Adv. Studio 21-22
Tyson Spicer “Serenity"
16x20, Acrylic on Canvas, 21’
This piece is meant to represent the feeling of serentity. Initially, I had planned to focus on just the top of the hill but it ultimately ended up as a sprawling landscape. In addition, thinks like a tree were added to better balance the piece and still uphold the idea of it. It was especially inspired by the Studio Ghibli films as many of the sweeping landscapes give off a calming energy and relax the viewer, something I attempted to replicate with this piece. Initially, I started out with light sketches that I layered different colors of acrylic over itself. Keeping with the title this artwork is supposed to mean something in relation to a feeling of being serene, or calm, and hopefully when people view this, that same feeling comes across with the blue sky. Although that perfect day is all the symbolism to be found. In the honor of being truthful, this was a difficult piece to make. I hardly ever paint and as such, the entire thing was a learning curve that I eventually pushed up most of the way. I would change the positioning of the people if I were to start this again, as they feel good, but as if they could be better. This is done in an overall animated style using some realism but being mostly in my personal style, and as such I really love the way the grass turned out.
Tyson Spicer "cornered"
9”x12”, Acrylic on Canvas, 2021
Originally, the idea for “cornered” came from me wanting to do a series of vignettes themed around Iowa’s generally recognizable things like train tracks, cornfields, and other themes. It started as one idea before turning into several, although cornered is what I picked first. This technically wasn’t a crazy piece as it was just paint on a canvas but hopefully, fellow Iowans get a feeling of nostalgia as they’ve hopefully seen grain silos like this in their own lives. As for me, it represents a familiarity home brings me. I finally managed to get blending done to a much stronger degree with paint this time around, though I would change the corn as it doesn’t feel as deep as I wish it could have. However, through much hard work, I achieve a better level of realism and I love how the silo’s metal turned out.
Tyson Spicer "Approaching Demise"
8.5”x11”, Crayon and Graphite on Paper, 2021
This idea came to me originally because of my cat’s several toys that he’s shredded over the past few years. We’ve bought new ones only for him to “kill” them and I figured it be fun to create a piece that showcases that process. I personally love using crayons to create detail and similar to piece I did a few years ago of fruit, I blended similar colors together on parts like the mouse and bell to create a look you normally don’t find in most crayon scribbling. Hopefully that upon looking at this art, it brings back those feelings of dramatized animation where what may seem very serious is simply something as a silly as a cat ruining toys. If given a chance to redo this cartoony piece, something about the perspective still feels off, even now. I’d try to fix whatever feels wrong. However, I love the colors on the toys and feel that they look surprisingly good for being simply crayon.
Tyson Spicer "Shadow of Artistry"
8.5”x11”, Ink on Paper, 2021
Initially, for this piece, I had planned on doing a motorbike with the stark shadows, however, this somehow evolved into the knight it is today, something I do actually like. The knight itself is one dedicated to “art” as can be seen by his pencil sword, and art supplies back in his hand. Starting it off, I did the general sketch before splitting him in half with his shadows and utilizing white space for the highlights. Hopefully when looking at this, the feeling of fighting for artistic freedom comes across as that’s what the knight’s “defending” in a sense. This was one of the easier pieces I made this semester, although getting the knight to still look like one while having a sharp definition to the shadows was a struggle. I would probably reshape the armor if given a second go, but I do like the overal feeling of half the knight being shrouded in darkness and the stylized cartoony style being pretty clear. It generally follows my sharp edges or round shapes depending on my style.
Tyson Spicer "Devourer"
8.5x11, Ink on Paper, 2022
When I first began planning my own comic idea, I fell into the deep well of golden-era art, with companies like Detective Comics and then Marvel of course. During this pit-fall of interest, I ended up getting really into artwork by Jack Kirby, known for his defined style of linework and spacial design. Looking at many of his past works and issue upon issues of, I found myself captivated by his ability to add size to a drawing as well. Following this I decided to go the traditional route and started with simple graphite sketches. From here, I defined my linework before going over all of my art with a lining marking for the black outlines THen I went over each area with a base color to set the tone before layering on a few different tones in certain areas. Hopefully by doing that, it gives the piece some depth. Galactus is a cosmic entity of enormous stature so I was hoping to show this by both the planets and sun as background indications of size while also framing it. I also hope that some of the little lines show the size. It was actually giving him a feeling of largeness that was the most difficult. I struggled to emphasize the size but ultimately used the background to show it. Though I am proud of the “Kirby Crackle” using circles to represent shifting energy. Hopefully it also helps create a comic cover sort of feel. I love the colors especially because their gaudiness really helps shine on the fact that many old comics had bright palettes and I feel that the effort to replicate it shows.
Tyson Spicer "Adrift"
Paper on Wood, 2022
This is essentially a spontaneous piece of art. I had spent a lot of time in these last few weeks feeling adrift as a senior, knowing that graduation was rapidly approaching and taking that, I created this piece with start colors, and hopefully an open message. The big thing I focused on here was the stark contrast of the background, and the bright focal points of the art. Looking at it, the person is walking away, towards the sunset, with waves behind and around him. Using that, I tried to create this feelings of a sunset on a certain part of life, that being my high-school career. I won’t say this was an incredibly difficult piece as I had been floating around the idea for a bit, however the layout still ended up being a little problematic. I did love how bright it is though. It really pops and makes you look closer upon seeing it. And while it may not be realistic, the style is mine and that is ultimately what means the most to me, that I can feel the piece’s heart.
Tyson Spicer "American Hero"
Unknown, Acrylic on Tile, 2022
“American Hero” is a piece based upon the classic 80’s franchise of GIJoe. I initially got the idea from Mr. Schwartz, our school’s history teacher, as he is a veteran and I felt it was important to recognize that. Simoultaneously, he had reference the cartoon above, something I was also a fan of. With that combined information, that led to the final piece, done to honor his service. Starting out, I took the tile and did several base coats of white to seat the piece. Following that, I referenced an original gijoe toy for the cardback. Then I layeered the body of both characters and ended with final touch ups. The most important thing for me here was making sure I captured the proper uniform that Mr. Schwartz used while in service. The striking colors off the toy card it’s based on also help strike that feeling of patriotism. What was really hard was both the canvas and size. Ceiling tiles are uneven and painting them was initially difficult as the acrylic struggled to adhere to some spots, however, in the end, the greatest hurdle was simply the amount of paint it required, much more than I thought it would. If I could go start again, I’d probably get a primer, then go for the actual painting but it still worked out fine in the end. Of course I’m still really happy with the final product. It captures that feeling of a retro toy while still homaging the a veteran and that’s exactly what I wanted.