Artist Statement

We were given a visual prompt of 4 by 5 Circles. They all had to be the same size however we were able to choose which size all of them could be and our materials. We had to create something creative, unique, and special. We were not allowed to bounce ideas off of one another so we were required to do this all alone without any feedback. I knew I wanted to create something with animals because this would create an abstract look but also represent something from the real world. I wasn't trying to say anything specific with my work although I knew I wanted to be something light and cartoonish. This is meant to be very playful and simply surrounded by animals and designs.

For these pieces the material we started off with was watercolor paper and 3 pre-drawn black circles. I started by sketching out my ideas(primarily the whale) with a graphite pencil. This then evolved to using a pen to make my lines that connected the circles and shapes that were making/had much bolder and bring out more of a contrast. I then experimented with these chalk colors but the water kept being absorbed before I could use it so I transferred over to watercolor. I used dark blue watercolor for the whale and then used light blue watercolor for the background. This then leads me to green for the inchworm, orange for the fish, and pink and purple for the butterflies. After this dried, I went in with sharpie to create more contrasts to the lines.

To create this piece I needed to sketch my outlines of the extra shapes I wanted to use. I had difficulty with this considering the original circles couldn't move. I did add many many more circles with a circle template and compass to add more difficulty and depth/elements. This allowed me to have more detail and create more complex shapes than I could have without these. Finding more animals was also difficult since I couldn't bounce my ideas off others so I did research certain animals but I couldn't find very many. I also struggled with my negative space. This was a space that was very open and looked awkward with just plain circles so I knew I had to do something with this. I used a pen to create different designs such as create leaves and petals as well as just simple lines to create a design. some of the lines and space fillers as well as the butterfly's wings were based on the idea of a zentangle. The only thing that I would change next time with this work would be to erace my sketches immediately after I put pen over so that I could erase them without having to remove some of the depth of the watercolor. Overall I am happy with how this came out especially since there was a time constraint.