Title: American Dreams

Materials: 2b,Hb,4b,6b pencils. 9x12 (inches)

Artist Statement: This piece of art is about America's backwards year and how there is a lot of stuff going on. I used multiple sections to try and portray this message from on the right of the paper you will see a flag with no stars as if it is backwards and that is to represent the notion that America is backwards just like how some people believe the flag in my drawing is backwards. I used that to help bring in the idea that America and many other places feel backwards. In the upper middle I used a person with a ski mask on to represent all the looting and violence that has taken place from all ends of the point of view. I used other things in my art that all it takes is interpretation and you can maybe interpret what you think it means and I will remind you that nothing I put into my artwork is for a negative look or anything of the sort. It relates to how I feel at times, like that America is backwards and that there is violence going on everywhere you look whether it be politics or it is things going on like protests and the burning of cities and so on.

I used a variety of different artist pencils for shading and lines, and I used a 9x12 paper for the artwork and I started by getting the lines down by using a HB pencil for the light sketch of the leaves and the spaces in between. I also just made it from basic ideas that could have multiple meanings. I started with the bottom middle section of some goo dripping down the sides of a box or is it a fire surrounding a double meaning to something. The great thing about this piece for me is that you can believe it to be what you want it to be.

I used the process of sketching to get through my ideas and find out which ones I liked the most. Then I tried to think of how I might connect these to make an idea. We started with using the leaves to make into a negative space drawing. I started with an abstract piece which is in the middle bottom canvas. It then led me to make a different section to make the American flag to bring in the idea of America’s rough year with everything that has gone on ever since the beginning of COVID. I tried to then make other sections that would connect like the person in the ski-mask to show the looting that has gone on and maybe even represent something else that has gone on maybe behind the ski mask is 2020 and how it has been the scare that no one expected. My next steps would be adding more detail, maybe making the shading a bit better and maybe figuring out how to incorporate some new shading techniques and techniques to add detail. Another step would be to make this into something bigger.

Title: The hands of Art