Color Sketch Progress Photos Final Painting Self Evaluation Question Responses 1. I feel that this painting has very good craftsmanship. None of the underpainting is showing through, all lines are well places and precise, and all edges are clean.
2. I think that lines are very emphasized in this piece because of the fur texture. I think that I utilized organic lines and shapes well throughout the painting to make it look realistic, as well as multiple values in the fur to add dimension. I think that the use of the values and lines in the fur adds dimension to the piece. I think that my use of color could have been more advanced- the grey and brown background is kind of boring. 3. The subject of this painting is my dog, Bodhi. Bodhi is a Sanskrit word that means "enlightenment," which my family says is ironic because Bodhi is not a particularly intelligent dog. He is adorable and goofy, but doesn't seem to have many thoughts in his head. I tried to communicate this in my painting: he looks sweet and happy, but there really is no thought happening behind his eyes. 4. I think that the focal point of this painting is Bodhi's eyes. As I mentioned previously, I wanted to make him look sweet, but not very smart. I accomplished this by keeping the eyes soft and simplistic: they are brown, with some yellow ochre for highlight on the iris and white for highlight on the eye overall. The collaboration of the contrast against his light fur and the lines that seem to wrap around the eyes draw the viewer's line of vision straight to them. 5. I used texture throughout the fur to make the painting more realistic. The goal of this was to capture the wispy, fluffy nature of his fur. I also used a little bit of stippling on the nose to add texture there. 6. Working through the eye and fur tutorials were a very good start to this painting. I ended up using several skills I picked up from the tutorials, such as adding ochre to a brown eye and mapping out fur sections with a large brush. These helped this painting be successful by providing me with techniques I had not used previously. I think that I was successful in this painting; although I think that more interest and texture could have been added to the background, I am happy with the subject of this painting and I think it accomplishes the tone I wanted to convey. 7. I did not enjoy using oil paint. Generally, I like to work fast, work in layers, and work with paint with a lot of movement. Additionally, I am a very messy painter, and tend to get my paint everywhere. None of these qualities are especially conducive to oil paint, so I struggled this unit. However, I did enjoy the outcome of my paintings. 8. The most difficulty I had with this painting was my inability to work in layers because the paint took so long to dry. I would end up smudging paint between two places that were not supposed to combine or completely losing my highlight colors in the darker colors beneath it. If I were to make changes to this painting, I would add more texture to the background.
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Fur Practice
Color Sketch Progress Photos Final Painting Reflection Questions 1. I think that this painting has adequate craftsmanship. I feel that most of it is neat and well-executed, although there are some areas that look a little messy around the edges due to the order of layer application.
2. In this painting, I chose to use primarily bright, warm tones in order to communicate the cozy, autumnal atmosphere of the photo. Even the greens and greys I used were composed of warmer hues. The colors I used are also brighter than that of my reference in order to make the painting feel more cheerful. 3. I created contrast in this painting by using more muted colors in the trees in the background of the painting and brighter colors in the tree and bushes of the foreground, so the tree at the front catches the viewer's attention more than those in the back. I also used bright yellows in the lights to stand out against the dark green of the trees in the back. 4. I used texture in several aspects of this painting. The different textures in the grass, the leaves of the tree in the foreground, the leaves of the trees in the background, the leaves of the bushes, the climbing plants on the barn, and the wood of the barn walls all make the painting more interesting and give the viewer more to look at than simply flat colors. I used shadows and highlights to add depth to the painting, particularly to the barn and to the trees. I also added a shadow on the grass at the base of the barn to add realism and make the barn appear more solid and grounded. 5. I used perspective as well as shadows and highlights to add depth to the painting. The two point perspective of the barn creates the illusion of a three dimensional object. I also used highlights and shadows, which I discussed in the previous paragraph. 6. I think that one of the techniques that made this painting successful was my utilization of a fur-like texture in the grass, which we had learned about in the accompanying animal portrait unit. I also think that stippling on the leaves of the trees in the back created an interesting leafy effect that mimics the larger leaves of the bushes and the tree in the foreground. 7. The primary struggle I had with this painting was the two point perspective of the barn, because I have not used that skill in a while. The balance of the painting also feels off to me, almost as if the grass is too green and expansive. Were I to redo this painting, I would significantly mute the color of the grass. 8. I think that the most successful aspect of this painting was the communication of the overall mood I wanted to convey. The photo was taking at a wedding I recently attended, so I wanted it to have a warm, bright, and happy feeling to it, which I think was well communicated. I also think I did a good job painting in the texture of the barn's walls. This assignment was a pallet knife painting in which we followed a demo. I did not particularly enjoy this assignment, because I have a certain aversion to painting apples, and I do not like the lack of control you get as a result of painting with the pallet knife instead of a brush.
This assignment was a small oil painting in order to acquaint ourselves with using oil paints: how they mix, their relative transparencies, how much paint to use where. I enjoyed this assignment. I ended up painting a few small mushrooms, and also included grass and the base of a tree in the painting, which I think gives it a whimsical feeling.
For this assignment, we were instructed to mix one hundred different colors using only red, yellow, blue, black, and white. I found this assignment pretty easy, as most of the colors I mixed were a base color's different tones, which I made by adding black or white. However, I also found that oil paint is very messy and takes a long time to dry, hence the red and blue smears on the canvas.
