Beautiful Oops Drawing

Artist Statement

I chose to paint a meteor that is streaming in the direction of the earth because I wanted to continue with the environmental theme that I incorporated throughout many of my works in Foundations of Art freshman year. These ideas can be seen in my 'Color Theory Project' where I made the earth look as if the color of the planet was bleeding out into the ocean. In this project, I named it “Close Call” as a metaphor and reminder to be aware and have gratitude for our planet that we are extremely lucky to live on. Although a meteor isn't something we can necessarily control, we should be learning to take better care of the only planet that can sustain us.

We began this project with a small piece of watercolor paper that each had different blotches of black ink on it. We were required to choose one that spoke to us and find something we could create out of the blotch. Immediately, I was drawn to one paper that had a very unique shape, like someone had taken a brush and flicked it at the paper from a distance. I examined, rotated it, and with many ideas flowing through my mind, I was finally able to decide on an asteroid in space. I started by sketching everything out lightly with a pencil. I added more detail to the trail of the asteroid and created a half-earth peeking up from the bottom of the page, a full moon, and a satellite in orbit. Eager to test out my new watercolor palette and brushes, I went in with blue, green, yellow, red, orange, and purple to add color.

I used a few different processes while creating my final piece. I experimented with watercolors for the first time. It is not a material that I am necessarily familiar with or comfortable using yet. I practiced on my own watercolor paper to find the right shades of the colors I needed and practiced using different brushes and brush strokes. Watercolor was actually very challenging but a skill I would like to improve on this year. While trying out the new material, and watching a few youtube videos, I learned a little bit about saturation with watercolors. If I wanted something to be more vibrant and opaque, I used less water and layered the paint on to make it more saturated. If I wanted a lighter, more transparent color, I added more water. To make a more realistic moon and earth, I mixed colors to make different shades of green and blue and added second coats in different areas to add dimension. To make the tiny stars in the distance, I used a thick white watercolor paint without adding any water. Finally, I also learned that I had to work quickly in order to keep everything wet, and to let everything dry completely before each layer unless I wanted a messier look to my work. In that case, I let the colors bleed together a bit. Overall, despite the challenge of trying new materials, I am happy with how my Beautiful Oops painting came out.