Advanced Drawing and Painting

Out of all the in class projects we did, I had the most fun and am the most proud of the printmaking that I did. I had never before done or even thought about printmaking, or really communicating different environmental issues. It forced me to really use my space, and to really think about what every single piece of my work meant. I am proud of this piece because in my opinion I find it very pleasing to look at, but it was also just me trying something very new and having a lot of fun with it which I think is something to be proud of. Making this piece will impact my future work because I will be forced to think about the impact of every single element on the meaning of the piece, and it has inspired me to want to do more printmaking!

Similarly, I feel as if printmaking was the most informative project we worked on. We primarily got the chance to look in depth at an environmental issue, and learn a lot about it. This information becomes even more concrete as you have to find ways to communicate these issues to other people who may not know what the idea behind the project is about. This is the first time that I have done a project that communicates a global, harmful issue, and it was very thought provoking about these different issues, but also to think about how art is perceived and how we can craft our art so people perceive a specific idea. As I said before, every single element needed to be thought out so that it worked to convey the message of, in my case, harmful pesticide use. This to me was the most impactful piece because we really honed in on harmful issues, and we worked to communicate them as well in meaningful ways. 

Although we did not spend a lot of time on portraits, the ones that I had the chance to do were a lot of fun, and specifically my acrylic painting really focused on the face and colors which was one of my first goals going into this semester. I did, in fact, paint below the neck, but would definitely like to explore anatomy outside of art class as it is something I still struggle with and avoid. I most definitely expanded my subject matter and the types of materials I use, specifically with printmaking as I had never done it before, but it was a lot of fun to explore. I also have never really drawn skulls or popcorn like I did in our observational drawing unit, and it was really interesting to explore new subject matter. I might never draw a piece of popcorn again with stamps, but it was a learning experience that I am grateful for. I would say for the most part that I met a lot of my goals for this semester, and created a lot of art that I am proud of and had a lot of fun creating!

Initial Thoughts

I hope to strengthen my ability to draw portraits, specifically more than the face. I have a lot of trouble with the rest of the body below the neck, and hope to expand on those skills. I would also like to expand my subject matter and what kinds of paintings I make, in an attempt to solidify my own style or simply search for more things that I would love to create. 

I am unfamiliar with the oil painting process and if possible (if safe to use in class) would love to see the processes to use those or get the chance to use them in class on a painting!