My Growth as an Artist

During this first semester of Advanced Art, I feel like I have grown more than in any other art class. I have been able to choose what projects I do and be my own worst critic. If I'm not good at something, I do a project focusing on that and I become pretty good at that style of art. I think that I did really well on my Santa sketch, because I was horrible at face drawings (as my first few practice sketches show), but I watched some tutorials and came a long way in face sketching. My favorite project was probably my Stonehenge because it incorporated so many different aspects of art. I had to use computer pictures, 3D computer models, clay, paint, paper mache, and wood cutting to make the final product, and it was a lot of fun to make. So far, I've done a lot of 2D work, but I plan on doing more 3D art next semester. I also want to make some computer graphics models next semester.

Shapes

My goal in this project was to make an abstract painting with depth instead of just being shapes. I used simple shapes but the black line running through the painting gave the scene depth and unity. At first I sketched the basic shapes that would be in the painting to get an idea of what the scene would look like, but before I ever started painting, I erased every line and did the painting free hand. I think the edges of the shapes were kind of blurry, and I wish I had made those edges sharper. In all, though, I like the way my project turned out.

In the spirit of Christmas, I made a sketch of Santa Claus in mid-laugh. I used a variety of sketching tools, including a number 2 pencil, ebony pencil, and eraser, along with a blending stump and my finger for shading. It took me several practice sketches to even make a recognizable face, but I think the final drawing turned out distinguished and well done.

For this project, I made a scene of my living room entirely from the words that represent the objects in it. For example, the recliner in the bottom right hand corner is made of the word "recliner". There are no lines or colors, just the words. It was a fun project to make, and all it took was a piece of paper and a pen.