Where Are You At?

I can't believe it is midterm.  Ah.  I think that already i have really progressed in this class.  I have a much better understanding of how the paints with with each other, and much more of a keen eye for seeing color in different objects.  Over the course of the term, i think that the most challenging aspect for me has been to not judge my painting in the middle of when i am painting it.  I get very easily discouraged, and often times when i stand back to look at what i need to work on in the painting, i end up judging it, and come to the conclusion that "it sucks."  Clearly, that would be because it is no where near finished.  I think that it is important to be able to give yourself constructive criticism, and not have to feel like you can't finish the painting because it is so awful, when really, it is no where near done.  That is something that i really need to work on.  I think that i have progressed the most in seeing different colors in objects.  I find it more easy to now mix colors, and use them as shading and light and dark sides of objects.  I think that I am able to clearly tell what colors i need to add in order to make something lighter or darker, or shinier, or more dull, or warm or cool.  I am very proud of myself to be able to do that, and it is one of the principle ideas in art, and i feel like i have made a huge advancement in the right direction in understanding color in shadows, and shades and different objects.  Today, it is extremely important to look at painting from throughout history.  We are able to see how art has developed up until today, and how it is still developing, and will continue to develop.  It is interesting, and important to learn what advancement people made, and how they came to the idea or conclusion that they needed to be "updated."  I think that over the course of this term, I have really progressed.  Although i do need to be more consistent with my blog, i am very proud of the work that i have displayed.

Some Famous Paintings

Claude Monet was a founder of French Impressionist painting.  The painting "Water Lilies" changed the way that people viewed art, in terms of realism, and it as well changed the way that people made art, and approached art.  The point, or the intent of impressionist painting is to model the painting after the object that is seen, and being painted or drawn, but to not copy the object exactly.  In the painting, Monet used a lot of paint, and thick brushstrokes in order to get the painting to look like a pond with water lilies.  He used light blues and greens and browns, however, he did not paint exactly what was there, but he painted what the pond looked like in general, with a few of his own twists, and styles.  It is evident that in his painting, there is not as much detail, and intricate design as there would be in the real scene, and this was his idea, and his approach to how the painting should be painted, it was his "impression" of how he viewed the scene.  In the foreground of the picture, the water lilies are somewhat detailed and big, and then as the painting moves further back, the lilies get smaller, and the attention to detail is not as fine.  I think that this painting is very interesting, and very important to the history of art, because this painting was being painted in order to show the world that art was not just one idea, and that it was important to paint what you saw, along with personal style.  Monet helped define history with this painting.

White Objects Painting

Hooray.  My first "real" painting has been completed.  I think that overall, i did very well for my first painting, however, there are some things that i would change had i not been so stressed out, and done with it at the time.  I think that i really understand how to mix colors, and create light and dark shadows to make an object look round and have depth.  I think that my best example of that would be the bowl, on the bottom, as well at the roll of paper.  I think that i really mastered the light and dark portions of both of those objects.  I think that i would definitely go back and work on the yellow cloth in the back.  I think that i started to work on it, and i was not pleased on how it was coming out, and so i gave up.  I think that i could have mixed some darker colors, and put them on the paint, and then let it dry, and then lightly painted over it with the yellow, and it would have looked like the shadows and creases in the sheet.  I would have used mostly darker purples and blues for the shadows.  As well, i wish i had not cut off the bottom of the bowl, because it gives it an unpleasant "unfinished"/"cut-off" look that i am not so pleased with.  Overall, i am very proud of how well my painting turned out, adn all of the information that i gathered from painting it.

White Objects Painting (Thumbnail Sketches)

This is a picture of my three sketches for the White Objects Painting.  I chose to paint the one in the middle.

Surface And Texture (Set-Up)

This is a picture of the setup that I am using for the Surface And Texture painting.  I really like all of the colors that i incorporated.  I have all primary colors, and then shades of the primary colors which is great for me because the color mixing is at my level.  Also, it is pretty easy, and not a hassle to have to mix, and create all of the shadows in the painting.  Also, i pulled down the shade in the art room, and the room is relatively dark, so i am using a light, and directing it towards to objects.  This is helpful because it makes the shadows very clear, and easy to depict where they are in my paining.  I really like that we were able to select our setup, I think that it makes the painting more enjoyable, because we got to paint what we wanted and we were interested in.

Creating The Illusion Of Surface And Texture

In the first painting, the lines are very bold, and you can clearly see the outlines of every shape.  The warm colors of the fruit, make it look soft, while the very bold paint also makes it look smooth.  In the second painting, all of the outlines of everything look very soft.  This is because of the light edges, and how the edges of the objects blend into the background, or what is in the background of that object.  In the third painting, many of the things that the artist wanted to show, are highlighted, and have a very bright white, or color flashed onto them.  They stand out against the background, and they stand out because of the whitish, light color that is reflected.