Inspired Collage

Artist Statement

For our last painting unit, we were asked to make unique collages out of magazine cutouts provided to us. We were also free to be creative and use any other materials we pleased. Afterward, we photographed our work, printed them out and traced them in order to scale everything correctly and efficiently. Finally, once everything was replicated onto a canvas paper, we color matched everything to our best ability and painted what we saw. For this project, I used wall collage cutouts as well as primary colors, red, blue and yellow to create secondary and tertiary colors. I also used black and white acrylic paint to create different shades and tints of each color.

In my artwork I incorporated many of the elements of art to create the principles of design. I used line and shape throughout the butterfly/dragonfly wings and flowers, which also helped to create pattern. There is a sense of movement as your eyes follow the butterflies, which were purposefully placed to look as if they are flying diagonally across the paper away from the flowers and woman. Although they are mostly dull, there is color throughout the artwork, which helped to create emphasis around the butterflies. The overall distribution of the visual weight of each element of art, especially the space around each object creates a sense of balance and unity throughout the piece as well.

In my project, I am most proud of how some of the butterflies came out, especially the big one at the bottom of the page. I spent the longest on them because I felt they stood out the most. The flowers and the woman on the other hand, were a bit rushed, so they turned out less detailed and the colors were not matched as nicely. If I were to do this project again, I would have spent an equal amount of time on every detailed part of my drawings instead of focusing on certain areas over others. I was very indecisive at the beginning of the project, and had many different ideas flowing. However, when I saw the woman with the watering can and all of the butterflies on a wall collage cards my mother was selling at her shop, it reminded me of spring and gardening with her. The "be kind to your mind" message also resonated with me because I have been struggling with positivity and happiness, and thought it also fit nicely with the other images. Overall, I liked how this project came out.