Question 1- How do you describe your artistic style/perspective? How do you define success as an artist? What do you find most rewarding about being an artist? What are some of the most important skills you draw upon to create your work? What are some of the most significant things you've learned through art-making?
I would describe my artistic style as cartoonish/simple yet appealing. My paintings and drawings are somewhat childlike but they are still nice looking and show that effort was put forth into creating the piece. As an artist, I define success as creating a piece and seeing it turn into what you imagined/wanted it to look like even though it may contain some flaws. The most rewarding thing about being an artist for me is seeing how far I've come and how far my skills have progressed. I've always wanted to be good at art, and while I'm certainly not that great, I have improved and that means so much to me. One skill I draw upon when creating work is imagining what I want to create and what I need to do to create it. I also try to remember that a piece might not come out exactly like I want it but it can still look good or even better than I thought it would. One of the most significant things I learned is that you have to keep practicing no matter what. You may not think your good at a certain medium but by practicing different pieces in that medium, one can get so much better at it. Also, I learned that you can't be so negative about something you made. You might see a bunch of flaws or it didn't come out like you wanted to, but it still looks good; people are always most critical of their own art. The picture below shows the watercolor flowers I did. They do look rather simple and cartoonish but I have come to love them, despite the flaws I see in the piece.
I would describe my artistic style as cartoonish/simple yet appealing. My paintings and drawings are somewhat childlike but they are still nice looking and show that effort was put forth into creating the piece. As an artist, I define success as creating a piece and seeing it turn into what you imagined/wanted it to look like even though it may contain some flaws. The most rewarding thing about being an artist for me is seeing how far I've come and how far my skills have progressed. I've always wanted to be good at art, and while I'm certainly not that great, I have improved and that means so much to me. One skill I draw upon when creating work is imagining what I want to create and what I need to do to create it. I also try to remember that a piece might not come out exactly like I want it but it can still look good or even better than I thought it would. One of the most significant things I learned is that you have to keep practicing no matter what. You may not think your good at a certain medium but by practicing different pieces in that medium, one can get so much better at it. Also, I learned that you can't be so negative about something you made. You might see a bunch of flaws or it didn't come out like you wanted to, but it still looks good; people are always most critical of their own art. The picture below shows the watercolor flowers I did. They do look rather simple and cartoonish but I have come to love them, despite the flaws I see in the piece.
Question 4- 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.
Two mini lessons that really helped me progress are the shapes we colored using prismacolor pencils and the watercolor apple. The prismacolor shapes helped my learn how to create value changes using different colors. They also helped me learn how to effectively blend different colors together. I also got to see how different colored paper effects colors. I felt that the tan/lighter paper was easier to blend the colors together while the black paper showed a big distinction in between colors. The instruction given was informative enough that I knew what to do and I believe I executed it fairly well. The watercolor apple was only my second time using watercolor and I have definitely improved my skills in that unit. This piece helped me show highlight and shadows using different colors without it looking like some strange colored shape/fruit. The instruction was detailed enough that I feel successful in the piece I've created.
Two mini lessons that really helped me progress are the shapes we colored using prismacolor pencils and the watercolor apple. The prismacolor shapes helped my learn how to create value changes using different colors. They also helped me learn how to effectively blend different colors together. I also got to see how different colored paper effects colors. I felt that the tan/lighter paper was easier to blend the colors together while the black paper showed a big distinction in between colors. The instruction given was informative enough that I knew what to do and I believe I executed it fairly well. The watercolor apple was only my second time using watercolor and I have definitely improved my skills in that unit. This piece helped me show highlight and shadows using different colors without it looking like some strange colored shape/fruit. The instruction was detailed enough that I feel successful in the piece I've created.
Question 6- 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 to work with was the clay. I liked how it was such a squishy texture that was easy to mold or shape into what you wanted to create. It was also easy to fix a mistake because you just had to re-mold the clay to how you wanted it. Clay also helped me create realistic looking pieces which I haven't really done this semester. I also like how you could put glaze on the pieces you created which allowed them to be shiny and look realistic. I mastered scoring and slipping because each sprinkle I put onto the ice cream stayed and so did my white chocolate chips. I also feel like I did a good job of showing texture in the cookies by putting thumbprints in them. This gave them a realistic look because none of the cookies looked the same. I also did a good job of creating a slab that fit my needs; I was able to create a slab thick enough for the ice cream and round and unique shapes for the cookies.
My favorite medium to work with was the clay. I liked how it was such a squishy texture that was easy to mold or shape into what you wanted to create. It was also easy to fix a mistake because you just had to re-mold the clay to how you wanted it. Clay also helped me create realistic looking pieces which I haven't really done this semester. I also like how you could put glaze on the pieces you created which allowed them to be shiny and look realistic. I mastered scoring and slipping because each sprinkle I put onto the ice cream stayed and so did my white chocolate chips. I also feel like I did a good job of showing texture in the cookies by putting thumbprints in them. This gave them a realistic look because none of the cookies looked the same. I also did a good job of creating a slab that fit my needs; I was able to create a slab thick enough for the ice cream and round and unique shapes for the cookies.
Question 7- Discuss one project where you felt you were the least successful. Explain why you felt this way. What would you do differently to change this piece? Explain.
The project I felt I was the least successful in was my prismacolor portrait. I'm not good at drawing people and facial features so this project was a struggle for me. I did not do a good job at getting colors right. My eyes in the drawing are very light green and mine are not that light. Also my hair is not as orange as it is in the picture. The fact that we were only allowed to use three colors didn't help me very much because I had a hard time of getting the darker shades that I wanted. Also, I did not do a very good job of showing individual strands/waves in my hair and was not able to effectively show shadow in it. To change this piece, I would try to focus on more realistic looking features, especially the eyes and the lips. I would add more lines/creases into my face to make it more lifelike and I would also try to show shadow and highlight. I would also try to show more variety in my hair color because my hair is made of so many colors.
The project I felt I was the least successful in was my prismacolor portrait. I'm not good at drawing people and facial features so this project was a struggle for me. I did not do a good job at getting colors right. My eyes in the drawing are very light green and mine are not that light. Also my hair is not as orange as it is in the picture. The fact that we were only allowed to use three colors didn't help me very much because I had a hard time of getting the darker shades that I wanted. Also, I did not do a very good job of showing individual strands/waves in my hair and was not able to effectively show shadow in it. To change this piece, I would try to focus on more realistic looking features, especially the eyes and the lips. I would add more lines/creases into my face to make it more lifelike and I would also try to show shadow and highlight. I would also try to show more variety in my hair color because my hair is made of so many colors.