Bork - Plein Air

(Oh my goodness this is late, please forgive me)

Plein Air

1) This plein air piece is captured by the Rio Grande, where a road crosses over the river towards the other side and is shown on the right side of the painting. The emotional tone is calm, walking beneath the changing trees as they sway gently in the breeze, highlighted by the autumn colors. It has a deep vanishing point in the middle of the panel with trees on the left side and a dark area under a bridge on the right.

2)I think it is balanced with the bright green and yellow colors on the left and then more blue/tan and darker colors on the left, while the middle ground is a mix between shadow and light. Perhaps with more light blue of the sky poking between the leaves of the trees.

3)There is a sort of volume in the piece with the pathway vanishing into the trees farther into the picture, the depth shows as well. Texture is where I fell away a little bit, although you can see the leaves in the trees as I did dot each one individually, however frantic the process was.

4)I have captured a specific time of day, the light stays the same for about four hours during this time and is around 12:00PM - 4:00PM. I didn't want to do it at sunset, run out of daylight, and then trip over a stump on the way back to my car.

5)I could improve this by making the details a lot more prominent, as the piece seems to merge into a mess of colors from close up, even though it looks alright from far away. I could also mix a few different shades of green and give a bit more shadow in the trees, since that is something I deemed unnecessary at the time that I was trying to get the thing done.

Bork - Deconstructed

Deconstructed Self Portrait - Transition

I constructed my self portrait to be able to change depending on how someone saw it, meaning that the four pieces of the canvas can be moved to show different levels of connection between alternating pieces. the colorful mess of sharpie and acrylic is meant to signify all the medication that I willingly put into my body in hopes that I will somehow be cured of my illness. While the grey figure in the bottom piece is supposed to be what is left of the old me, and it looks as if its all too colorful counterpart will consume it. Some back story; I have had kidney stones sine I was fourteen and stared taking medication and editing my lifestyle in order to alter my poor health. Yet I feel as if nothing has helped me thus far, instead my body and mental health seem to be suffering more. Changing and manipulating itself into something I seem to recognize more as myself than the grey healthy blob that I used to be.
The piece itself is made up of three canvas panels and one stretched canvas. With no real frame and the separate pieces can be moved as the viewer may see fit, if they are willing to rearrange the thumbtacks that is. I used acrylic for the colorful beast and oil on the grey figure and the eyes. The crazy detail work is done in sharpie, while there are underlying texture/bumps of glue and puffy paint, As far as deconstructed I feel that this piece shows how I now see myself appearing. No longer as a figure recognizable shapes and body parts, but as a dysfunctional thing being fueled by artificial means.

Bork - Final

(Super late-but posted)

For my final I wanted to show different expressions that can be seen simply by looking into a person's eyes, because a lot of the time people lie through their teeth and think nothing of it. Yet most of the time if one were to just look into that person's eyes they could see them twitch just a little bit, as if hoping someone will catch them in their lie. For a while when I drew people, or wanted to draw anything, I started with the eyes, because even without the nose or the mouth a lot can still be seen in the ways of silent language.

I used acrylic paint on a stretched canvas, contrasting red/yellow/orange colors in relation to rage, and blue/green/purple colors in relation to surprised. It was a lot of painting with really water thinned out paint and then smudging it with my fingers into the canvas, which was fun and reminded me of charcoal shading. I just wanted to so something that I was proud of that wasn't an apple.

Schoen - Final

For my final project, I wanted to make an attempt to be closer to my brother. As I said in the critique, he is currently in Okinawa, Japan and I haven't seen him for about five years. I have never been to Okinawa and I was curious to see what it looked like, but through my brother’s eyes. What did he see that was cool or beautiful or common on the island? So I asked him to pick a place on the island that he liked. I made sure not to make any real suggestions, so he could pick on his own, outside my influence. And I did tell him NOT to send me any photos, but to describe it as best he could. I originally thought he would pick something around his work. (He is a mechanic for the planes.) I was actually kind of nervous that he would pick something easy like his toolbox, which wouldn’t be very pleasing to look at, especially for a final project. Luckily, he decided on a part of the landscape, a hill in particular. He described it, I tried to squeeze more information out of him, and I painted the best I could. And I’m happy to say that he thinks the painting matches pretty well! For this project, my brother was the eyes and I was the hand painting.

(Below is an edited version of my brother's emails)

Brother: There is this BIG hill on base that rises up at somewhere between 45 and 60 degrees on both sides, and the left kinda falls away as the land beneath the hill gently slopes down. There are one or two short, rectangular houses far to the right that are a light tan. Like a generic, boring, off-white color. The sides of the hill are thick, dark green jungle, and it has a wide swath of golf course that goes up and over the middle of the hill.

