(self portrait)
dimensions
Acrylic painting on canvas
Apr. 2024
Acrylic painting on canvas
Apr. 2024
This painting is an acrylic on canvas self portrait. Inspired by ( ), it features a raging sea, full of colors from reds to blues to greens and grays. Above this sea is a red sky, varying in tone from red to black, and four birds are seen flying through the sky. On a cushion like surface, I lay in the middle of the water in a white dress, staring upward and looking extremely tired.
Inspiration
My inspiration piece for this project was ( ) created by ( ) in ( ). It features a young woman, ( ), laying in the ocean against a cloth like structure, one that is tied to her arm by rope. The ocean is a mix of colors, hues ranging all across the color wheel. From under her she floats on brownish water with highlights of green. From there, an almost darkened lime green color tint the water, this yellowish-green color then shifting into almost blinding white, before transitioning again to blue and then the familiar brown once it curves up the wave. She stares up to a red and black sky, four white birds flocking in the air in the distance. She wears a white gown, one that's semi-submerged in the water, a single, prominent water bubble forming besides her body. Finally, above her head a glowing halo sits. This painting was a visual creation of the ( ). When I first viewed this piece, I was taken aback by the pure calm and calamity it showcased. This wave is in the process of engulfing ( )'s body, and yet she just stares, making no motion of swim away or defend herself. She accepts the hit that will quickly follow, and is almost rewarded for it, being shown with a halo as she waits for the wave to come crashing down against her. This was a
Process
This process started when I created my canvas. For this creation, I took four pieces of wood designed to create painting canvases and attached them at their designated spots. After my base was attached, I laid it across canvas top and cut it so I had enough of it to properly cover the board. After that, I took a staple gun and stapled one end of the canvas to the wood, beginning at the middle and working my way outwards. I then repeated this step until all four sides of the canvas top was securely applied on the base, loose enough that it wouldn't warp but tight enough that it would be able to be painted on. Finally I folded the corners inward, and gesso'd my board so it was ready to paint on, finishing the creation of my canvas. |
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From there I took my canvas home and begun my painting process. I started by sketching out my drawing onto the blank canvas by looking at my reference photo. I have done 1:1, realistic, baroque style paintings with realistic skin tones and soft shading back in Freshman year, and so for this painting, I wanted to focus on the environment around me. While this was already partly the intent with the chosen inspirational painting, free-handing this piece rather than projecting a highly realistic rendition of me would further this idea.
Experimentation
During this process, one aspect of painting that truly intimidated me was myself in the painting. From the body to the cloth, it was a part of the piece I was not excited to work on; it became the very last thing I'd lay on the canvas when I would paint. When laying this paint, I took a risk and painted in an entirely different way compared to everything else. The white on the dress was the most prominent factor of the entire piece, and it was something I didn't want to be lost in the mix of different colors and darkened paint strokes.
To combat this, I laid white paint across the figure of the dress. While not across the entire physique at once, I applied it on a large area so I wouldn't run other colors off the white. From there, I painted on top of the wet white paint. This created an entirely different experience with painting than what I had with creating the sky or the sea. The entire area was extremely soft and smooth, dulling any color that touched its surface.
Critique
Compare
Contrast
Reflection
During this course, I strayed away from painting and was excited to expand my artistic reach through other artistic mediums such as photography, architecture, ink printing, and more. Since my artistic history had solely been paint related, I frankly became bored of the process; it made me antsy, sitting for hours, laying paints in ways that my previous Sophomore year of art had been dedicated to. This project brought me back to that history, and I surprisingly enjoyed myself throughout it. Painting this self portrait was difficult in some aspects, however I still found the experience refreshing. Before I disliked this familiarity, but now I enjoyed my experience with the medium. My favorite, and most challenging part for my painting process, was the waves. I found it difficult to move my hand in the active motion of the large wave in particular, often spending hours going over the water again and again, frustrated that it still looked off, no matter what I did. When I finally reached a motion I was proud of, however, I was extremely proud of myself. Additionally, the water on the bottom of the page I loved painting. It wasn't as difficult as the moving wave, however it still challenged me in multiple ways. For one, distinguishing the underwater dress and hand from the rest of the floating body was something that challenged my use of color and motion, how even the slightest flick of my brush could create a new, floating motion of the water. On the subject of the colors as well, the bottom of this sea holds so many vast and varying tones, it was extremely fun painting these hues. It was certainly a situation of "trust the process", because on paper, so many of these colors could seemingly never be connected, but once I was finished laying paints, they all weaved into one another in satisfying and beautiful ways.
ACT
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Bibliography
Check list
Inspiration
Check list
Check list
Check list
What does it mean to Experiment?
