12.20.22

What was my work like this year?

This year, I focused on creating work that explored the medium of digital art; I experimented with the methods I could create pieces, whether in a painterly style, or in an illustration-type style. I purposely challenged myself within each piece to learn color theory, anatomy, dimension, value, and environment creation. I’ve expanded occasionally outside of digital media, and explored more in the fine arts scene with acrylic painting and graphite. Outside of creative projects, I took more time to study image references and to learn value and dimension with these traditional mediums, as well as digitally. I have made the most pieces ever within this year, nearly 100 pieces (excluding sketchbook works), and I’ve acquired an immense amount of experience that has greatly improved my technical skills as an artist.

Every month I made pieces around the theme of Individuality, by creating work around the positives and negatives of living life for yourself. I deeply connect with this value; I felt motivated to make pieces around this theme, because of my recent journey of intentionally following my own desires in life. This was my first experience of dedicating a year towards creating a portfolio around a central theme, and I gained vast knowledge and breakthroughs from this challenge. I plan creating another portfolio next year, and to challenge myself even more with the themes and pieces I create in it.

My main objective throughout this year was to improve my skill in adding meaning and symbolism to my pieces through the use of storytelling. I concentrated on creating scenes that encompassed a character interacting with the surrounding environment. Whether through the use of somewhat-abstract characteristics, color theory, and objects in the environment, the symbolism that was created shared meanings about human experiences and emotions that I have related to, or observed. My pieces ranged from sharing feelings of loneliness, desire, pressure from family/society, greed; to feelings of enlightenment, confidence, assurance, and comfort. This year was my first attempt at purposely adding a meaning or story within my work, and I believe that I gained great experience and results from my efforts.

Stated by my Art Teacher, Mrs. Craig: I investigated multiple avenues into the digital art world. I focused on emotion, meaning, and symbolism within my work in a variety of ways while broadening my skill and advancement on figurative work. I also took the time to experiment with objects, still-life works, and scenes while trying to convey mood.

Stated by my Art Instructor Jonah: My color is **rad** and the way I create atmospheres is cinematic and narrative.

This year has been my most challenging year as an artist, whether from my ambitious plans for projects, or from my time management within school; I have improved the most I ever have within 2022. Leading onto the next year, I fully plan on challenging myself as an artist and forming my own identity within my work from junior to senior year of high school.

Objective for 2023:

Find my voice and how my art can reflect myself as a person.

Bring yourself into your art.