1. As an artist, I draw what feels right. I apply everything I have learned considering the circumstances to create a piece that is from my own unique hand. My style is hardly photographic, which is my intention. Instead, my lines are more sketchy and suggested. I have learned that when I belabor a project and examine every fine detail, the end product is almost lesser in appearance than a quick sketch that I spend less time on. This goes to prove that art can be better when done spontaneously, done without trying to apply all the technical aspects you have learned. Instead, the emotionally charged expression we call art is at its peak when the artist trusts his or herself with their abilities, playing with what they can do to produce a piece that is defining of their style. As for myself, I try as much as I can to stretch my comfort zone in art, trying new techniques I may not be extremely familiar or comfortable with. I personally have not yet developed a distinct style or a distinct subject matter because I am still studying the process of art, I am still experimenting with new techniques and compositions to develop my ability.
2. The four most important things I learned this year had to do with our different units that we studied involving different artistic techniques. I learned about finding form through using only black and white values and the importance of showing extreme light values and extreme dark values to achieve successful contrast. I also learned how to experiment with different materials I had never used before such as the linoleum reduction prints which worked with breaking down a composition into its different values. I learned how to successfully use color and pattern to create an interesting piece with the Klee and personal space paintings, and lastly, I learned how to use water color techniques to create a realistic, controlled final product. These have all helped me expand my knowledge and experience in the art field and have opened me up to different techniques, artists, and styles. They have also helped me generally establish my own personal style.
3. I’m most proud of my charcoal self-portrait because I felt that project pushed my ability the most. I was pleased with the final product and although it did not completely resemble me, if was generally close and achieving that was a big accomplishment. I felt that I created the features on my face in good form with accurate volume and placement. The technique that the portrait was done in was challenging where we had to start with a sheet covered in black charcoal and erase the lighter values. Considering this, I was proud of what my final product came out to be. This furthered my understanding of drawing realistic features with accurate volume and the importance of value placement.
Reasoning/Thinking Skills
1. Technical Skills Justification:
I feel that I deserve an exceeds on technical skills because the craftsmanship and overall presentation of my drawing as a whole are of high quality and I have shown full value of the features in my face and in the entire drawing. I handled the eraser and charcoal as well as I could, using them to create dramatic differences between the light and dark values of my face. My drawing has been spray fixed and there are no wrinkles or unnecessary smudges on my drawing.
2. Creative Problem-Solving Skills Justification:
I deserve a meets the standard on creative problem-solving skills. My drawing, although not strongly, does resemble my face and overall appearance. I tried to match the shape of my features to what they look like in real life and I feel my final product represents that. I showed good value in my features to show their volume and make them appear realistic. I struggled to get the proportions right in my face, especially with the alignment of my eyes and nose, but in the end the placement of the features were more accurate. My work shows consistency in the way I handled the eraser and charcoal which produced an overall style very apparent in the finished piece.
Why did we first cover the paper in charcoal? What did doing that force you to have to do? What was that experience like?
We first covered the paper in charcoal to achieve a dark background to start from so we could use the eraser to draw. This forced us to pick out the light values in our face and draw from those rather than starting with the darker values of our face which we are more used to. We were basically drawing in reverse, finding our face in the charcoal and getting comfortable with a drawing technique that is much more difficult. The experience was very different because of the materials and technique but it was refreshing in a way and extremely engaging because of the amount of attention it required.
How did you choose the way you handled your eraser and charcoal? How does that complement your portrait, emotionally and stylistically?
I used the eraser to find the shape of my feature first and really accentuate and define the light areas. I would then go back in with the charcoal to darken the dark values of the features. This allowed me to really concentrate on the shapes of my features first, and then focus on defining certain parts to make them pop. For example, I feel that the eyes in my drawing stand out the most because of the way I drew them. I found their shape first by erasing and making the whites extremely white where necessary. I then went back in and darkened the pupil and corners and wherever it was needed. This allowed for a dramatic contrast in the lights and darks of my eyes which made them stand out.
1. Why might this show be called Supply and Demand? Fairey’s business in art started as an inside joke between Fairey and his friend and turned into an international campaign. He first produced over a million hand printed and cut stickers and then switched to more affordable material so he could produce more, as his art was quickly spreading across the country.
2. How would you compare the Fairey OBEY stickers to guerilla marketing done by large corporations? Guerilla marketing refers to advertising that isn’t done as it normally would be done. It relies on low budgets and tons of energy and imagination. Guerilla marketing takes on youth and underground culture to target customers in a way that is familiar to them. This strategy is the marketing approach that Fairey took.
What is the point of the OBEY GIANT campaign? It sells nothing and uses ideas of propaganda, surveillance, and Big Brother, a character from George Orwell’s 1984 novel. The OBEY GIANT campaign is designed to provide an alternative to the use and consumption of public space.
If you had 5 OBEY stickers to place here in Yarmouth, where would you put them? The high school, rosemont, a sign at a busy intersection, a gas station, grocery store area.
Is your art influenced by music? If so, or if it were to be, what might be on your iPod playlist? Yes my art can be influenced by music. Music on my ipod playlist would be calm music that is inspirational to me such as enya, coldplay, or dispatch.
The first print titled “Death, woman, and child/self portrait” by Kathe Kollwitz has a style very different from the other two prints. This print has a softer overall appearance to it and her vertical approach to drawing the lines and composition create a unifying effect. The subject matter is of a younger and older person captured in a moment of obvious intense emotion, although they both seem to radiate a sense of calmness considering the circumstances of death. The subject is also a self portrait which is not true for the other two prints. The composition is almost confusing in a way because of the floating-like heads and no apparent bodies below. The hand underneath the child’s head also adds interest to the print because the owner is off the page and unknown to the viewer.
