Lollipop and Jolly Rancher

Lollipop

I really like working with the colored pencils, especially the nicer colored pencils because they blend very well. It is easy to create value with the colored pencils and they do not smear or make it hard to go back over and fix something or add value. I could've created more value than I did now that I look
at it on my computer screen. Overall I really enjoyed the colored pencils.

Jolly Rancher

I did not like the oil pastels very much because it was harder to blend colors and create value. The colors that I did not want blended would blend and there is only so many times you can go over the paper in one spot. I also had trouble with giving the effect of a wrapper around the jolly rancher. But I did like how the words on the wrapper turned out. Overall I think it was good to experiement with oil pastels to figure out what mediums I like best.

Painting in the Style of a Famous Artist

Paul Gauguin Style Painting

The artist I researched was Paul Gauguin. In his artwork he used simple shapes, bright colors and a thick coat of paint. I decided to pain a picture the mountains with a sunset behind them. First I did a couple sketches in my sketchbook. Then I sketched it out on my canvas and painted on my tonal. Next I painted the grass and bright-ish green with a thick coat of paint and then I did the mountains a light blue/grey color. All of those shapes were very simple. Last I painted the sky and I used very bright and bold colors. The sky looked rainbow almost.

I Take Risks

Did you try something that you weren't sure of as part of this project? Yes, I painted a very colorful sunset and at first I wasn't sure if I would be able to blend the colors of the sunset very well. 

Did you pick a material or technique that was new or different over something familiar? Yes, I used very bright colors and thick coats of paint. I don't usually paint with acrylic paint either, I usually use oil paints so it was a little bit more difficult.

I Create Original Art

How did you use your own unique ideas in your work? I came up with the idea of painting a really bright and colorful sunset behind the simple mountains. I wanted to add a splash of color to the painting.

Did you use a source for inspiration, then combine it with your own ideas to make it original? I imagined an image in my head of the mountains with the sunset in the background so I looked up some images on the computer to get a clearer image in my head. I also looked up some paintings of Paul Gauguin so I could understand his style better.

I Reflect

When did you step back and analyze your work during this project? I analyzed throughout the process of painting it but I really got to analyze it once I finished painting. Overall I think the painting turned out pretty decent but I couldve added more detail.

Did you consider how your ideas would work before you tried them? I did consider how my ideas would work before I tried them and most ideas worked but my main challenge was blending the colors.

Perspective

These were my reference pictures that I used to create my compositional sketches. I took the bottom picture on the page to the left and the top picture on the page to the right.

These are my compositional sketches. On the left page the top drawing is of mountains that fade into the distance with a sunset and the bottom is a road that disappears into the distance. The sketch on the right page is a compostional sketch and a final sketch but I just didn't finsih coloring it. 

This is my final copy. The blue of the sky didn't show up very well in the back!

I Create Original Art

How did you use your own unique ideas in your work? I tried to make the grass give the illusion of a hill and unlevel ground on the side of the road by changing the direction the grass pionted and grew. 

Did you use a source for inspiration, then combine it with your own ideas to make it original? I used a picture that I took myself when I was on vacation in the mountains for my inspiration. I changed some aspects like I didn't draw any leaves instead I left the trees bare and the ground just as grass. 

I Take Risks

Did you try something that you weren’t sure about as part of this project? Yes, I chose to draw a road in perspective instead of something with straight lines. I wasn't sure if I could make the road look like it disappeared in the distance but I think it turned out pretty well. 

Did you pick a material or technique that was new or different over something that was familiar? Yes I picked putting things in perspective that weren't straight lines. The whole landscape had to look in perspective.

I Reflect

When did you step back and analyze you work during this project? I analyzed it throughout the process of making it. After each part I did like the grass or road I would step back and look at what I needed to fix and improve on. 

Did you consider how ideas would work before you tried them? Yes I did consider my ideas before I tried them but they did'nt always turn out how I planned. Like I wish I would've just shaded with pencil instead of using colored pencil because it doesnt look as detailed as I wanted it to look. 

Wearable Art

My piece is supposed to be a headband that resembles the colors of sunrise to sunset.

Artists Develop Art Making Skills

Did you learn new techniques or processes as part of the work for this project? Yes, I learned how to tie dye and how to make the dye colors. I laid down the headband in a bucket and I made the colors fade into each other. We used yellow, blue, and fuchsia.

Did you gain skill with familiar materials? I became familiar with tie dying and making the dye colors fade into each other. I also started to become familiar with making the dye colors.

Artists Reflect

When did you step back and analyze you work during this project? I truly analyzed my piece whenever I washed out all of the excess dye from my headband and realized that the colors didn't blend well. It turned out to be more of a purple blend.

Did you consider how ideas would work before you tried them? Yes, I was a little hesitant on whether or not the colors would blend well but overall I thought that it would work out better than it did.

Shibori Dyeing

Michael Smith

Michael Smith lives in Asheville, NC and has been making wearable fiber art for over 25 years. He has worked under the names of Three Wishes, Chaos, and Mystic Eye. Each piece is sewn and dyed one at a time in North Carolina. Michael's silk shibori clothing is machine washable and lightweight.

 Michael uses a non-traditional technique to make his Shibori art. His work is more retail because he sells the clothing through Etsy. I picked this artist because there were a lot more websites that he was mentioned in so he seemed a little more well known than other Shibori artists. Michael's work caught my eye because the colors and patterns he chooses are so vibrant and they really pop.

Perspective

 Artists Develop Art Making Skills

Did you learn new techniques or processes as part of the work for this project? For this project I learned hot to draw in perspective. I learned first, second and third perspective.

Did you gain skill with familiar materials? I mostly gained skill with drawing in first perspective. Being able to draw using perspective really helps bring the drawing alive and creates depth in the picture. 

Artists Create Original Art

How did you use your own unique ideas in your work? For my project I thought of things that fueled me. First thing I thought of was food and sleep. I decided to draw a bed  which resembles sleep and how I do everything from eating to doing homework in my bed.

Did you use a source for inspiration, then combine it with your own ideas to make it original? Another classmate at my table was doing a refrigerator and that inspired me to draw something that fuels me. 

Portrait

Artists Collaborate

Did you ask another student for feedback during your work process? Yes I did! I asked the classmates at my table what I could change about my drawing to make it more realistic. We all gave each other suggestions and tips throughout the whole process.

Did someone help you understand important information or inspire you? Yes one of my classmates shared with me that shading with your finger is way easier and I ended up shading my whole piece that way. My classmates and teacher shared tips on how to make certain features like the mouth look more realistic. 

Artists Reflect

When did you step back and analyze you work during this project? I analyzed my work often to just to make sure I was on the right track and wasn't drawing something wrong or unrealistically. I had to change the shape of my brothers face a lot before I got it right though.

Did you consider how ideas would work before you tried them? I didn't really notice that in the picture I was going to draw of my brother that he was at a slight angle. I had to draw him like I think he would have looked not at an angle.