8.5x11”, Graphite on Paper, 2018

I chose to create a sketch of my brother because as I looked through old pictures, I was reminded how much him and I have grown since we were little. I found this picture to be kind of humorous because of the oversized wicker hat and childish grin on his face. My favorite part about this drawing is how much it resembles him. I can easily identify his facial features and expression. I also really like the moderate amount of detail I chose; it is not extremely detailed, but has just enough to show that it is him. One thing I would change about this drawing would be the size of his head relative to the hat. This is because, in the picture, the hat was even larger compared to the size of his head. This made it appear that he is slightly older than he actually was when the picture was taken.

8.5x11”, Graphite on Paper, 2018

The inspiration from this project stemmed from my appreciation for animals. I don’t personally like birds, but I feel that they have a really intricate and cool appearance. I really liked the way that I executed the upper/head portion of the chicken. I feel like the variety of techniques I used throughout the drawing created really unique and interesting textures that would be appealing to viewers. If I were to change something about this sketch, I would have probably drawn the tail feathers in a more “natural” appearance. They look very idealistic and don’t flow as well with the rest of the piece.

8x12”, Graphite on Paper, 2018

For this drawing, I wanted to attempt a self-portrait. I have emphasized and focused this semester’s work primarily on portrait drawings, but have yet to draw a picture of myself. I knew going into it that I would be fairly uncomfortable drawing myself realistically, but I ended up really enjoying the challenge. If I could change one thing about this drawing, I would move the eye on the left side slightly inward. It seems to be too large and too lateral on my face. My favorite part of this drawing is definitely the shading. I thought it was very interesting trying to create something that appeared to be three-dimensional. I also have never drawn hair before, so I was pleasantly surprised with how the hair turned out.

24x36”, Mixed Media, 2018

I am very passionate about big cities, so first my first project I wanted it to encapsulate my perception of urban cities. This artwork shows that I see metropolitan areas in a very unique and complex manner. The shapes and colors appear very simplistic and geometric in my eyes, so that was exactly how I chose to portray them in this piece. If I could make changes to this painting, I would have chosen to make a greater amount of my background color in the beginning. As I made minor mistakes throughout the painting process, I found myself needing more of the light green color to make corrections. Instead, I was forced to mix the colors again to come up with the closest possible shade of green. In addition, I made fairly dark pencil marks when I was copying my sketch to canvas. Later, when I wanted to get rid of them, I couldn’t completely remove them. This left a few small blemishes and spots on my canvas that I struggled to cover up. I really like the monochromatic scale that I used and how it contrasted the light, misty green that I used to paint the background. Also, I was glad with the overall coherence of the piece and how the beads, pieces of wood, screws, bolts, etc. looked very well thought out and intentional.

18x24”, Acrylic on Canvas, 2019

When I began brainstorming a topic for my first ‘identity’ painting, I had trouble thinking of one topic that could encompass my own personal identity. Instead of selecting a single topic or scene, I created icons in order to symbolize different parts of my personality. For example, I painted a plane flying away from my home state to represent my desire to travel in the future. I have always wanted to move away from home and it is a big part of who I am. In addition, I painted a sun, flowers, and a cactus which is symbolic of my love for the outdoors. I feel my best when I am in warm weather and I felt that was an important element to include in my painting. Arguably, the focal point in this piece is the head toward the left side. I chose to paint my face without details. I thought that by doing this, I could potentially provoke thoughts in viewers about the meaning behind the painting. For me, it signifies that we are much more than our appearances. We each have traits and characteristics that are unique to us that venture far beyond our outward existence.

9x12”, Watercolor on Paper, 2019

This small acrylic painting was inspired by the changing weather. In April, Spring begins to roll in and many flowers start to bloom. I wanted to experiment by working with color and shape to create an illusion of realism in this piece. Although I didn’t use a specific reference image, I was able to create an image that appeared to be somewhat realistic. This was a challenging project for me because I have not used watercolor pencils or watercolor in the past. However, I found that it was very fun and produced a very different style that my previous work has. My favorite part of this painting is the largest flower in the middle and the small yellow specks of pollen. I also enjoyed how the soft appearance of the green leaves turned out. If I could change one thing, I would have thought out a few of the patterns of the flowers. For example, the flower in the top left doesn’t seem to flow with the rest of the piece. While the other flowers had a more loose, free-flowing style, this particular flower seemed much more rigid and flat. Overall, I do like how this painting turned out,