COVID-19 Response III

For our final assignment, we were asked to create a third work in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and attempt to show how it is affecting our lives. As a senior in high school during this time, the pandemic is taking away a lot of milestones for me, especially a graduation ceremony. While our graduation ceremony will still happen, it won't be the same. I wanted to depict this idea in my last piece for Advanced Studio, because it represents my graduation from Freeport High School and how my experience as a senior is unlike any other class.

To start this piece, I took a reference picture of myself wearing my cap and gown and a blue mask that I wore to get my graduation portrait taken. I purposely looked away from the camera so that the emotion would be heightened, as well as not smiling under my mask so that my eyes would not squint.

From there, I printed the photo and traced it onto toned mixed media paper. I tried to keep the shadows minimal and the colors neutral on the face and graduation cap, this way the mask and the green background would be more emphasized, further showing the message behind this piece.

Overall, I am very happy with this piece because it is the most relatable piece I've made in this class and I think the technique is very established.