Question 1
I think that my portfolio throughout the semester is a good indicator of my growth during the class. My early work, particularly in the watercolor unit, was highly elementary, as I had not worked with the medium for two years, since I took Art 1 as a freshman. I had little understanding of how to use the elements of art to my advantage in compositions. This is best exemplified by the Watercolor Fruit/Color Theory assignment, the results of which I have included below. As you can see, all of the paintings are exceptionally two-dimensional and do not utilize color, value, texture, or space well at all. However, I think that my growth as an artist can definitely be seen simply by comparing the watercolor practice paintings with my final watercolor project, which I have also included below. In the time between the first paintings and the second painting, I learned how to layer colors, portray light, add texture, add value, and take risks in my art. Simply having time to work in a space with other artistically minded people who know more about art than I possibly ever will definitely supported my growth this semester. I feel as though I grew an immense amount in my skills as an artist, and looking at the work on my portfolio indicates that.
Question 3
I felt that I was the least successful during the acrylic unit. The assignment was to compose a painting that drew influences from the artistic styles of Hundertwasser and Klimt. While I enjoyed the process of making the painting, I feel that I was too occupied by ensuring that the painting was "Hundertwasser enough" to actually make a piece of art that I enjoyed and was proud of. I did not like my final painting. I felt that it was messy, the colors clashed too much, and everything seemed slightly out of place. I also felt like it was too childish for the style of painting that I usually like to make. If I were to complete this assignment again, I would make an effort to take it far less literally. I really liked how some of my classmates took a far more creative approach to interpreting Hundertwasser's style and work, so I would likely adopt a similar technique.
Question 4
I think that my watercolor landscape painting compared to my oil paint landscape painting (both shown below) best displays my growth throughout the semester. My watercolor landscape appears very base-level to me; although I did have some understanding of how to use the medium and how to portray my subject, I had very little artistic vision and did not apply many techniques in an especially effective manner. For example, my portrayal of the lights on the water was not very realistic; it looks simply like yellow on top of blue water. I also feel I was not especially creative; the entirety of the painting was purely technical. However, I feel that I experienced significant growth throughout the semester, and that is shown in my oil landscape painting. First, I feel that my subject matter was not only more ambitious but more interesting as well. I had gained an understanding of texture and color throughout the semester that I applied more effectively during this project, as well as allowing myself to be creative by portraying the leaves on the trees and bushes in a stylized and not especially realistic manner. Additionally, I like the lights on the string from the barn much more than the lights on the pier in my watercolor painting; I just think they're prettier and look more glowing. Overall, I feel that my oil landscape painting was significantly more successful than my watercolor painting as a result of the skill that I gained throughout the course of this semester.
Question 7
Acrylic paint was my favorite medium to work with this semester. Although I did not like the outcome of my final acrylic painting, I really enjoy painting with acrylics and did like how my acrylic practice painting, shown below, turned out. When I entered this class, it was the medium I was most familiar with and therefore most comfortable with. I like that it has a thinner consistency than oil paints, meaning it dries faster and is easier to mix, while still retaining a fair amount of opacity, unlike watercolors. I found techniques such as layering and blending colors easiest with acrylics because of these traits. I also found mixing the colors I wanted easiest with acrylic paint. This may be due to my prior experience with them, but I found that I more easily could mix colors to my liking than with watercolor or oil paint. Finally, the main struggle I encountered with acrylic paint was the issue of using low-opacity colors like yellow, which was heavily featured in my final acrylic painting, as shown below. I overcame this issue by layering white paint underneath it so the red underpainting did not show through.