Sustained Investigation #2

In my art, you can clearly see a landscape of mountains with trees with a water reflection. The story told is simply a colorful landscape portraying different times of the day. On the left, there are blues, colors during the day. On the right, there are pinks and purples, the colors when the sun rises or goes down. I chose to make this because I love nature and by using different art techniques it makes it easier to show the beauty the earth holds. This relates to my life because I like to take my time and appreciate the natural beauty on earth, I especially admire landscapes. By using different art materials and colors I was able to show the art connections to the earth. My inquiry question, "How does the beauty in art relate to the beauty on the earth?" is clearly shown since there are different colors and techniques from art put together to make a beautiful landscape.

My work was made by folding a piece of toned paper in half and then adding a one-inch border to one side. I lightly sketched a landscape and the water reflection of every curve. For this project, I chose to use chalk pastels since my inquiry question has me experimenting with different materials and techniques. I started off building the pink and purples values on the side of the landscape, slowly building up colors. To make the colors I would mix grays and blacks to get darker purples and white with pink to get lighter shades of pink. I then cleaned my purple fingers off, that I used for blending, so I could start on the blue side. On the left side, I built up different shades of blue. I then blended the middle together and added in a line of white chalk pastel between the water and the landscape. Adding in black trees last minute to add more darker values, I then sealed it in with a spray so the chalk pastel wouldn't smudge.

The process of creating my art required patience since I had to go back in and build up every color. I also had to make sure I didn't mix the blue from one side onto the purple side. This was because I wanted the sides to be separated by color but connected as one landscape. My project evolved because I continued adding in more color if a mountain looked lighter than I desired. I also had to continue blending once each color was put onto the paper. Another challenge that helped my project evolve was lining up the curves of the mountains and trees to the ones in the reflection of the water. I had to go in and match the color of each mountain to the corresponding one in the water reflection. My next steps could be to clean up the border since chalk pastels are messy materials. I have added in revisions to my art to make it have more value. I added more trees, darker colors to the mountains, and have a clean border. I realized that by spraying the chalk pastel art to seal in the colors and then adding in another layer of chalk pastels on top it helps add more color.