AP Art and Design
Semester 1 Reflection
This semester in AP Art & Design, I believe I have been most successful paying attention to detail which I have been trying to improve over the years, especially with highlights, shadows, and contrast. I've been dedicating a lot of my time to do my artwork in hopes I create the best work possible/work I'm most satisfied with, but because I pay a lot of attention to detail, it does take a long time. I also think I've been successful with adding a lot of color in my artwork, as each piece has an array of colors that link to my inquiry question, "How can I use color and texture to concentrate on the emotions of personal landscapes?" I believe the emotions I'm portraying in all of my artwork are accurate with the color pallet I use, and all of my sustained investigations have followed my inquiry well which is something I definitely feel I succeed in. I also think my composition for all of my sustained investigations have been really strong with a foreground, a background, and other figures present which gives a lot to look at. I strived to make my artwork very appealing with all these different components to look at so it wouldn't be boring, which is why there's always a lot going on. Although it can be hard to bring the ideas in my head of the landscapes I am envisioning, I think I pull them off well. So far, I've been very happy with my sustained investigations.
I find it difficult to think of personal landscapes that link to memorable emotions, especially thinking about the specific emotions I feel and putting that in a color pallet. It has taken me a lot of time to think of all of my projects and It's very easy for me to get stuck or change my ideas, but so far I've been able to show the emotions I was feeling during the time. I'm a bit concerned about how my future projects will look as I would like them to fit more into the 2D art aspect for my AP portfolio, and also I've been thinking about new techniques to try out in hopes to add different dimensions into my art. I feel as though I can experiment with the artistic style I have and possibly find a unique way to add texture to improve the emotions I am trying to portray in my artwork. Overall, I think playing around with new methods and skills will help me uncover a different style of art that I may enjoy, and that will make it easier for me to create my future sustained investigations since my projects now are very detail-oriented. I am happy with how my artwork has been looking so far though and If I don't uncover any new techniques, I will still be satisfied with my work regardless, but I hope to show deeper meaning in my art to relate more to my inquiry and improve my artwork for the AP Portfolio.
Semester 2 Reflection
From the start of the second semester to now, I have seen that my linework improved. I think this stems from figuring out what materials I like and don’t like, based on my skill level with them. I tried to make all my work more neat and clean, with sharp linework and bold coloring to saturate those lines. It was really fun to experiment with different mediums to figure out what I worked best with, and I believe this helped me create artwork I was proud of, essentially improving my work. I also branched out and made my composition stronger with more complicated ideas, but simplified them. This helped me put more dimension into my work, and the simplification allowed me to work at a speed I wanted to without getting stressed out. I don’t like to overcomplicate myself when it comes to work, because this will refrain me from putting the best work out possible since I will be wanting to get it done fast instead of efficiently. I have perfected my personal style of art this semester, and I think it will only evolve in the future.
When I have a solid specific idea for an art project, I believe my art tends to be stronger, vs when I have a very broad idea that I’m not sure how I am going to execute. Because I focused on texture and color to portray emotions, I needed to be very specific on how I was going to show that. It was hard for me to come up with ideas in my head for works, and that was when my art would start to become weak because I’d have a general idea of what I’d want to do, but it was not specific enough, and I wasn’t exactly sure what the composition would look like and how specific the color palette would look. When I would know how I was going to portray the emotions, what colors I’d use, and how the composition would be set up, it would get me more motivated and interested in the project and thus created stronger work.
I felt as though art projects were piling up, and I was having to get them done fast. Because I would have a hard time thinking of ideas, I wouldn’t get started with my work till later, and by then it was going to be due very soon and I would feel as if I had no time. It was very challenging to keep up with due dates while still making art I was happy with. I fell back a few times which I never have done, but I also think it came from the stress of other things happening in my life. I did not want to rush my work and have an undesirable outcome, so I’d take my time, even if that meant turning in work a day late and having a late start on the new project. Luckily, this only happened a couple of times and I was able to get back into the zone.
I am most proud of my works which consist of more than one emotion. I had a hard time figuring out how I’d show more than one emotion in one piece of art, and then I started to divide up my work, and it created a new style of art that I started to really like. I loved the way divisions/splits looked, and it felt like two art pieces into one. I also thought they represented my feelings more clearly, as some places I was portraying gave me mixed emotions, but I was able to show that with a new style I had established. It influenced many more works after the first split I did, and I’m really proud of my execution of those projects.
I’ve always loved art class, and this end of an era really does hurt my heart. It's going to be so hard getting through school without a breather like art class because I’ve been so used to having one since I was a little kid. I hope to participate in some art clubs to fuel my creativity beyond high school, but I know I will never stop loving art. Being in Boston, I want to explore new museums, see Broadway shows, and be a part of theater productions. Regardless, art will never leave my life.