Final!!!!
I started this semester a couple of days late, because I had to alter my schedule so I could take this class. When I finally got started, I was in a class with two other girls who have already taken the class, so they have a leg up, and are already INCREDIBLE artists. Needless to say, I was super intimidated. I got right into my work, but I never felt very good about it because I constantly compared my work to theirs. I spent forever on every project trying to make it perfect, so it could match up to theirs. Now, I have learned that everyone has different styles, and different skill levels. I learned not to compare my work to others' , and to focus on my art only while creating a new piece. I have grown not only in a mental sense, but also in an artistic sense. I have a better understanding of oil paint, mixing colors, and being more observant in my art. I grew in oil paint during the project: ordinary objects. I chose my porch swing as my ordinary object, because of the many directional lines in the picture. This was my first oil painting, and what I hoped (at the time) would be my last! I took a really long time trying to perfect this project, but I think it all really paid off in the end, because it's one of my favorite paintings I've done. I grew in mixing colors in the animal portrait. I had to paint a lot of really up-close grass, and I was scared it would all look blended together, so I mixed a TON of different greens so it there would be enough depth in the grass. I learned to be more observant while working on my self portrait a little too late. I wasn't painting anything in the right spots, and things were slanted wrong, and nothing was working but I just kept telling myself "It'll all come together!" I didn't do stellar on this project. I think if I could fix anything, I would just start over. I should have taken the time to just go back and try again so I could actually be proud of this project.
Some of my favorite themes for this semester were: the reflections project, ordinary objects, and the landscape. I liked the reflections project a lot, because I think it was a super original idea! For this project, we were supposed to take something reflective, or something that reflects our personality, and make art out of that. I chose to draw the reflection of my family's music room from the chandelier. This was a super great idea for me, because usually my ideas are pretty basic. I really liked how this project ended up looking too! Another one of my favorite projects was the ordinary objects painting that I did. For this piece I painted my family's porch swing (as I explained above) and I LOVED how this one turned out, because of the purple in the swing, and all of the little details caught throughout the piece. It was also one of my favorites because it introduced me to oil painting, which I now love. One more favorite project of mine was the landscape. I've only done one other landscape before, but I like this one so much more! I felt like Bob Ross when I painted this. It was really fun to be able to make our own "happy little worlds."
Some projects I did not enjoy quite as much were the self portrait, for reasons I have already explained, and the nature turns mechanical project. I had a really hard time finishing something I liked for this project, I eventually decided to use prisma colors to draw lillies on gears (like lilypads) and they had lightbulbs coming out of the center. I think the reason I don't like this project was because it was so hard for me to grasp it. It's still a really cool idea for a project though!
It was really hard for me to have such short periods of time to work on my pieces. In previous art classes, we had a deadline, but no one was ever really done by then, so we didn't really have to worry about it. In AP Art, if you aren't ready to move on to the next project in time, then they just start stacking up, and before you know it, you have three paintings to do in like two weeks! I learned this the hard way, and was kind of behind all semester. I eventually caught up, and I hope to keep it that way for the rest of the year! Another thing that has been hard for me to learn, is that it's okay to wing it in art sometimes, and that everything doesn't have to look just like the picture. I am still struggling with this, but to fully overcome it, next semester I hope to do some stylized pieces, or work just with the pallet knife, so I'm forced to be kind of messy, and abstract.
I feel a lot more confident in my skills after taking this class. It has really helped me to grow in many areas of which I have previously explained. Without this class, I would be so much more stressed out about art in college, but now I feel so much more prepared!
Overall, this has been a phenomenal class, and I have enjoyed every minute of it! I'm super excited for next semester, and all I can do to continue to learn and grow as an artist!!
Some of my favorite themes for this semester were: the reflections project, ordinary objects, and the landscape. I liked the reflections project a lot, because I think it was a super original idea! For this project, we were supposed to take something reflective, or something that reflects our personality, and make art out of that. I chose to draw the reflection of my family's music room from the chandelier. This was a super great idea for me, because usually my ideas are pretty basic. I really liked how this project ended up looking too! Another one of my favorite projects was the ordinary objects painting that I did. For this piece I painted my family's porch swing (as I explained above) and I LOVED how this one turned out, because of the purple in the swing, and all of the little details caught throughout the piece. It was also one of my favorites because it introduced me to oil painting, which I now love. One more favorite project of mine was the landscape. I've only done one other landscape before, but I like this one so much more! I felt like Bob Ross when I painted this. It was really fun to be able to make our own "happy little worlds."
Some projects I did not enjoy quite as much were the self portrait, for reasons I have already explained, and the nature turns mechanical project. I had a really hard time finishing something I liked for this project, I eventually decided to use prisma colors to draw lillies on gears (like lilypads) and they had lightbulbs coming out of the center. I think the reason I don't like this project was because it was so hard for me to grasp it. It's still a really cool idea for a project though!
It was really hard for me to have such short periods of time to work on my pieces. In previous art classes, we had a deadline, but no one was ever really done by then, so we didn't really have to worry about it. In AP Art, if you aren't ready to move on to the next project in time, then they just start stacking up, and before you know it, you have three paintings to do in like two weeks! I learned this the hard way, and was kind of behind all semester. I eventually caught up, and I hope to keep it that way for the rest of the year! Another thing that has been hard for me to learn, is that it's okay to wing it in art sometimes, and that everything doesn't have to look just like the picture. I am still struggling with this, but to fully overcome it, next semester I hope to do some stylized pieces, or work just with the pallet knife, so I'm forced to be kind of messy, and abstract.
I feel a lot more confident in my skills after taking this class. It has really helped me to grow in many areas of which I have previously explained. Without this class, I would be so much more stressed out about art in college, but now I feel so much more prepared!
Overall, this has been a phenomenal class, and I have enjoyed every minute of it! I'm super excited for next semester, and all I can do to continue to learn and grow as an artist!!