Foundations of Art

Foundations of Art Reflection

During this year of Foundations of Art, I have learned so much about not only various mediums, styles, and techniques, but myself as an art student and artist. I had so much fun experimenting with my pieces while using the instructions as a basic outline. I would have never come to many of the experiences with different mediums, like the 84 color project for instance, had it not been for this class. Overall therefore, I would definitely say that my experience in Foundations was both enjoyable as well as successful. For years I have enjoyed art in and out of school, yet I have never really experienced a true art class which tested all styles and mediums. Even in middle school, we basically only did clay and some watercolor, however this year I was challenged to add more of a story and emotion as well as experiment with my own style. I really had to clear my mind and become open to the fact that not every piece will be masterful, and that my whole art currier does not depend on one singular not-quite-right work of art. This really allowed me to enjoy each and every project and their diversity.

I truly did not have a favorite project, though I suppose I would have to tie it between the negative space leaves, the 84 color project, and the perspective drawings unit. The negative space leaves unit taught me a lot about my strengths and weaknesses as an artist. For instance, I got very frustrated when I could not think of an idea of how I wished to incorporate the negative space. When I finally had a stroke of brilliance approximately two days later, I was able to create a piece that I am still and will continue to be very proud of. I also learned a lot about my favorite and most successful mediums, those being ink and watercolor. Once I got started with sketching, I really liked the way I set the leaves, even though it was completely random at the time. The project was really fun and instructive in making us see beyond the negative space, and I am most proud of how the roofs and the smoke blend into the space left by the negative space. Another project I enjoyed was the perspective drawing, however not so much the hallway as I did the room. I love architecture, interiors design, and landscaping, and definitely see that as a strength of mine in my art. I loved designing a room that reflected my architectural ambitions and also expressing my style. I also thought it was good to have the guidelines of what the room had to include as it challenged me to experiment and add more to my piece. Lastly, the 84 color project, which had a very similar motive to the negative space leaves. Throughout this project I learned that as an artist, I am very indecisive, and my first idea is hardly ever that to which I stick in the end. Throughout the whole project I learned so much about acrylic paint, mixing and applying, and the process of a relatively large painting.

My least favorite projects ae again tied between the nature mandala and the negative space still life. This has less to do with the fact that the projects were a bit boring to me, and more with the fact that I did not put as much creativity towards it in the moment as I could have. Reflecting on it now, I could have done such a cool thing with the negative space left behind by the stools and chose instead to use a pattern. In addition, I at least feel like I should have changed the colors of the cubes to make the negative space stand out. So, overall I suppose it was less the project that was the problem and more the fact that I am dissatisfied with the outcome. The nature mandala I simply found a bit boring, although in the little time we had left and wanting to get us outside, it was overall okay. I definitely could have taken it a bit further, however I felt like there was not much that I could do artistically because it is simply so far from my style. Overall, I really enjoyed Foundations of Art as whole, and feel like it really helped me grow as an artist.