If you need more detail of surrounding stuff, I'll have to go look again

Me: So here's a stream of questions: Where are you in relation to the hill, are you at the bottom of the hill or the top, or from the side? Also how many stories are the buildings? How tall is the foliage on either side of the jungle (just a bunch of bushes or a legitimate jungle with 50ft trees and vines)? And does the jungle continue to the buildings or is there a clearing around them? (Told ya I needed a lot, but thank you for sending something :D)

Brother: Jeez woman x3

I'm looking at the hill, and yes, legit jungle but the trees are only maybe 15-20ft. The jungle more or less ends at the bottom of the hill, I think, and the buildings are just one story.

Me: I also finished the painting. Does it look ANYTHING like the hill you were describing??

Brother: Pretty close! Just the wrong angle :D

Farrell - Final

My final project is made of a variety of cotton fabrics, wood, masonite and oil paint.

This project started purely as an experiment. Originally I was going to make a quilt, but I got worried about how I would defend it as a painting. So I decided to sew a quilt top and paint on top of it. Because of time limitations I ended up sewing a quilt top and gluing it to a stretched canvas. I then painted on top of the quilt/canvas with thin glazes of oil paint. I enjoyed the process of making this piece and loved playing around with different materials, but I am not completely satisfied with current state of the piece. I feel like the piece still requires more work and I do plan to continue to work on it. One of the best things about working on this piece is that it made me want to try the same technique again. I started to sew more quilt blocks Friday morning and I hope to start painting on them soon. I am very interested in how the glazed colors will change the base fabrics and the early layers of glazes. This project has confirmed that I want to continue to play and explore what I can do with paint.

Farrell - Deconstructed Self-Portrait

My deconstructed self-portrait is made of wood, Masonite, sculpy clay, aluminum wire, acrylic paint, oil paint, yarn and a pair of knitting needles.

When someone asks me who I am, I tell them what I do and what I create. I have been knitting longer then I have done any other kind of art and so I generally start by telling people I am a Knitter. I wanted to show not only my identity as a Knitter with this piece, but how it feels when I pick up a set of needles and some yarn. I become invigorated, passionate and start to feel overwhelmed with the ideas that rush into my mind. I have planned out many of my best pieces of artwork while knitting. As my hands work to create a garment my brain flys and explores my imagination.

Overall I am extremely happy with how the piece turned out, especially since I only started it the night before it was due. I had been working on something else, but I ended up hating it and couldn't stand the thought of turning it in. I liked the way this piece turned out so much  that I want to create a series of similar piece, each focusing on something that I do with my hands that is a part of my identity, i.e. writer, print-maker, crocheter, spinner, ect.

Farrell - Master Copy Artist Statement

For my master copy/study project I did the painting Drowning Girl by Roy Lichtenstein. This is what I could find in regards to an artist statement about the piece:

In the Drowning Girl the water is [...] Art Nouveau, but it can also be seen as [a reference to the artist] Hokusai.   I don't do it because it is another reference. Cartooning itself resembles other periods in art — perhaps unknowingly...I saw [the resemblance] and then I pushed it a little further until it was a reference that most people will get. I don't think it is terribly significant, but it is a way of crystallizing the style by exaggeration. 

This quote is from an interview the artist gave. I wasn't able to find the complete text, just this excerpt.

Maestas - Final Project

I have a love for flowers, so i wanted to do my final with flowers. My first idea was to use flower petals as my paints. I wanted to use different colored petals to had the highlights and the shadows. But I didn't take in to consideration that the petals would start to brown. What i could have done was maybe let the petals dry so that that would be the final color that they would be. Also i wasn't sure how well the dried petals would work. So I started off by doing the background in the style of impasto, i really like the idea of having the texture in the background. The next step that i took was to glue rose petals to the canvas board where i had already drawn the cherry blossom flower. I used cement glue because it was heavy and came with a brush, i thought it would be the best way to get he petals to stay. It was more of an experimental process. After I let the glue dry over night and when i woke up the petals had browned a bit and it wasn't what i wanted. So i have to think of what else i could do, so i started to paint with oils to had the shadows and it didn't match well with the petals. I decided that the best choice would be to paint over the petals with the oil paint. The end product turned out better than i  could have imagined. With the petals under the paint it gave a new texture that added to the final painting.

Stanley--Final Project

Caroline Stanley

Final Project

For my Final Project, I attempted to do the same techniques I normally do. I like to use small palate knives as well as using large trawls. I like to layer on thick amounts of oil paint to create a lot of texture. This time my paint wasn’t drying as fast as it normally does. I normally mix turpentine and galkid lite in to my paint to create different consistencies, but this time I only mixed in turpentine. My painting wasn’t looking like what I wanted to and this was because it was too wet. I laid paper towels on my painting to pick up some of the top wet paint. When I did this a relief print was left. I was given some nice big paper so I used this to take larger prints. I would put different colors on the painting and then take a relief print. I really liked how three prints came out so my final project tuned into prints of my painting.

