Critique Feedback

Positive Feedback:

• Great shadowing
• Accurate colors mixed and used
• Interesting setup
• Good use of mainly primary colors
• "I like the brightness of the yellow, mixed with the deep blue and red, of the apple."
• Nice layering of objects (apple inside bowl)

Critical Feedback:

• Work on the colors of objects in some parts
• Work on the shape of objects
• Work on making things look shiny (i.e. the bowl)
• Make the bowl less white, but make it look more shiny
• Not a lot of detail
• Boring setup
• Could have used more space, and moved the objects around more, and not concentrated to objects in one space

Progress:

• The colors that were mixed look much smoother
• The shadows of the objects make the objects look much rounder
• There is space between the light and the dark in the shadows, it isn't just light --> dark with no space, there is an "intermediate color"
• Didn't cut an objects off (cut off bottom of the bowl in White Objects Painting)

Why Oil Paint?

Oil Paint was invented in Italy and Greece.  It was invented in the 15th century.  When oil paint was first created, it was a mixture of different types of pigment, and egg.  Jan Van Eyck was very important in the development of oil paint.  He was one of the first people to mix oil paint with pigment.  When he used this medium, and people saw his paintings, they thought it was brilliant.  Oil paint trapped light, and the intensity of the colors and the pigment was much more then tempera paint.  He used this technique because he wanted to make his paintings look very realistic and oil paint helped him achieve this goal.  Unlike the tempera paint, which dried quickly, and was very "plasticky", oil paint dries quickly and makes it so that you can re-work painting, and sections of your painting so that you can have them reach ultimate perfection.  Also, you can paint over colors without losing the color completely behind it.  You can make oil paint thinner or thicker, depending on the mediums you mix in.  Oil paint is a very popular choice in mediums now because artists can re-work their painting numerous times, and you can completely paint over things, or thin the paint so that the color can still shine through another layer of paint.  Oil paint is a medium of perfection.

What Is A Portrait?

I think that a portrait is an idea, or an expression  about the artist.  I think that it doesn't have to be of a persons body or face, it could be a place, or a certain time, it is just relevant to the artist, and very specific to their life.  The artist is allowing people to view aspects of their life, and letting people into their life.  I think that a portrait is the most honest reflection of an artist.  In these three paintings/portraits, the artist has made the person painted very personal, and important.  There are few to no details in the background of the picture, and if there are any, they are there solely to enhance the person in the portrait.  The person that is being painted takes up almost the entire canvas, and they are the main focus.  There is nothing in the painting that the viewer could focus on besides the person in the painting.  Although these paintings are all trying to create the same message, that the painting is about the person focused on, they all take very different approaches.  In the first painting, the woman painted looks naked, and is not looking in the direction of the painter.  Also, the black and white gives the painting a very dark, and sad feel.  In the second picture, it is again in black and white, but it is more faded, giving the picture an older, or faded/historical feel.  The picture is up close, and quite personal feeling because of how close the viewer is to the persons face.  In the last painting, the woman is in a long, flowing black dress.  The painting feels very formal, and elegant.  Although these portraits differ in layout and design, the overall concept is clear: it is clearly focused on the person in the picture. 

1. Shiva At Whistle Creek

2. Georgia O'Keeffe by Alfred Stieglitz

3. Mdame X by John Singer Sargent