Fall Leaves

Artist Statement:

The subject of this artwork is fall leaves. The materials I used were acrylic paint, chalk pastels, watercolor crayons/colored pencils and ink wash. I started out by sketching an outline of the leaves and arranging them in an interesting composition. I chose this artwork because I really liked the visual deconstruction of the leaves to create an appealing design. The elements of art that I used were color, form, space, and shape. I tried to mix the acrylic paint that I used to best imitate the original colors of the leaves. I used the chalk pastels to add depth into the leaves and try to make them look more realistic. The principal of art that I used was contrast and emphasis. The gray ink-wash background allows the colorful leaves contrasts and emphasized the details in the leaves.

The composition rules and technique that I used was informal balance because I placed the center of the red leaf over to the left of the paper and framed the outer leaves around it. My project evolved because originally I wasn't sure what I was going to do as my background, but as I got further into the project I realized that I wanted to all the leaves to be the emphasis in the painting so I wanted to do a subtle background.

The meaning behind the artwork is taking something and being able to see it in a new light. This project relates to my life because I really like the idea of taking something and being able to change it into something else and I liked the idea of doing a deconstructed leaf design. If I was going to go back in and change anything I would probably add more watercolor crayons into the leaves to add even more depth and color.