Whisked Away

8.29.22 - 9.16.22

Project Proposition:

I have been really busy this month getting back into the school year, so this piece is probably going to be finished late for this month. I hope to be back on schedule though for the future months! This piece's theme is focusing back on the negative sides of Individuality. Personally I have been struggling again with feeling isolated and dissociated from a lot of people, so I wanted to express that feeling in this piece, Whisked Away. I am going to focus more on color theory and composition with this piece, and to go with the flow when it comes to rendering this piece. I am still experimenting with my art style, but I want to implement an impressionist style into my work. This piece will be my attempt and twist of Impressionism with a unique perspective and color palette.


The composition behind this piece is going to be focused on the interaction of the main figures between the other figures in the background. The setting will be in a ballroom with a group of people dancing elegantly, with the main figure and a statue in the front of our view. We will be slightly looking down on the figures to show a sense of "weakness" within the figures. I will be using 5 point perspective to give atmosphere and space to the ballroom, and to add a perspective of someone inside a crowd. The back of the statue will be facing us, holding the woman that is dancing with the still statue. I plan on using a red/green complimentary color scheme, or a split complimentary color scheme to add some differing colors. I want to use Impressionist techniques that have a floaty and elegant vibe to the piece with the use of brush strokes and a painterly style.


I want to get across a feeling of longing and solitude with this piece. I feel by being Individualistic that I struggle to fully connect with others, and that I am at a bit of a distance to most people. Sometimes I feel that I am lost in my own fantasy, so this piece can represent that the figure has just broken out of her trance and has now realized that the statue isn't a real person that she is dancing with. This sort of dissociation is something I relate to personally, as it is easy to get lost in your own mind and thoughts. Whisked Away will hopefully get across this emotion with an elegant and beautiful piece.

I apologize again for getting this piece out later this month, but I hope you all enjoy the progression of Whisked Away!

Sketch:

Here is my sketch of the composition! I am using a 5 point perspective to bring out the focal point and to create a downward view point into the figures to create a sense of "weakness." I struggled a bit with making the objects shrink the further away it is, so I may adjust some details like the base of the statue and the dress folds.


I also unsure of what direction I should take with the people dancing in the background, and whether there should be more or less people. I am also trying to figure out if I should make the dancing figures abstract or look like physical people.


Besides all of this, I plan on making this piece pretty realistic but not entirely realistic with the face. I plan on rendering the dress folds and statue with a lot of detail and color.

Rendering Progression:

Here are the base colors for this piece! I like using contrasting colors to help make the figure stand out more. I'm still unsure if I want the dancing figures in the back to stand out in the background, so I will work on those later.

Here is some of the rendering done for the main figure and statue! I really like the face expression and shading that I drew. I also like the direction of the light and I would like to make that a lot more brighter. The statue needs a lot of touch ups anatomically, so I will work on that next. I still need to add folds and movement to the dress and to render the hands in.

Critique:

Right now I am at around 80% completion with this piece!


The final details I need to fix is related to the statue. I need to add a lot more contrast and color shifts as this figure has it's back transitioning through light exposure to non-exposure. I need to also add more muscle anatomy and details.


I need to add more interesting details and movement to the dress, as I feel it is too still and kind of stationary.


The shadow angle needs to be fixed near the bottom of the pillar, as it does not line up with the angle of light exposure. Maybe I can also crop the piece to fill more of the empty space.

Final Thoughts:

Here is this month's finished piece! I love the concept and composition of this piece and I am really proud of how this turned out.


I really like the main figure and how the details and expression on her face turned out. I really like the lighting effect as that also brings a lot of attention onto her expression. The hand on the sculpture also turned out well. The color scheme that I used for this piece creates a nice dramatic vibe that is eerie. The back muscles on the sculpture also turned out really well and adds a lot of detail and dynamic to the still statue. Overall, I really like most of this piece and the details I put into this.


There are some things I would like to improve on in this piece and in the future. The most difficult part of this piece was shading and adding detail to the sculpture. This sculpture does not have a lot of value and contrast, so the statue feels a bit off and flat. I would have also liked to add a bit more color variation within the sculpture as it feels bland and uninteresting. The general painting style that I used in this piece is different than what I normally do, because I was trying to make this piece feel finished and full by shading and blending out a lot of colors. Because of this, I feel that the piece does not have enough color variation and value. Some parts of this piece feel flat and don't hold a lot of energy. I would like to improve on this skill in the future and to continue working on my painting methods when I am blending.


The overall meaning of this piece hasn't changed since my proposition, as I feel it holds a strong meaning of longing. The figure is looking out into the light with a despairful expression, showing that she is longing for something away from her. Behind the figure, we can see that there are figures in pairs dancing and holding each other like the figure and the statue. The statue symbolizes a nonhuman connection, or a connection that doesn't feel fulfilling. Overall the meaning of this piece is a longing and desire to detach from something, and to experience something different that will make you happier.


I honestly struggled to make this piece as it was dragged on for around 20 days, but I am really glad I pushed myself to finish this piece. I really enjoy the concept and composition of this piece and I feel that I have taken away more skills and knowledge from this challenging piece. I hope to continue challenging myself and making new pieces for the Scholastic Art & Writing Competition. Thank you for following the progression of Whisked Away.