END OF SEMESTER REFLECTION

I have learned a lot in this class this semester, such as the difference between drawing and design and how to push textures further in my artwork. I also learned about topics like organ donation and wildlife preservation, by doing art projects such as the Donate Life design and the Duck Stamp project. This class made me remember why I loved to draw, and gave me an excuse to make time for it, which had been challenging the past few years without taking art classes and trying to balance schoolwork and swim practices. I would say my most successful works are my sustained investigations. This is because I really pushed my colors and figured out how to create more texture with my colored pencil drawings, which I used to struggle with greatly. Being forced to practice it made me better at it, which is satisfying and fulfilling. i also really loved my Find Your Voice project, and think that was one of my other successes in this class this year. I believe that smoking and vaping is very bad for you, and I am very against it, so it was cool to be able to express that through my art. I think my composition for that was very original and the character had a lot of depth.

I definitely struggled most with the Inclusion project. Although I loved the concept, and I liked my watercolor landscape background, I really disliked the way the people and smaller details turned out. The white acrylic was too thick of a line for such a small piece, and so it ended up just looking sloppy. I struggled with painting to begin with, and the fact that it was too thick as well just made it not look so great. Painting has always been a struggle of mine, so in hindsight I should have just stuck to white gel pen for those smaller details, but I was trying to push myself by using other materials. Although my painting skills did improve slightly this semester, it is still no doubt a weakness of mine. Moving forward, my artistic goal is to continue to push texture in my work, and keep creating works with vibrant colors. I would love to continue drawing more realistically as well, since I tend to stick with a more cartoony look. I also want to continue to improve on my painting skills.