Watercolor eyes

    

     The above drawing models the step by step procedure of making eyes with watercolors. As a watercolor user myself, I found this model helpful and informative. I'm familiar enough with how to use watercolors, but this drawing was able to highlight the finer techniques of creating depth and value with the paints. I especially commend the artists creative and diverse use of color--avoiding "dead" colors as is traditional with watercolors. Though first hand experience is a good teacher, sometimes learning from external resources can be just as helpful.

Artist Statement

Art is not "something" to me. That is to say, it's not something I can simply categorize from the rest of my being. It's at my core. I have a great knowing that art will always be with me. In second grade, despite my teacher's reprimands and my own moral discomfort I always ended up doodling in the margins of my math homework. They might as well have been telling me not to breathe. Today, I still doodle in the margins of my math homework, and science homework, and pretty much on everything. Art is like anything else about me from my brown eyes to my personality--it will always be there. But like people, art is always changing and developing. Art is a life long journey of discovery: always expanding, improving and reflecting me in my present state. It's always there, yet always changing. In my current Art Foundations class, I have gotten the chance to experience art in a diversity of ways I never had before. I have always loved water colors, and drawing people, but I feel as if those are only two pieces of a puzzle I'm still at this momment putting together piece by piece. I love color. That is not to say necessarily that I love flashy and multiple colors, however, no matter the project, inspiration, or concept I take special care with color schemes, the emotions they convey, and furthermore, their meanings. I do admit to a penchant for the bright, but also the pastel, and perhaps more. In short, I love color schemes teamed with emotion. Also, aside from the translucently layered, even meticulous watercolors, I have grown fond of pastel crayons. Each line is bold, makes a statement, and can always be "canceled out" by another line. I love charchoal, ink, and even paper machè yet colored pencils have attained a certain flatness for me. What else? I'm not sure, I'm still in my experimental phase as an artist, if it's even a phase. Though I may think certain characteristics are staples of my artistry, how can I know without experiencing the alternative? I prefer 2-D art, painting, sketching, portraits over landscapes, "pretty" color schemes over the less so...yet all this is subject to change.

Blizzard

   The below image I found an intriguing portrayal of a blizzard. The art itself is very 19th century-ish-- this for me increases the art's intrigue-- specific techniques create a specific atmosphere that's related to a specific era-- it's retro, if you will. Furthermore, I'm in awe with the composition. The artist achieves a flawless balance of negative and positive space weaving together into one blizzardy storm: the horse trudging forward, cranberry red sled in tow while daringly approaching the "dead zone" of the painting-- assumed to cross hypothetical paths with a man and his dog moving in the opposite direction on the other side of the composition-- of which are also approaching the dead zone, yet not quite there. The composition is masterful, the whole "dangerously close to the dead zone" thing implies great. struggling movement. Such as we Vermonters know all to well, is inevitable and heavy correlated to "walking" in deep snow. I like the crossing paths aspect of the art too, this also emphasizes movement. All of this is enveloped by a mystic winter wonderland: an average, rural street transformed into a fantasy land that would put Narnia to shame.

Mask inspiration

The mask below is a classic example of a Venetian mask. I especially commend the artists' subtle transition from mask to face in the eye area-- it's done so masterfully, the woman's' face almost seems part of the mask. The colors are also breathtaking-- a captivating yet paced and by no means color scheme of silvers, yellows and other "moon, sun and sky" colors leave one in awe. Though it may give the illusion of being simple, a second look reveals that this mask was no easy creative accomplishment. Intense detail on the minutely perfected outlines of the silver stars and moons on the cheeks to the very deliberate, exact gradiation of the crisp yellow "eye-shadow" all point to one conclusion: this piece of art is a masterpiece.

Portrait

The portrait below is by the well known 20th century artist Henri Matisse. Matisse uses bold, textured strokes of paint at opposing angles to give the illusion of value and exaggerated, saturated colors to further emphasize this illusion. I find this piece of artwork interesting because even decades after its production, it comes across as unique, fresh and creative. Even if I don't necessarily want to use the same techniques in my art than Matisse, his work is nonetheless inspiring because of its outside-of-the-box "embrace the shake"-ness.

