Reflecting

1. My expectations were to learn more about art history, how to use art materials, and about what kind of artist I am. They were met. Especially the last one. I realized that I like to do a lot of self-reflective work based on how I am feeling or what I am currently experiencing. I have been sketching more since I started taking this class.

2. “For me, I define art as a way to express myself without using words.” This still stands. Even more so than before. I’ve always loved the expression “A picture is worth a thousand words” because it is true. There is so much to be said through that cannot really ever be ‘said’ verbally.

3. My favorite artist was Michelangelo. Now I am interested in Frida Kahlo. A lot of her pieces really spoke to me and I connected well with them. It was nice to explore new artists and see where I could most relate.

4. I feel great about taking online courses. I was excited in the beginning to take an online course and I felt that I was self-motivated enough to get through it and I was. It was a wonderful experience and I plan to take more in the future.

The Image of Self

 I found my images online.

Self-Portrait Sklyarevskaya by Sklyarevskaya Inna, 2008, oil on canvas, 60x50

Self-Portrait by Ham, Myung Su, 2000

Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror by Francesco Mazzola, 1523, oil on convex panel, 9.6 in diameter

Original Picture

Artwork

1. I wanted my piece to not be just a photo of me, but with something else that explains a big part of who I am. I wanted it to look somewhat cartoonish, not necessarily like a photograph, and I wanted it to not be a forward facing angle of me. I got all of these ideas from the three works I chose for inspiration.
2. I chose to use pencil and pastels. I outlined the work in pencil and filled it in with color with the pastels. I chose this because I felt as though I would be able to blend colors better than I would with paints or collage. I also do not have as much experience with paints and was not sure how well it would turn out. Those are also the supplies I had at my house. My colors of paint were very limited.
3. I had a lot of trouble with the initial outline. I kept trying to start by sketching my hair and head first, but the shapes kept coming out wrong. So, I sketched the background first and went from there. It really helped me put everything in perspective and manage the spacing much better.

4. This piece represents me because it shows the firm foundation in which I have built my life. I find comfort in religion. The fact that people can believe in things at all in this world is a miracle. I like the idea of there being a greater reason for things, and knowing that someone is watching over me. I plan to be a pastor in a UCC church and help advocate for the open and affirming movement.

5. I applied the element of color. There aren’t too many distinct lines since I blended most of the piece. The color is what breaks apart the different pieces of the artwork. I also used shapes such as the cross behind me and the steps, making it easier to see what I was doing and where I was.
6. I did. I had a lot of ideas for this project and it was hard to narrow them down. It is always nice to be able to express yourself through art.

7. I liked my final piece. It was really hard for me to draw my hands because they were so small, but besides that part I felt it came out similarly to what I had imagined.

Project 4

This project was definitely a lot of work. With watching the videos and searching through the sources to try to sort through the works, the hardest issue I found was what theme to come up with. The works that interested me the most were the self portraits, so I decided to create a theme based off of those. Analyzing the photos was something I was already used to, so that wasn't too bad for me. It was interesting to me to see the way the artists portrayed themselves and to try to uncover things about their lives based on those paintings. Overall the project was a good experience and I was glad to learn so much about the artists I chose.