Painting

Ember Dykstra "Base Line To Finish Line"

4x10, acrylic on paper, 2025

I see more improvement over this semester in art because I not only improved on my base line but all my other paintings in the class. The first baseline I used acrylic paint but I noticed it was hard to get the crazy fur texture. So this time I used water color and layered darker spots to resemble hair. I also added a flower in her hair to show that it was a girl and to add detail. My biggest goal is to go out of my comfort zone and use water color more. I wanna work on not being so perfect but still trying hard on my paintings. I improved on finding brushes that work well with me and I know how to use them. I use smaller brushes to add detail and big brushes to get the base and bigger areas of the canvases. I am still working on growing out of my comfort zone and adding more of my imagination to my art work. My new goal for the future is to paint a big collage of random objects that I love.

Ember Dykstra “Highland Cow”

4x10, acrylic on paper , 2025

I painted an animal called a highland cow. Highland cows are my favorite animal. Highland cows show calmness and happiness. I have always wanted to pet a highland cow and my dreams are to own two of them when I get older. My grandpa loves drawing so he draws me many different animals, farms, landscapes, and so much more. I took one of his drawings and turned it into my painting. He drew the most perfect highland cow so I wanted to paint him. To start my painting I was given a textured paper. I started painting the background blue and sketching my highland cow on the paper. Then, I started to mix my paints and paint the canvas. I painted the cow fully brown and started to layer the fur on the body and face. Lastly, I worked on the eyes, horns, and the little details. All the tools I used in my highland cow painting were paint, paint brushes that were big and small, pencils, pictures/ideas that I wanted to paint, and canvas paper.This art work means that all animals can be loved and wanted, even ones that are not as cute or that can’t live in your house. I want people to look at the picture and think about how soft, loving, and how warm they are. I painted the background blue so the view and focus on the highland cow more than the background. Also I painted the cow standing and looking at the viewer so it can feel like they are right in front of the highland cow. The hardest part of my painting was the highland cow's fur. I have never painted an animal before so I didn't really know how to layer the colors to make it look like fur and make it look realistic. I overcame this struggle by doing little details till it was right and realistic. If I got to start over I would add more detail to the body so the body and face don't bend together and look like one. This style of my highland cow is a realistic animal. My favorite part of my highland cow is the horns because I added a lot of detail to them and they look realistic. This piece is unique to me because I love animals and seeing new ones. I love highland cows and hope some day I can own my own. I love the colors and the texture. The fur is by far my favorite. It shows a contrast from the body and doesn't blend in.

Ember Dykstra "Key West Florida"

9x12,arcrylic on board, 2025

I painted a landscape of a sunset in Key West Florida. I really enjoyed the trip to Florida and I wanted to remember it by painting my trip. This painting was made from my favorite moment in Key West Florida. This brought lots of joy in the moment and repainting it because I got to think about all my great memories I made in Key west Flordia. I also got inspired by another art work my sister painted of clear water beach in florida. I liked how everything looked calm and still but also brought up the best memories. How I started the painting was figuring out what canvas I wanted. Then, I painted my background color and traced my picture of the sunset onto the background. Next, I mixed all my paints and painted from the sky(Top) to the water(Bottom). Lastly, I added my last details, my signature, and took a professional picture. All the tools I used in my landscape of Key West Flordia was paint, paint brushes that were big and small,pencils, picture/idea that i wanted to paint, and a paint spatula.This artwork means a lot to me because I enjoyed the trip with my family and we only go on vacation every other year. I want people to look at my painting and think of how much I've improved from my 8th grade year painting to this year. I want them to notice that I put a lot of time into this artwork and that it's one of my best work i've made in my art classes over the years.The hardest part of my painting was the water. I wanted the water to look like it had ripples of waves in it but still show the reflections of the sunset. It was really hard to figure out how to get the water and reflection to look just right and look realistic. I over came these challenges by doing little details at a time and layering them. I also stepped back from my artwork a lot to see if I was over doing it and not making it look realistic. If I got to start over I would definitely add more bright colors to the sky and maybe add a bit more detail to the clouds. The style of my Sun set is a realist landscape. My favorite part about my painting is the water. I know I worked hard and tried my best to make the water look like the picture. I also experience the most challenges but overcame them in many ways. This painting is unique to me because I love being out doors. I love seeing what god has created and seeing the sunsets he creates everyday.

Ember Dykstra “Jersey First Haircut”9x12,Acrylic on canvas,2025
This is my dog Jersey after her first haircut. She has really long hair that mats up easily so my dad and I took her to get groomed and cut. After she got groomed and cut she had the biggest smile on her face. She got spoiled and loved at the grooms and was so happy to have her short hair in summer. I use many tools and techniques to paint Jersey. First, I painted the background to make the floor look textured. Second, I sketched Jersey on the background with color tracing paper. Next, I mixed a lot of my paints and started painting the face. I started painting from top to bottom. I painted her hearts then her eyes and then her nose. Lastly, I painted her body. This piece of art work means a lot to me because it was the first time my dog Jersey got a hair cut. I want people to look at my work and see how much effort and time I put into the textures and colors. This painting symbolizes her transition into getting her first hair cut.The most difficult part to paint was her face. I wanted to add a lot of texture and detail into her face to make the painting look like her. I overcame this struggle by taking my time and adding many layers. The only thing I would change is how much time I took to put every detail. I wanted to be perfect and became too much of a perfectionist. The artwork of my dog Jersey is a realistic style of art. What makes the art work unique is that every time I look at it I remember how happy and excited she was to get her hair cut and to see me. I love how realistic the painting looks. This painting looks almost the exact same as the picture. This was by far my favorite project I painted this year.

Ember Dykstra “My Shaywa”

Figurine, Acrylic on Clay, 2025

I created this painting because of my best friend, Shayla Tapke. Ever since 8th grade, we started talking more and she later became my best friend. I thought it would be a fun and exciting project to try. I would like to give this to her as a gift after she gets confirmed.

I first started with a clay figurine. Then I gathered acrylic paints, and mixed them together to get the colors I needed. I started painting by covering the figure with white, top to bottom. Then I painted her dress with royal blue. Then I cover the bible grey, and the sign white. Next I apply the skin tone, and hair color to form the project together. Last but not least, I filled in her bright blue eyes.

I want this project to be a symbol of completion. I want Shayla to be able to look at this and remember all the time and hard work she put forward to be confirmed. Being confirmed is a long journey that may not be easy for many. I want Shayla to feel proud about this moment and I hope this figure can add to that become a figure of remembrance.

An issue I had to overcome was the fact that when I paint, I seem to get ahead of myself. I find myself painting too fast, and end up spilling paint onto already painted areas. I would then have to switch brushes, and go back over the part that was spilled on. I would also find myself overthinking and trying to make it too perfect, to where I would spend too much time correcting the little mistakes.

Even though this project came with some difficulties, I think I did a great job creating this realistic form of art. I am very proud of myself for how it turned out, and I'm excited to see Shaylas reaction on confirmation day.

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