Vincent Van Gogh

The picture below is a painting by the famous impressionistic painter Vincent van Gogh. I like van Gogh's use of simulated texture within the artwork. Another aspect that strikes my fancy is his bold, extracted use of colors, and a "color scheme" that is very aesthetically pleasing. I also like the on and of again use of contour lines that succeeds in heightening the interesting mood and aesthetic atmosphere of this picture. Overall, it's a very nice piece of artwork.

Carlos Amorales

Though I am by far no expert on the work of artist Carlos Amorales, a hasty Google Images search had lead me to conclude that of what I have seen, the below is my favorite of Amorales'. For one, I admire his use of texture and pattern with the "dots"over the silhouettes.  Another technique I commend is the concentrated use of a motley of colors within the dots in contrast with the stark boldness of the monochromatic reds, blacks, and whites of the silhouettes and background. As usual, Amorales' silhouettes are impeccable, but what captivates me especially is the three-dimensional, actual-wall aspect which signifies this artwork was made big and bold. Overall, contrast, texture, pattern, color, dimension and movement all work very well together to create a captivating, original work of art.

Line Art

In my opinion, the artwork below is a good example of a piece that emphasizes line. Almost everything in the drawing has contour or some kind of outline. Furthermore, the artist makes good use of such techniques as hatching and a basic cross-hatch. The artist does not rely on too much variety of techniques as to be overwhelming, but keeps a consistent usage and pattern of techniques that creates a unique vibe. I like piece of art because of that very reason, that certain techniques related to certain feelings, blended together, give it a very specific feeling. Maybe that feeling is just something I feel, maybe every one had the exact same getting when they look at this drawing, bit I think the impudent thing is not what emotion I/ everyone else feels but that the artwork is able to evoke that emotion. To add to that, I also like this drawing because this street corner simply looked very fun to draw.

Artwork by Jeong Eun-gyu

When creating a flyer for the Tiny Theatre, I made sure to do some basic formatting/ design research online to ensure my design was informative but at the same time "eye catching" before delving head first into the assignment. An informative, well-rounded article I found on the subject is listed below, and the tips and tricks mentioned throughout the article will most likely influence me while creating the flyer.

Click Here for article

For the upcoming open studio in art class, I hope to draw inspiration from the stop motion movie adaption of Neil Gaimen's critically acclaimed children's novel, Coraline. If I do stop motion animation, which I very well might,  this nearly two hour movie will certainly inspire me. Also, even if I do not do end up doing a project using stop motion, the mood, color scheme and overall concept can certainly be inspiration.

Live Action Film

I felt this film was very cohesive plot wise as well as being funny and entertaining. Even though certain aspects of the video may seem outdated, the quality of other aspects allows the work to shine on. Because of the lack of dialogue and over exaggerated acting the film earns it's own an aesthetic beauty, oppose to the enhanced realism of modern film (with sound). The film through seemingly seamless shots tells a story efficiently, concisely and at some points with impressively clever wit.

Video

Conceptual landscape

    The photograph below would be considered conceptual traditional for several reasons. Among these reasons, is the use of Photoshop in a creative and somewhat unconventional way, that is, making the 'landscape' appear to be on a man's head. Also note the distortion of scale-or rather, just how big that head is. On closer inspection, one also notices that the church, tree, castle etc, are in fact not real, but fake, and are tiny plastic models. This perhaps makes only the very background of the photo- which is blurry but appears top be real land- traditional. That in itself is another aspect on this photo's conceptualism- the mesh of a head, toys, and actual landscape.

Unusual Objects in a Still LIfe

The still life above, by Martin Vallen, is an interesting example of a still life, because the objects within the composition are so unusual. Though the focal point is dangerously close to the center, the objects themselves are so unusual- yellow and black Nike sneakers, necklaces, headphones- that it keeps the photo intriguing enough to work. Another aspect to note is how the objects are suspended in the air, and how they interplay with each other, further adding to the originality of the photo and objects.

