Project 1: Superstitions
Process Portfolio
For this project I was inspired by Japanese and Korean culture and the traditions that go along with it. So for my project I wanted use a combination of these two cultures forms of shamanism to express how these superstitions are fading to the background and aren't as well known or used as they once were. To do this I decided to take relics from shamanism and put them with other ordinary things to express the loss of value to them. Also by putting them in a closet like environment it gives off a forgotten and lonely feeling. However I also wanted to show that these things also still hold power for the people that do still believe in these traditions and once believed in them as well. So to show this I added shadow like beings/ creatures around the relics as a way to show the power still lingering on these things and that even though they are left behind they will always still have some power to them.
The relics I chose to represent the superstitions and traditions were tool used or worn by shamans or monks. The first relic is a spear that was used in both Korean and Japanese cultures to preform rituals between the human and spiritual world and also as a weapon to ward of evil or unwelcome spirits. The other relic is a hat that is worn by shaman or priests/ priestess during rituals. I chose these objects because they fit really nicely into the image. I also chose the medium of my piece to be water colors because many old fashion Asian style paintings were painted with ink and water. However since I didn't have any ink the best substitute I had was water color which had some of the same properties as ink.
Overall I liked how my piece turned out and was glad that it turned out pretty nice. Although if I could go back I would have changed a few things. Such as putting the objects more close together so that there was less empty space. Another thing that I would have changed was making the background darker so that it seemed more lonely and forgotten and that also would have made everything stand out more. Also I would have made cleaner lines so that the overall picture looked cleaner. But even with all these things I still liked the overall message of my piece and how everything came together so well at the end. So I think that this project was a success.
Project 2: The Rise
For this project I wanted to use the theme of power. Specifically the rise and fall of people who gain power. I decided to create a type of work that told this story of power and also decided to use block printing as my medium. So first I created a basic sketch of what I wanted this piece to look like. To the left is the three stencils that I would carve into the linoleum. I purposefully made the sketch simple and not very complicated because it would be hard to making intricate carvings. Also having the face on the figure being plain shows that this can happen to anyone and is not limited to special people.
For the carving process I transferred my sketches on to three separate sheets of linoleum. I did this so that it would be easier for me to know where and what I was carving. After the transfer process I started to carve each separate scene out one at a time. To the right is a sketch of this exact process. Doing this I did run in to some problems such as I had problems carving out smaller details because the instruments were to big. Also I had trouble making some of the carvings deep enough so that they would show up the prints that I made. After carving each piece I then tested the carvings out on scrap paper. Once I was satisfied I made my finally print out on a large piece of paper using a yellow-gold acrylic paint in a order that followed the story line. This process can be seen on the bottom left.
Overall I was very satisfied with the end result of my project. While doing this project I did run into some problems such as there being too little or too much paint so the prints came out messed up. Also carving the smaller parts the sketch was a problem as well. So if I could do this project over I would have made the sketch bigger so that the carving process would be easier. But I did have some successes with this project as well. Such as the whole theme and message of my piece being easy to see and understand. So overall I'm pretty happy with this piece.
Project 3: Dancing Couples Series: 1
For this piece and series I was inspired by Renoir and specifically his one series of paintings called the Dancing Couples. I was interested in these pieces because I always admired his work and liked how he conveyed the emotions of the scene through the paintings. So I decided to recreate his work but also make it my own by making a few changes. I decided instead of using paints as my medium I wanted to use pastel chalk because I wanted to try something new. I also decided to change the face of the women in the painting because I wanted to try my hand at creating a new face and make it so that I wasn't exactly mimicking Renoir's original painting.
To begin the project I looked up the original Renoir painting and made a basic sketch of the scene just to get a feel of the shapes and figures of the painting. This sketch can be seen in the upper left hand corner. After that I made another sketch of the new face that I would try draw on to the body of the women figure. My original sketch can be seen on the right. Once I finished this I then found and reused a board by first gessoing it. After this I let the board dry and then painted a coat of black paint on to the board. I had to do this process twice so that no white would show through and that the color remained a solid black. I chose black as the background because it would have the pastel chalk show through more brightly and stand out. Once all this was finished and dry I then began to draw the figures out with the chalk and bring the figures to life. Working with the chalk could be difficult at times because it would smudge easily but I did find ways to deal with this by using a cloth, water, and a thin paint brush. As shown in the lower left-hand corner. These tools made it easy to get some detail from the chalk.
Overall I'm very happy at how this piece turned out and liked how well the chalk made everything look. However there were some difficulties during this project. Such as it was hard to really get any details by using the chalk because it could be so bulky and had a tendency smudge. Another problem was that I had to be extremely careful so that I wouldn't destroy all the work I made because the chalk wasn't permeant and could be changed very easily. But I also has some successes with this project as well. One being creating the shadows and shading of the figures faces and clothes. Another successes was how vibrant the colors that I used were since they showed so brightly on the black board. So overall I'm very happy with the out come of this project.
Project 4: Dancing Couples Series: 2
For this next piece in my Dancing Couples Series I decided that I wanted to continue to use the same type of medium that I had used in my first project of this series. So to continue this trend I reused another board, gesoed over it, and then painted two coats of black paint over that so that I had a blank background. I chose the black background again as a way to just focus on the couple and the emotions that they both can invoke. The black background also ensured that the colors from the chalk would come through bright and clear. To also continue with the series I chose another painting by Renoir that was apart of his own series of dancing couples and first sketched the basic outline of both the figures in the painting. I did this as a way for me to get familiar with the forms of the painting so that I'd be more comfortable when chalking it on to the board.
After I finished sketching out the forms I next went on to altering the face of the original face of the women. I did this so that the painting was more of my own and also to better express the emotions that could be felt in that event. Once I finished changing what I wanted to change I began to chalk on the board. Learning from what I did on my last project I started to blend more with the chalk so that I could create more shadows and do more shading. I did this by layering up the chalk and using my fingers to blend the colors together. Another thing that I did was press harder with the chalk so that the colors came out brighter and more full.
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Overall I was very happy with how this art work turned out. Although I do feel that I could have improved on a few things. One improvement that I could have made was making the colors more thicker and consistent so that the background wouldn't come through so much. Another improvement that I could have made was adding more detail to the face of the women so that she would appear more realistic and more lively. Even with all these problems that I could have improved upon I do think that I did succeed in a lot of aspects as well. One being that I liked how much clearer and cleaner the image looked then my last one. I also though I succeed in improving my blending skills with chalk during this project. So again overall I am very happy with how the art work turned out and liked my end result.