Observational Drawing Project

Artist Statement:

The subject of this artwork is a tree in the peace garden at my school with a birdhouse in the tree. I used chalk pastel sticks and pencils for this work of art. I started out by sketching an outline of the tree and the bricks and then I went in with the pastels. I chose this artworks because I really liked the shape and color of the tree and the bricks. The elements of art that I used were color and form to show a semi-realistic depiction of the area that I was drawing. The principal of art that I used was contrast with the dark colors of the tree and plant against the brighter color of bricks.

The composition rule that I used was rule of thirds because the tree is accentuated out of the pattern represented by the bricks. My project evolved because in the beginning I was going to make the tree and plant look more realistic, but then I decided to keep everything just one solid color. The meaning behind the artwork is to represent nature in a non-realistic way. This project relates to my life because I really like going outside and painting or drawing things from nature. If I was going to go back and change anything I would draw the whole tree first and then draw the bricks around then because when I drew the branch over the bricks the white of the bricks shown through the branch.