Maestas Deconstructed Self-Portrait

Think about the statement--WHAT is being said?  HOW it is stated (even things as basic as grammar and writing can be taken into account). What are the materials used? HOW did you deconstruct the piece? Does this statement connect with the work? Does the statement itself strengthen/ weaken the work presented? Is there enough being said to actually give you information and clarity?

With my Deconstructed Self-Portrait i trying to say that i have may layers to me. i tend to be pretty shy and closed off, it takes people a long time to get to know me. but if someone takes the time to look past my smile they will uncover the layer that i hide. I tried to portray this by placing 4 small canvas boards on rolled up papers which would be the layers that i hide. with the canvases being placed on the papers it gave a 3-D look to my face. i made my hair, eyes and mouth the most noticeable features, because i feel that they are my best features also they then to be the first things that people see when they first met me. 

 The materials that i used were rolled up pieces of magazine papers, oil paint, acrylic paint and charcoal. i used only blue and orange colors, because they are complimentary colors. Also i wanted it to have a warm happy feeling when someone looked at it. The deconstruction part was using the 4 pieces of canvas and making it seem like you had to stand in a certain spot to be able to see my face as a whole. i think that when you know what the statement behind the self portrait is, it strengthens it as a whole. it makes you look at it differently, with a more open sense of mind. I think that it says what i am trying to portray, but i made it so of course i'm going to know the meaning behind it. i just hope that someone looking at it gets it just even a little bit.

Maestas Plein air

1) What is the emotional tone of the image, and how is this accomplished? What are the objects and what is the space?
The object that i choose to paint is the old church located in Old Town, San Felipe de Neri Parish. i was trying to accomplish an old kind of mystical emotional tone. My Grandparents got married in this church 63 years ago. i did a hatching technique to make the church seem like it was alive. with most of the direction of the hatching done in the surrounding areas around the church is makes the eye focus more on the church instead of what is around it.
2) Is this a balanced composition? How could this further be improved?
I feel like it is a well balanced composition, the main focal point which is the church is placed in the middle. the rest of the buildings take up a majority or space so that your eye freely moves along the painting. it could maybe be further improved by making the church a bit bigger and the patio in front smaller so that the church building is the main object that is seen.
3) Is there volume, space, depth, and texture in both your objects and your space?
i have shadows on the side of the church to give it a 3-D look. the trees could have a bit more depth to them, but i wasn't quite sure how to go about that. there could be more detail added to the surfaces to give more of a textures look. i think the sky has the most texture, because you can see where the sky is starting to lighten with the sun moving.
4) Have you captured a specific time of day? What time is it?
The time of day is around 10 am, i feel like you can tell that the picture was painted during the day but the time may not be as clear. the blue sky could have been a bit more light, but also in Albuquerque the sky at that time is a mid tone blue. so it is a good attempt at capturing that time of day.
5) How could you improve this composition? Give at least three examples.
I could improve this composition by making the trees look more like trees and less like blobs. also i could make the shutters on the church look sharper. the black shadows in the left bottom corner i could have added more detail, so that is was more apparent what was in the shadows and in that area.

Pope - Deconstructed Self Portrait

Nails puncture the canvas board challenging the idea of a traditional painting surface and contributing added surface and dimensionality to the piece. A caricature­-like portrayal of myself in conjunction with an absent mouth draws attention to the seemingly out of place nails which act as a protective barrier between myself and others. A self­-diagnosed introvert, I often find it difficult to connect socially. The physical exertion of piercing nails through the board mimicked the difficulty encountered when bringing myself to utter a few words in an uncomfortable social situation. By filling a balloon full of red house paint and smashing it on the mouth of nails, I was able to physically illustrate the mental and physical strain that can accompany a simple social obligation. 

Schoen - Deconstructed

My self-portrait was designed to show how I perceive limitations in life. The broken border around my painted self is supposed to represent the restrictions I feel when it comes to school or similar things. I can never really open up to new or extraordinary ideas when there are so many requirements for an assignment. But the rare moments that come where there are no rules I can reach out and grasp some of my better ideas. I feel free to go far out there and come traversing back with a new idea in hand. I also added personal touches to the painting. My top favorite colors are green and blue, so those are the colors I decided to paint for the clothes. I am rarely without a cross necklace, so I felt it only natural to add one around my neck. In addition to the mental limitations I feel that come with too many requirements, I included the scars that came with my knee surgery. That operation was a part of a seven-year struggle that took up a good deal of my life. I am still healing so that is why my left hand is still sewing it up.

            The materials I used were reclaimed wood for the frame, with several types of glue and steel staples to hold it together. Most of the body is cardboard, with foam core arms. Red thread and a sewing needle are a part of my knee. The representation of my ideas was cloth. I used oil paints on the once white cloth and acrylic for everything else.

