Kris' Art Blog

Queen Emma

Perspective Project

Brainstorming and Experimenting

I absolutely abhor perspective drawings where you take the ruler and spend ten days drawing the same stupid details on the same stupid buildings. I'm downright terrible at it. Perspective drawings are the only art projects I've ever failed. And perhaps in the future when I have room for error and stop avoiding my problems, I will fix my aversion to perspective drawings. But for now, I will simply hunt for a different interpretation of the word "perspective". I briefly considered doing a forced perspective photo, but I have done quite a bit of photography throughout Art III and I wanted to do a bit of painting, since it's been a while since I've worked with a canvas. I started thinking of my different perspectives/views on things, like philosophies and such, but I liked the simple "how do I see the world"? I see the world through my friends. They make my whole world light up and I feel worth something when I'm with them. Like I'm needed. It's a very codependent relationship, my friends and I. So I began sketching out a bunch of my friends, thinking I would do a conglomeration thing of a bunch of my friends grinning, because that's when I think they look the most beautiful, and that's when they make me the happiest, by being happy. But I really don't have all the time in the world to paint several of my friends, let alone five, with my perfectionist self. In the end, it came down to a promise to my mother. I promised I would paint her a new painting for each of my elementary school paintings if I truly wanted them off the wall in the sitting room. One of the paintings, done in fourth or fifth grade, is a classic brunette princess in a castle. I decided to do a repaint of that, but put my friend Emma (previously mentioned in the Fly to Paradise project) in place of the princess, as a queen. Because she's queen of my song. However, once I started the project (and after I wrote everything above this), I completely changed part of my idea and decided to do just a portrait, surrounded by shadow, but lit up because that's how friends affect my world. *throws a bunch of emotional, sentimental things*

Arrangement

Presentation

My final product. Or the final-ish product. I'm still unhappy about some of it. I also think the painting looks ten times better in person. I will probably go back and work her face some more- something off about it is making it so it doesn't quite look like Emma- perhaps something about her cheeks isn't right...those things are some of the most ridiculously difficult things I've ever had the pleasure to draw. Love you, Emma. Had lots of issues over shading because her picture is so ridiculously white that I had near to no shading to do. And the shadows of the picture were gray. So it kind of resembles a zombie painting now. Lovely. Still love you, Emma.

Q. How did you demonstrate Perspective in your work?
A. Explained above.

Q. Why did you choose this solution over the others?
A. Explained above.

Q. What techniques did you use to create this work?
A. Believe it or not, this is the second time I've ever painted a portrait. The experimentation with Zoe seen in the first picture of this post was my first. Yay for firsts. But I tried to use some of my vast drawing experience in it. Looked for contrast, shading, tried to get all the angles right. Color in my drawings still makes me uncomfortable. But I didn't do too bad. I'll probably draw Emma a million more times and maybe eventually get her face right. But you know what they say- if you love someone, it'll be harder to draw them. I've found this to be completely true.

Q. Did you take any risks with this project or were you trying to perfect a previously learned skill? Why did you decide to take this path?
A. Kinda already talked about this above. But, yeah. Super risky doing this from ten to two last night when normally I need more time than that for drawings, let alone paintings. Despite it being my second portrait, you could say that I was trying to perfect a previously learned skill as well as the risks because I have painted people a couple times before. One of these days I'll get it right.

Jan 13, 2014

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My new shoes I plan on wearing the moment the paint dries

Layering Project Re-do

Brainstorming

I just wasn't happy with my intertextuality project, so instead of turning it in, I'm doing a different project for the grade- a re-do of the layering project because I wasn't thrilled about that one either. So, there's a girl in my chorus with shoes like this.

And it makes me really jealous, because although I love my heels, I would die for a pair of musical shoes. Music is my thing and I love shoes. Yes. But these shoes are expensive. Other musical shoes googled do not meet my standard.

But I did find a craft site where other people make music shoes, however sub-standard their methods are.

So then I figured I could probably modge-podge some of my sheet music onto a pair of my favorite-style heels.

Experimentation and Arrangement

(thanks for the canvas, Kae!)

It worked pretty well, but my inexperience with modge-podge and a project like this in general definitely shows in this first shoe. Things are kind of haphazardly clumped together in a kind of collage-like manner, and there are several tiny black spaces showing.

Presentation

Now knowing what I'm doing improved the second shoes drastically. The lines of sheet music are neat and aesthetically appealing in a way that, though attractive, the first pair were not. Then I went back and touched up both of them and here we are. I plan on wearing them out in a couple hours. I'll probably take some pics later with my feet in them.

Q. Layering has several meanings. Some view it as the bottom layer having no more valuable than the top. What is your interpretation of Layering and how did you show Layering in your project?

A. Well, there wasn't much meaning in this piece. But making this project did show that I needed to pay attention to both the top and the bottom to make it look attractive- on the second shoe, there were several instances in which I would put the top underneath the bottom in order to make it look more appealing, rather than my actions on the first shoe in which I simply glued paper over paper.

Q. We encourage risk taking in art. Risk taking can be as simple as trying a new technique or learning about a new medium to as complex as trying something totally new. What risks did you take creating this project?

A. It's a kind of "out-there" project. Who glues stuff on shoes? Yeah, I've never used modge-podge before. Unless it was in elementary school or something. I'm also going to be risky by wearing these out in the rain before I start mass-producing them (exaggerating, but I do have some willing customers in line) so I can make sure the paint-glaze stuff protects the paper properly. But yeah. Risks, yay.

Q. Of the 5 characteristics of great art (technique, concept, emotion, new, medium) which did you include in your art?

A. I show great improvement of technique, and I'd say it's an interesting, new concept and an exploration of a new medium. Not much emotion invoked from lookers-on, though. Unless looking at shoes makes them really emotional in some sort of traumatic or worshipful way?

I've answered the other questions in my blabber in the other sections.

Jan 12, 2014

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Underwater Basket-weaving Class

Interactive Project

Brainstorming, Experimentation, & Arrangement

This project was birthed after I took the photos off of my time project and the black paper hanging from the dowel was left. I didn't really feel like taking it down, so I threw a few globs of yellow paint on it. After Robbie volunteered to splatter some more on it, I decided to make it my interactive project for all who felt like it to do whatever they wanted with it. Previously, my yellow notecard read "PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH ARTWORK." I crossed out the NOT for this project- I found it charming. With the help of the Art I classes, my project took on a life of its own.

Presentation

I would take a picture every couple days of the project as a whole, as well as some close-ups, which was a nice exercise of my photography skills. The many layers created by the vast amount of participants helped to create a beautiful piece of art that had great color balance as well as creative materials- some ribbon was used as well as tissue paper, magazine cut-outs, spray paint, and marker, as well as paint. I took a huge risk in asking people to do this- there was a great possibility I would end up with something inappropriate drawn or written, effectively ruining the project. Luckily, nothing like that happened. Really, the only non-abstract doodles were perhaps an elephant, some shapes, and a smiley face, and the things written were names, and a brilliant reference to underwater basket-weaving, which was made even more brilliant because I went through two years of marching band with Mr. Rowe making jokes about that non-existent class.