Compositional Sketches Final Color Sketch Progress Photos Final Painting 1. I think that this painting is well executed. The majority of my lines are neat and clean, shapes are well defined, and most of the paint is applied uniformly enough to not show brushstrokes, with the exception of a few small sections. 2. My piece embodies the style of Hundertwasser by utilizing bright colors, a child-like drawing style, and a very flat, unrealistic perspective. 3. I chose to mainly use shades of analogous colors (particularly orange, yellow, and green) in order to maintain a consistent and simplistic feel within the painting despite the amount of patterns and shapes involved. 4. The focal point of this painting is primarily the large sunflower in the foreground. The sun may also be considered a focal point. 5. The most prominent patterning in this painting can be found in the grass, which I composed with horizontal stripes in various tones of green and yellow. A dot pattern can be found in the brown areas, which is meant to represent dirt and rocks and serves to break up the continuous lines of grass in the painting. 6. The border on the painting adds interest. According to feedback I received, it seems to make the painting feel as though the viewer is looking at it through a window or a television screen. I think the black and soft white emphasizes the brightness of the rest of the paining. I included spirals in the center of the flowers, as well as a more subtle one in the sky behind the sun. These add a more "Hundertwasser" feel to the painting. 7. While creating this painting, I had a really hard time with making the colors- particularly the yellow and green- clearly translate over the red underpainting. In the future, I think I will use a less disruptive underpainting color. I also had a hard time ensuring the shapes of the flowers were well defined. I think I resolved this well with the black outline I used on the flowers. 8. Planning and revising the sketches were infinitely important to the success of this painting. Because of the very defined and precise craftsmanship required by the Hundertwasser/Klimt style, it was important that I knew exactly where each element and color belonged on the canvas. Once the sketch was done on the canvas, adding the color was relatively easily, with the exception of the aforementioned color struggles. I think that I was successful in communicating the feeling I wanted the painting to have: cozy, familiar, and childlike. 9. During the course of this unit, I learned that I need to consider the color of my underpainting before I start a project. Additionally, I found that my paintings tend to be significantly more successful if I create compositional and color sketches before I begin painting. For this assignment, the focus was understanding how to mix acrylic paints and how to paint with them. I was very proud of how this pumpkin turned out. I like how the brushstrokes don't look especially realistic, but get the point across and make the entire painting feel warm.
This assignment served as a warm-up before starting our acrylic paintings. We were to make two color wheels, using non-traditional shapes, using cool tones in one and warm in the other. I chose to use the phases of the moon as my shape.
Compositional Sketches Progress Photos Final Painting Watercolor Critique Reflection Questions
1. The most effective and useful watercolor technique used in this painting was layering. Using light layers of paint proved to be essential to building the values particularly in the sky and water, but through all of the painting as well. Additionally, the use of the gradient technique was helpful with the addition of value to the water, because it was lighter closer to the shoreline and darker closer to the horizon. Finally, the dry brush technique was effective in making the pier on the horizon of the painting, because it created darker, more defined lines than if more water had been used. 2. Using transparent layers was extremely important in my painting. There were a lot of different light sources in the painting which gave off different colored light. The use of transparent layers made it easier to differentiate the different light sources and their reflections. It also made it easier to create more complex colors throughout the painting; for example, I used several translucent layers of blue, brown, and grey to create the color in the sand. 3. I think that my composition was successful. The different colors and shapes in the sky created variety and movement in the painting, and the pier on the horizon created an interesting line separating the bottom third of the painting from the top two thirds. I used several elements of art: the lines of the pier and the sky, the shapes of the people and the clouds, the texture of the sand; and the value, space, and color throughout the whole painting. I think that my use of form could have been improved upon- the painting does not seem particularly 3-dimensional. Because I am not very familiar with the principles of design, I do not think they were utilized particularly well in this composition. However, I think that the scale and balance of the painting is well-executed. 4. Color choice was an important factor in this painting because it was important to making the painting realistic as well as interesting. For example, someone would generally use tan or brown to paint sand. However, because of the lighting in the reference photo, the sand appeared to be more blue and grey, with a little bit of brown as well. Thus, I used a light blue background to paint the sand, and layered small brushstrokes of blue-grey, grey, and brownish-grey. 5. I think that my craftsmanship is adequate. I was very careful to not overwork the paper, and used many transparent layers as directed. I especially like my attention to detail in the form of the pier and the sand. However, I feel that some things could have been improved upon, particularly in the water, as I found that area particularly challenging. 6. If I could do something differently, I would pay more attention to the shapes in the sky. I feel that the shapes I drew had too much curve to them, particularly in the cloud, but also in the yellow/orange/pink section. I would also pay more attention to the reflections of light in the water. I would use a resist method to leave it white, and then paint over it with pinkish-yellow, rather than trying to paint over the existing blue. 7. In this unit, I learned a lot about watercolor. Previously, I had not particularly enjoyed watercolor paints, as I found them difficult to use and would get frustrated when the water tore up my page. However, now that I have learned proper technique for using them- working in transparent layers, using enough water, not overworking the paper- I quite enjoy painting with them. I also learned that I am kind of impatient and not very good at waiting for layers to dry, and I should always use some kind of resist method if I want a space on my watercolor painting to be white, because I tend to forget where I want the white spaces to be. I think that these new lessons have greatly improved my development in art. Working with new mediums, or mediums I don't particularly think I enjoy, always proves helpful to my knowledge and technique in art. |
AuthorLayla Ballinger Archives
January 2022
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