            To make it deconstructed I painted my portrait on the different levels made up of foam core and cardboard. Also, I purposely cut an opening in the wooden frame that allowed the colored strips of cloth to come inside.

Stanley--Deconstructive Self-portrait

Caroline Stanley

Deconstructive Self-portrait

            In this self-portrait I deconstructed my personal narrative. The four parts are what defines me in both others and my opinion. I chose to depict my relationship with my mom gaining inspiration from a phone call I had with her. I used my dyslexia as another source of inspiration. In the other two, I depicted a piece of jewelry I wear all the time and dependability, which represents my personality. I used oil paints on Masonite using palate knives and some brush work. In terms of deconstruction, I wanted to choose aspects of myself that are more narrow and broad. As of now there are two more abstract and more realistic paintings. I think it would strengthen the set if they were all one or the other.

Schoen - plein air

1) What is the emotional tone of the image, and how is this accomplished? What are the objects and what is the space?

My Plein Air project is a low vantage point of the side of my house with a little foliage on the side. The space and emotional tone is flat. The building doesn't feel any depth. Their might be a sense of looming, because the red bricks take up most of the painting, but it is offset by the bright colors.

2) Is this a balanced composition? How could this further be improved?

Since most of the painting is an overwhelming, bright red, I tried to make the green branch and the blue sky just as stunning. With all the colors in your face, it ends up balancing the composition. I suppose I could have added more of the color stripes to the brick, but I liked it how it was, just a wall of red.

3) Is there volume, space, depth, and texture in both your objects and your space?

I tried to make the lines surrounding the branch fuzzy compared to the lines of the house. This way I could give a little sense of depth. Otherwise, the image is pretty flat.

4) Have you captured a specific time of day? What time is it?

I painted during the mid-morning, about 9 to just about 12. The Sun was directly behind me which made shadows very shallow. Also, there was not a cloud in the sky so it was a very, bright blue.

5) How could you improve this composition? Give at least three examples.

I could definitely use more depth. The part of my house that I choose was very simple, which made the majority of my painting flat. Perhaps I could have painted a different part of the house. The board I used was a flimsy thing. I thought it was good enough, but then it bowed. Luckily, I painted on cloth around it, but it looks pretty terrible with that board. Lastly, my three main colors are obvious, red, green, and blue. While I did add little splashes of other colors, perhaps I could have added more.

Stanley- Plein Air

1) What is the emotional tone of the image, and how is this accomplished? What are the objects and what is the space?

The emotional tone of my painting is bright and light. The colors of the aspen leaves dominate the painting and make really intensify the composition. i painted a small forest of aspens and the ground brush.

2) Is this a balanced composition? How could this further be improved?

I believe that my painting is balanced. i feel that what would improve my painting is if i made made the trees stand out more and spaced them out better.

3) Is there volume, space, depth, and texture in both your objects and your space?

My painting seems to not have as much depth as I had wanted. I feel like i could have fixed this by blending the dark green and the orange/reds of the aspens. That is how I was trying to indicate the depth, but it didn't really turn out how I wanted. Also, the tree trunks of the aspens didn't have the texture in them that i wanted. A lot of them looked old and had a lot of the black spots where old branches were. I was hard to show this in such a vast amount of area.

4) Have you captured a specific time of day? What time is it?

I feel like i have captured the mid day time. the space that I was painting was covered by the dense aspen leaves. I did paint under the aspen leaves with the light sky blue to show the time.

5) How could you improve this composition? Give at least three examples.

More detail, more attention to the depth, and less paint.

DECONSTRUCTED SELF-PORTRAIT

Painting I- OLIVER

Assignment 6

(Due: Thursday 11/13)

Deconstructed Self-Portrait

Parameters:

~Must have at least four surfaces/layers to work on (deconstructed frame/ surface/ materials)

~Must incorporate (but not limited to) acrylic paint

~Must incorporate at least one figurative element from life

~Must have artist statement

Materials: OPEN, though you MUST at least incorporate oil paint

OBJECTIVE: Create a reflective piece, representing a psychological image of self through the deconstruction of frame/ materials, surface.

You have ALL of the elements we have discussed in other projects to this point (formal/ conceptual elements, frame, materials, tools, narrative, etc) to discuss the work. IS THIS PIECE DECONSTRUCTED? HOW? DOES THAT MATTER TO THE VISUAL/ AESTHETIC INTEGRITY OF THE OVERALL PIECE?

Think about the statement--WHAT is being said?  HOW it is stated (even things as basic as grammar and writing can be taken into account). What are the materials used? HOW did you deconstruct the piece? Does this statement connect with the work? Does the statement itself strengthen/ weaken the work presented? Is there enough being said to actually give you information and clarity?