Circle Midterm 

Artist Statement: 

For our last project in 2D design this year, we were given a 5 x 4 circle grid at the beginning of class that we were instructed to make into anything we wanted. This project is known as the Torrance test, which focuses on an individual's creativity, and problem-solvingF skills. When handed the grid, I immediately knew I wanted to incorporate some small elements of abstraction and pattern into my final work, which has been something that I have struggled with creating this year. I have found myself focusing more on realistic drawings and paintings, or artwork involving current world issues, so I wanted to challenge myself with something new. After rotating and examining my page, I decided that I wanted to make the circles into vinyl records, like the ones I have hanging in my bedroom and on my shelves. These vinyl are very important to me because they are one of the only ties I have to my grandfather who used to collect them, but he passed away in 1981 before I got the chance to meet him. I also had the idea of creating a ‘full circle moment’, tying my midterm back to some of my favorite foundations of art pieces, where I mainly focused on very loud, colorful pop art. One in particular, my Color Theory piece was inspired by the Beatle's Yellow Submarine album cover, so I decided to use some of the same vibrant colors and patterns from that project in my final. 

For this project, we were allowed to use any materials/media of our choice. I decided that if I truly wanted to achieve an interesting retro abstract piece, I should use mixed media. I began this project by sketching out a new circle template. That would work better with the ideas that I had in mind. I then sketched everything out with and 2B pencil before going in with gouache paints. I used a pure black color for the vinyl disks, and they came out with a matte finish, which I liked. Next, I made shades of red, orange, yellow, blue, green, purple, pink, and gray that I had placed in the background of each square. I then used a black fine-tip sharpie to outline everything and even up lines. Lastly, I used a white 0.5-tip gel pen to add more dimension and detail to the vinyl. 

I went through a few different processes while creating my artwork. Circle templates and rulers were key tools used in my work to make lines crisp. Before going in with color, I had to make sure each circle was the correct size and distance from each other, and the grid was evenly drawn in. I also experimented a lot with patterns, and a few elements of abstraction in this piece, which I don't typically use in my art, and can be seen in the squares between each disk. I achieved this through the use of bold colors, shape, form, line, and value. I also experimented with more loud colors that can be found in a lot of pop art. To dull down the colors slightly to make them a bit more retro, I added black or white to create various tints and shades of each color and mixed in brown to the yellows and oranges. In most of my art, I typically use very watered-down gouache or watercolor, which is easy to apply. However, when I began the piece, I found that by adding too many layers, the paint built up on my brush, creating an uneven application that was harder to smooth in some areas. Overall, this project began as a small and somewhat generic idea that I was unsure about, to a piece that I am proud of, and incorporates the grids in a way that captures the eye.