Painting 1

My idea was a gloomy beach day and a seagull standing in the middle of it. When I went to California this summer I took a picture like this but it was more vibrant. I first covered the whole canvas in a mixture of black, white, yellow, and blue paint. Then after I got down the base coat I mixed a dulled blue and had it go in an upwards fashion at the top. I added a few more coats of the first sandy color and sketched out a seagull. I mixed water with colors that were darker and lighter then the base coat and spread it over the canvas till I got my desired look. I then used to sketch and painted it all white, adding the details over it. After I finished seagull I focused on the ocean wanting to make it look like a wave just about to break on the shore. I did small circular motions of a diluted white to make a wave and foam breakin already on the surface. After that I used small upwards motions of a dark blue and white to make the texture and direction of the wave. I used a white and black splattering technique with my paintbrush to just give it more texture. This artwork is about a sad beach day where the clouds are covering the sun and there's a small chill in the air. I want my audience to think about these days at the beach and remember the dismal days are to be remembered as well as the happy ones. I struggled with the seagull. I'm not used to drawing animals or realism really. I decided to give in and make him a bit cartoony and I ended up liking the contrast. I also struggled with making the base color and couldn't get the same one each time I tried. I would change the foam at the bottom of the wave because it doesn't make sense if there is some at the top. This is realistic art, it makes it unique to me because every artwork I do I use a lot of watered down paint and a spattering of colors to get better texture. I love the wave, how it looks like it's in action and about to crash onto the beach.

My idea was to create a beautiful scene from space. I looked up some space painting for inspiration and took little elements from all of them and added my own. Including an astronaut which was added later for more interest. I started with a black background, then after that drew a big blue circle. I started adding detailing to the blue planet and adding a bit of depth and texture. Then I splattered white, yellow, and blue all over the canvas to create stars. i used my fingers to spread red all over the bottom making a base for another planets ground. I mixed a dark reddish brown and used a small brush to to add depth to the mountains and texture to the ground. I then used circular motions to make bigger more prominent stars and to make a waxing crescent moon. I started carefully painting an astronaut and adding details such as shading and highlights from the stars. After that was finished I felt it still needed something more. So I added a small rocket and attached the astronaut to it so he wasn't just floating in the middle of space without anything else. This artwork is just supposed to show the beauty and wonder of space.I want the audience to understand that and love space as much as I do. The hardest part of this was making the astronaut and his suit to look noticeable as an astronaut suit. I had to look up some pictures of some to make it look realistic. If i was to restart this project i would just sharpen some of the edges of stuff. It's supposed to be realistic with a tiny hint of abstractism. It makes it unique to me because I like to finger paint a bit to make a certain texture. My favorite thing thing about this painting is the stars they just look so pretty,