Portrait conveying emotion

  Compositionally, the photo attached is very lack luster, yet nevertheless, this photograph of the famous American Aborigine Sitting Bull conveys emotion and feeling very well, I believe. The black and white color scheme forces one to focus less on certain aspects of the photo, thus emphasizing and strengthening others whether intentionally or unintentionally. For instance, the color-or lack their of- forces your eye to study the varying contours-shades- of his face and eyes making his solemn expression all the more meaningful. A moonshine color scheme gives the photographer a blunter array of tools to control, perhaps working in their favor because the less told you use, the more chance you have of converting a feeling.
    But that in itself is "icing on the cake", his expression itself is really what makes this portrait so intense. Which goes to show you that a photographer's creation has to come from some reality before that natural, raw thing is strengthened.

A Still Life: Lock and Key

    In a continuation of my previous post on compositionally affective still life's, I would like to share this photograph of- what is basically- a lock and key. What really lends this piece it's superiority is the single beam moving from the fore front to the very back, working almost as a bridge to your eyes- if it wasn't for that beam- if the picture was hypothetically taken with a white background, the lock would be in a very awkward place on the piece. The key also lends a smidge of asymmetry to lock, shifting the focal point slightly from the dead center.

A Still Life: Chairs

    There are a lot of factors that make a good photograph, but one of the most essential components is composition. I felt the still life attached, of chairs, models this well-- this is because the photo users the "Rule of Thirds" without necessarily going with an overused perspective.
Another thing to note with the composition is the clever use of layers and angles, which make certain chairs pop out more than others. For instance, I find the Artist's intentional tipping of chairs at the ends worked very well in drawing the eye to the inside of picture.

     Eyes of the great depression, a series of photos depicting the grim reality of one of Americas darkest eras. One photo in particular struck me as compelling- a single child posed in the forefront, shifting her weight against what appeared to be a wire fence, eyes downcast. The composition of the piece really spoke to me- the picture has a certain mood that can't be reproduced easily with Photoshop and expensive cameras. In the era this photo was taken, certain aspects of photography simply did not exist that we now take for granted. For instance, most pictures were limited to a monochromatic color scale, and cameras were often unpredictable- not too mention film development. This picture speaks of a course, raw underlying meaning to photography we rarely see today- the art of merely capturing the essence of something, an emotion, feeling- one child speaking for an entire era.  

http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/tutorials/photoshop/3d-printing-from-photoshop/

    The link above presents an intriguing article taking one through the step by step process of 3-D printing using Photoshop. The idea of 3-D printing alone was news to me, and so I expected it to be a rarity and for the extremely wealthy, but the article notes that, the process is getting cheaper and more common- certainly not a household object, but nonetheless approaching that zone steadily. The novelty of the process soon wore off with the article's simple, clear instructions. Overall, informative and captivating.

http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/news/creative-business/creative-educators-warn-ebacc-could-lead-uk-losing-generation-of-talent/
     The article "Creative Educators warn EBacc could lead to UK 'losing a generation of talent'", by Neil Bennett, is about- as the title suggests- exploring the creative cons of the newly invented EBacc education system in the UK.
     The EBacc, or English Baccalaureate, proposes to have 5 main 'pillars' in the British school system- English, Maths, Science, one language class and either a History or Geography class. However, research has shown that instigating this program- because of its exclusion and even aversion of the Arts, will lead to an overall decline of creative skills in students. Educators who support this side of the controversy suggest either adding sixth 'pillar' for the Arts, or cutting the program completely.
      Though I am not a citizen of the UK, I find it interesting to relate this epidemic to the many school budget cuts taking place in America today- where Music and Art classes are often enough the victims. I believe that though Art may not seem particularly practical and therefore necessary in today's economy, education on the subject is vital in a deeper, fundamental sense. In order for us as human beings to grow and develop to our full potential, Arts are necessary.