Advanced Studio 1

Emily Miller "Scenic CDs"

"4.7,4.7", Acrylics and CDs, 2021

These are old CDs that I refurbished and painted over to look like scenic views. I got this idea when thinking about what I like to paint. I really just like landscapes and blending so I wanted to incorporate that into my painting and make it pretty and simple.

When I first started to paint on the CDs I would always just start painting the background straight on the old CD. I've learned I should clean them up a bit with something wet and wipe them off. Next, I should coat it in a layer of white or black paint to cover up anything previously on the DVD. After that, I started painting my background. I blended multiple colors on a pallet and created multiple shades of the same color then I would put it on the CD and add a base color to make sure everything is wet and blendable. After that, I blend it all out. This part can take a while if the colors are being evil. After this, I started with the black parts on the CDs. I painted the main shapes then filled them in. After that, I just did touch-ups and finished them up.

This artwork can mean whatever you want it to mean. When you look at it you can connect it to anything. It's a simple set of CDs with a calming sky painted on them. If you don't know how to feel when looking at them just get lost in the smooth colors and pretend that you're seeing this in real life.

The most difficult part of these paintings was also the funniest part. Blending requires the paint to be wet. You can keep the paint wet by adding more paint but you don't want to alter your color and change the shade. I overcame this by just continuously trying until it looked right. If I could start over I would definitely change how the buildings look on the first CD. It doesn't match up well with how the background is, in my opinion.

I would say this has qualities of both Surrealism and Realism. It's a scene you could definitely see in real life. It's just the colors look too dream-like to be realistic. I think most of my paintings are like this and it's just my style of painting to make things dream-like. I love how the colors Turned out. Like I said it's dreamy and cool

Emily Miller "Puzzled Swan"

“5,1 ½, 2 ½ “ Sudoku Page and Acrylics, 20221

I've always wanted to make some kind of origami out of my sudoku page so I figured I'd make a swan because I've never made one before and think they're pretty. After I was done doing all the folding I painted a beak and the swirly eyes. I thought it would be funny to see a confused swan made out of a confusing puzzle.

First I ripped out a page of my Sudoku book. Then I cut out an equilateral square. Next I looked up how to make an Origami swan and started folding. After I was done doing all the folding I painted a beak and some swirly eyes to give the swan a confused look and I was finished.

My artwork is supposed to be ironic and silly. When my audience looks at it I want them to notice the fact that this confused animal is made out of a puzzle that most individuals find confusing. When they notice that I'd love to give someone a little laugh.

The most difficult thing I had to accomplish was painting small eyes on a small piece of paper with black paint when there was already black print on the paper from the Sudoku page. I just made the eyes a little bigger than I wanted and drew them more crazily so it would look as if it was confused. If I could start over I would just make a super huge version and connect multiple Sudoku pages together and fold it from there and then I would be able to properly make confused eyes.

I'd say this swan has more of an abstract look to it. You can tell it's a swan but most swans do not have a puzzle printed on them. It's unique to my style because I always combine multiple techniques and new things in one piece of work. I love how small and perfect each fold is. My friends all really liked it and were treating it like a baby.