Sustained Investigation #2

Reflection on Work:

I started by thinking about my own community and how trees have impacted us and this got me thinking about the destroyed local paper mill. I went to the Yarmouth Historical Society website and saw real black-and-white photos of the mill. From here I based my forefront on the buildings and bridges that were at the mill. I decided to use charcoal because it made me think of mills in general because I was thinking about a coal mill and the dust that would be collected so I liked how literal charcoal was for this. It was difficult to use the charcoal and the perspective of the vanishing point without smudging the charcoal. I really liked the finished effect of the charcoal because it reminded me of an old photograph like the one I was using as inspiration. Once I was finished with the charcoal mill I went in with watercolor pencils to create the tree. The tree was based on my past knowledge of oak trees and where they’re darkest and lightest. It was stressful to work with something waterbased so close to the charcoal but I managed to never spill anything. I wasn’t too happy with the colors of pencils because I felt they weren’t dark enough and made it look almost cartoonish but that could also be because of my lack of experience with them. I chose to use the watercolor pencil because of the detail I would be able to get as opposed to using something like pastels which was my original idea.  

My piece shows evidence of revision because I had originally decided to use pastels to create the tree in the middle, but instead switched to watercolor pencils when I realized I wouldn’t get the same amount of detail in the pastels that I was looking for. I’m relatively new to using watercolor pencils so it was important for me to test them out in my notebook because the colors look a lot different when water is added to them. Also, the media tests of different charcoal types show that I took into consideration the texture and darkness of compressed charcoal and vine. 

This piece was a good second investigation for me because it made me able to think about my inquiry question in different ways. Because I was able to create a piece of art that is inspired by my own community I’ve started to think about whether I should also go nationally, globally, or even more personally for my next pieces. I think the AP graders would be interested to see how I display the many different communities impacted, especially if I put a personal spin on it. I think my next piece will be on the national level as I’m looking into National Park posters because National Parks have such a huge impact on our country. I’m leaning towards another paper base because I enjoyed the lightness and final look of the paper but I might move back to acrylic or even watercolor just to get lots of detail and popping colors. 

Visual Art Journal: 

Adolphe Appian

My inspiration for the charcoal in this piece, he was a french artist that used charcoal to show tiny detail and depth. This was my idea when I was doing all the small details on the buildings. 

• Liked the wood in the houses and the texture, interesting detail for such a small space

• Rich detail on trees and use of shadow is intriguing and inspiring, difference in light/dark values adds dimension