the trees to make them look more realistic than in my drawing. 

Interim Landscape Project Post

Landscape: visual features of an area of land, including physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water, etc.
My understanding of the art world, in this case landscape paintings is that the painting is reflexive of what the artist can see. I think the landscape needs to include a horizon line or point where the foreground/middle-ground meets the background. I also think that a landscape picture doesn't need to be in nature either. While my definition doesn't include urban life/city landscapes I think that a landscape painting of a city horizon can be very cool and interesting.
In my first two sketches, I tried to implement one and two-point perspective. I struggled with my first two-point perspective of the gym because I was drawing from a tough angle but I think I became more comfortable and felt much more comfortable in my second sketch which was a one point perspective drawing. In my oil paint painting, I was interested in the brink wall surrounded by leafs and trees. I think I could have picked a better location to draw for a landscape but I think it will look better when I finish it.

Printing Project Midway Reflection

My prints are turning out very well. I'm using a pronto plate to print and it is turning out beautifully.
I am also using a small cork plate for a different part of my print. I really like the end product when I combine the two different styles. I still will need to fix certain lines and details to make my final product better. For example, the combination of the "spurs" logo to the rest of the print can look better if the outline of the square wasn't there. I also could make a new cork etching of the "spurs" because it might look better if the outline of the chicken was black and the inside and surrounding areas would be white.

I could also add colors in my Yankees and Marquette logo to make the logos look better and more realistic. I will also clean the pronto plate so dirty marks don't appear on my paper and printing. I could also create prints that have colors but aren't the colors on the original logo and create a different feel/look for the print.

Artist Emulation Final Blog

In my workbook, I tried to express Mondrian's simplistic style of his paintings. By using only primary colors, white, and black, like Mondrian did, I was able to create similar, yet original drawings that portrayed Modrian's style of painting. In my workbook, my first few drawings were too simple and lacked interesting lines and color combinations. To adjust in future drawings, I starting to bold my lines to create a different feel of the lines in relation to the colors. I also began to better balance colors throughout the painting and start to learn which colors looked better together. Also, to better emulate Mondrian, I used a similar technique that he used to paint his paintings. In his case, he would stick overlapping colored paper on the wall to visualize the combinations that he could use in paintings. I didn't use colored paper but used the corners and shapes around the room to create different line designs on in my drawings and then added colors later.
I believe I was able to understand and begin to master the qualities of Mondrian's work. His choice of medium and process became easier for me to master during my final painting. It got easier for me to use materials such as the tape and different brushes to create a cleaner, better piece of art. After studying and emulating Mondrian, I think that I can better understand his mentality and ambition to create a simple yet interesting work of art. I think we are similar in that my artistic style is very neat and planned, close to many of his works.
I think that my relation to my pen pal helped me with my own work because by critiquing and helping another person and seeing what I would have done in certain situations, I could apply that to my painting. I also hope that my comments helped her in her process, not that she needed it because her painting was very good, but to possibly consider suggestions I made.
I always liked working with paint and I was able to exploit that during this project. I think after my work with tape, that I am much more comfortable with being able to use that and get the result I want when using tape. I also enjoyed working on a larger space (canvas) than I had before. I usually like smaller canvas/paper so I think it was good that I used a larger canvas for my painting.
My own expression was evident in my final work because while I used a similar style as my artist, I created my own design and color combinations through trial and error during my process as well as during the actual painting process.
I think that as an representational artist, I succeeded in emulating Piet Mondrian while still adding my own expression into the painting. Not only in my painting is my own expression reflected but also in my workbook and many sketches. I think my strengths were able to be visible because they are similar to my artists strengths and preferences.

 

Halfway-Done Painting

Artist Emulation (Interim Blog)

Canvas just after starting painting process

After continuing research on my artist, Piet Mondrian, I have made a rough draft of a painting emulating a similar style and colors as many of Mondrian's works. It consists of primary colors and thick, straight black lines. I've tried to find a balance between simplicity of overarching form and interesting line compositions and colors to create my final work. Also, I want to create space within my art but try not to make it too boring or simple. To start, I stretched a canvas for my final work. It is a good size for my final painting and similar to sizes of many of Mondrian's works. I'm going to use to tape to create the straight lines and borders and primary acrylic paints. I am going to sketch my final work on my canvas before using tape to paint on my lines and shapes.