One could say experiment guides us through stages of creative work. Here’s an example:
Check list
- Compare and Contrast your art against your inspiration
- Analyze your art...break it down into its major components
- talk about what went well and what could have been improved on
- talk about the challenges and successes
Check list
Check list
ACT
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
- this is regarding your research and investigations
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
- this is regarding your research and investigations
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
- this is regarding your research and investigations
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?.
- this is regarding your research and investigations
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
- this is regarding your research and investigations
Bibliography:
- MLA or AP format
- Photo of Artwork
- Title, Size in cm, Medium, Date of Completion
- 500 Character Exhibition text
- Created a brief outline of the original intentions of the work
- Referenced sources which have influenced the individual piece
- Indicated if objects are self-made, found or purchased within the “medium” section
- Communicated where students are deliberately appropriating another artist’s image as a valid part of their art-making intentions, the exhibition text must acknowledge the source of the original image.
Inspiration
- Artist/Culture Inspiration (Critical Investigation)
- 2 photos of inspiration minimal
- 300-500 words of research based around your artist or cultural inspiration
- Accurately cited MLA or AP
- this can happen at bottom of page
- Creatively discussed how you plan to use this inspiration in your work
- Techniques and style inspiration
- Meaning and metaphor inspiration
- Analyze the Inspiration
- What is the artist intent for making this artwork?
- What’s going on in this artwork?
- What was your first reaction to this artwork? Why do you think you had the reaction?
- Describe the Elements and Principles in the artwork.
- Which area of the artwork is emphasized by the artist? Why?
- How does your eye move through the artwork? What choices did the artist make to make that happen?
- What do you think was this artwork created for? Why do you say that?
- What emotions do you notice in the artwork?
- What technique did the artist use to make the work?
Check list
- Planning (ideas and intentions)
- 3 planning drawing minimal
- A mix of physical drawn pages and typed journal entries
- Described these drawings (what your plans are)
- Drawing out your ideas
- How you plan to move forward
- This is your Action Plan
- Show and Tell
- Your theme
- How you plan to show and use it
- What emotions or statements are you trying to evoke?
- Your theme
- Steps of Creation
- How do you plan on pulling this off?
- What steps do you foresee?
- What dimensions (scale) are you planning on making your work?
Check list
- Process (the how you did it)
- 300-500 words
- Minimum 5 photos
- Clarified the:
- Development of
- Skills
- techniques
- Reflections
- Critiques
- Creative ideas
- Evaluations
- Of your work
- Of others work
- Development of
- Did you illustrate/explain your brainstorming ideas?
- Did you communicate your process?
- In an accurate written and visual format.
- Compare and contrast it against your inspiration
- Did you illustrate your Process and Techniques?
- Arranged a minimum of 5 images of your process
- Detailed your process and experimentation
Check list
- Experimentation
- 300-500 words
- The experimental quality of art is more likely to be understood as a matter of degree of innovation.
- Minimum 5 photos
- Did you show your experimental stages?
- Did you describe and discuss your experimentation?
What does it mean to Experiment?
One could say experiment guides us through stages of creative work. Here’s an example:
- Discovery — “This thing, what does it do? What can I make with it? This stick, this pen, this hammer?”
- Exploration — “Now I’ve used this hammer for years making chairs, what else can I make with it?”
- Expansion — “Now I’ve made tables, cabinets, chairs of course, and a dog house. What if I were to do variations on these, change things up from how they’ve been done before?”
- Manifestation -- “I’ve always had this vision, hard to describe because its never been seen- but I’ll do my best to build it, and then I’ll find out if I was right about it.”
- Transition — “I know a lot about hammers and nails but not much about brushes and canvases, what would emerge if I tested these things out?”
- Revelation -- “What would happen if I were to set out with no course at all, just like in the very beginning, and see if I can stumble on something neither I nor anyone else could have anticipated? I will meander, I will see what falls out in the process, I will make myself an open gate with no intention for a while.”
Check list
- Critique
- Comparing
- (Similarities)
- Contrasting
- (Differences)
- Comparing
- Compare and Contrast your art against your inspiration
- Analyze your art...break it down into its major components
- talk about what went well and what could have been improved on
- talk about the challenges and successes
Check list
- Reflection
- Your final thoughts on how you acquired and refined your skills, processes, techniques.
- How did you develop as an artist.
- What was your inspiration for the project? Does it connect?
- What was the biggest challenge you encountered on the project?
- How does this project tie together previously learned exercises and concepts?
- What was your favorite part? Your least favorite?
- In conclusion how do you hope others view your work?
Check list
ACT
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
- this is regarding your research and investigations
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
- this is regarding your research and investigations
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
- this is regarding your research and investigations
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?.
- this is regarding your research and investigations
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
- this is regarding your research and investigations
Bibliography:
- MLA or AP format