The second print titled “Liegende/Reclining Woman” by Erich Heckel has a completely different style and approach. The style is much more blocky and square with very little facial and bodily details. The background has a random feel unlike the other two prints and the aspect of color is added. The subject matter is of a single woman rather than a group or of just two subjects as the other drawings. All lines are obvious and there is little line variation. The color and harshness of line add a vibrant and intense feel. The action of the woman is confusing for there is little in the background to help suggest what she is doing. Both this print and the first print have feminine subjects where the group print seems to be of all men.
The third print titled “Tischgesellschaft/Dinner party” by Emil Nolde has a very rough sketchy style. The lines are apparent just as they are in the second print and the value range of this drawing is much more significant. The value range of the first print is significant as well but the approach to adding value is different. Nolde’s technique is much harsher in contrast to Kollwitz’s softer transitions between value. The subject matter is of a group of people rather than a single or double subject matter and the action is much more relaxed. The composition is centered in the middle of page much like that of the other two prints.
1. Technical Skills Justification:
I deserve a meets the standard in the technical skills area because most of the forms in my drawings are believable. I tried to use a variety of media with the white/black chalk, powder charcoal, ebony pencil, and ink. My work is mostly all signed but it may not be in an extremely thoughtful way and I have spray fixed all necessary drawings.
Creative Problem-Solving Skills Justification:
I deserve a meets a standard in the creative problem-solving area because I tried to arrange the objects i was drawing in an engaging composition with interesting shadows. I also used good portions of light and dark to show the value of my subjects.
a. The paper bag was challenging to draw as it had many wrinkles and creases to incorporate. It made me really consider the values of the bag and where the light hit and where the bag was in shadow.
b. The second drawing was a toilet paper roll with was probably the most challenging to draw. I feel I did a good job with the crumpled loose paper but the figure of the roll was extremely hard to get right. The top oval of the roll is off and stands out the most in the drawing. I also had to draw just the places where the light hit which was difficult as well.
c. The musical instrument was my third drawing. I enjoyed drawing this subject because it was very different from something I had ever drawn before. It was challenging because it had very dramatic contrasts of light and dark with very detailed parts to it.
d. The fourth drawing was a piece of popcorn which was difficult because of its shape. It was interesting to draw though because of the unique subject and the unique media that I used. It had extremely dramatic light and dark values because there was no real value in between due to the darkness of the ink and white of the paper.
e. My final drawing was a white composition of marshmallows and an onion. This was done with a difficult media to handle, but I enjoyed it because it really helped in pushing my darks and drawing forms that didn’t have very definitive edges.
4. In general, are you happy with your portfolio? What would you do differently next time? Do you feel like this project challenged you?
I am happy with the way my portfolio turned out. A number of the medias I worked with I had never used before such as the powder charcoal and stick and ink and I’m pleased with the way they turned out with this being my first time. The project definitely challenged me both in subject matter and choice of media but I enjoyed it as well. I felt that I learned more with each drawing and each drawing improved slightly. Next time I would maybe draw more thumbnail sketches because one of my compositions I drew I was not completely happy with.
5. You had about five weeks worth of classes to complete this portfolio. Do you feel the self-pacing worked for you? Did you like being about to choose subject/media? Which drawing experience was your favorite and why?
I really like the self-pacing aspect of the whole portfolio and made me feel in control of what I was doing, especially how we got to pick our subject matter and media every time, the only requirements being the paper size. My favorite drawing experience was either the charcoal powder of drawing the instrument with the ebony pencil. I enjoyed the charcoal just because it was an entirely different media and it really made me push the darks. I enjoyed drawing the trumpet because of the dramatic light and dark contrasts and it had such detail which I enjoyed drawing.
6. When all portfolios are turned in, we potentially will have FORTY-FIVE drawings in the studio. (Wow!!!) How do you think we should critique these drawings?/How would you like others to talk about your work? How do you think we should display these drawings? Grouped by artist? Jumbled?
The drawings could be critiqued by everyone saying the media that best worked for a person and the media that least worked for a person instead of having to critique every drawing which would be really time consuming. I think the drawings should be displayed randomly so as to have some variety and not just one person’s work is grouped together.
Does your marble roll? Why or why not?
My marble rolls a little because the top book appears to be slanted down probably due to the fact that my lines aren’t exactly parallel with each other. This is because the top book is not grounded well enough making the marble less grounded as well. My marble isn’t completely immune to rolling, though, because the shadow of the marble on the book helps keep it somewhat stationary.
2. What ways did you find helpful to determine proper angles?
Squinting and holding my pencil up to the lines of the actual books helped in determining the angles of the book edges. It also helped to match the pencil with a line on the paper and drag it to the opposite edge to see if they match. It helped to envision a vanishing point to which the lines converge in order to made the edges look realistic. It was also helpful to observe where the books lie on the others and where the edges of the book fall in comparison to the ones around it.
What advice would you give to a future ADP student who was starting this project? I would advise him or her to begin practicing drawing in perspective on a scrap piece of paper, for example, drawing a horizon line, making some vanishing points, and creating boxes that have their angles going back to the point. Using your pencil as a way to find angles is another good technique to use. All line angles should be parallel with the opposite line angles of the books in order to get them in proportion and in perspective.
