Project Three - Style

Project Three was about the specific style used by artists around the world from any period of time in history. Rene Magritte (1898 - 1967) was an artist who created artwork within the field of surrealism. Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the 1920s, and is best known for it's visual artworks and writings. Artists painted unnerving, illogical scenes with photographic precision, created strange creatures from everyday objects, and developed painting techniques that allowed the unconsciousness to express itself. Surrealist works usually feature the element of suprise, unexpected juxtapositions, and are non sequitor, however, many artists consider their work to be a philosophical movement first and foremost. Some consider surrealism to be above all, a revolutionary movement. Rene Magritte may in fact be the most famous artist in the field of surrealism. The media I chose to use for this project was colored pencils. What inspired me to create my art was a picture that Rene Magritte painted called La recherché de I'absolu (The search for te absolute). This painting inspired me to create a parody of his work. The actual painting shows a tall tree standing alone, with a perfectly round sphere to the left of  the tree. In the parody I chose to create, I drew a picture of Barad-dûr, which is the tower in the land of Mordor from The Lord of the Rings. To the left of the tower I drew the Eye of Sauron. Barad-dûr takes the place of the tree in Magritte's painting and the Eye of Sauron takes the place of the sphere. In the background I drew mountains and a dark sky resembling the land of Mordor. I am a huge fan of The Lord of the Rings, which is why I chose to use that specifically as the base for the parody I created. What I feel is most successful about the art I created is how I was able to apply the right colors in the painting to make it look as evil as possible and accurately make it resemble Barad-dûr, the Eye of Sauron, and Mordor. I also think that I was able to create a well constructed parody of an incredible painting by the one and only Rene Magritte.

Project Two - Color

Project Two was about the use of color and how it can be applied to different types of art. Before starting the final portion of the project I created a color wheel and demonstrated different types of shades of purple and orange. I did these two activities to familiarize my self with color. For the project I used the theme When I Awoke, and an analogous color scheme. The media I choose to use for this project was watercolor, a pen, and colored pencils. I used watercolor to paint the background of the painting and used colored pencils to enhance the background by giving it more texture. The pen was used to draw the birds flying through the sky. The painting I chose to do was a painting of the morning sky with birds flying in the distance. I was inspired to create this painting when I thought of what it is I see when I awake. One of the first things I thought of was how the sky tends to look early in the morning. I also thought of what would be in the sky very early in the morning and I imagined a group of birds flying in the tranquil morning sky. The reason for the sky being so fascinating early in the morning is because of the profound colors which dominant the sky. As night fades away and the light of day is begins to arise, the sky develops a dark purple color along with some blue , and a bit of orange and yellow on the horizon as the sun begins to rise. The dark birds flying in the distance add to the effect of a morning sky and catch the eye of people who view the painting. During the course of completing Project Two, I learned a few different things that I had not known before. The first things I learned were different types of color such as primary, secondary, tertiary, and complementary. Two other aspects of color I leaned about were tint and shade. Tint and shade can significantly enhance the painting by making it look more powerful and detailed. Another thing I learned during this project was how to correctly use watercolor when painting the sky. In order to paint the sky, one must take a couple steps to achive their goal. Painting the sky with watercolor requires different layers of paint and the use of water to make certain parts lighter. I also leaned that the correct use of color can make a painting look absolutely astonishing and brings the painting to life. The painting I made uses very distinct shades of  purple, blue, yellow, and orange  which make the sky look detailed and realistic, and the birds flying give the painting life and tie it all together.

Project One - Realism

Project One was about the type of art known as realism. Realism is the art of making  a picture look as realistic as possible through use of contrast, value, and proportion. Contrast is a technique for creating a focal point by using differences in elements. Contrast shows the difference between objects. Contrast is important for details making the picture stand out. Value is the lightness and darkness of color. It clearly shows the difference between parts of the work of art. Proportion is the principle of art concerned with the size relationships of one part to another. Proportion is important due to the realistic and life like effect it gives the art. the media I chose to use for my drawing was a pen and colored pencils. What inspired me to create a drawing of a mug that says "Worlds Best Boss" on it was my love for a show called The Office. The Office was one of my favorite televisions shows and in the show, the main character, Michael Scott, has the exact same mug. My inspiration for drawing a hand wielding a sword was The Lord of the Rings. The Lord of the Rings films are some of my favorite films of all time and I thought it would be cool to try and draw a hand holding a sword. During this project I leaned a few different things. One thing I learned was that trying to make a work of art as realistic as possible is not as easy as  I previously thought. It takes much practice in mastering the different techniques that make artwork appear to be very realistic. I also learned how to improve on certain aspects of my art as I progressed through the project. The final thing I really learned how to do is to be able to apply myself when working on artwork I am creating in order to make it the best work of art I am capable of making.