Question #2
After being able to look over all my work over the semester I ended up choosing my self portrait as one of my pieces that shows my growth as an artist. This project was completed with just the use of the 3 primary colors and used colored pencils as the medium. I feel like this shows the greatest growth because I had used colored pencils as my medium once before in drawing class over a year ago and I wasn’t as successful as I would have liked to be. This shows a great improvement because I struggle when it come to making facial features for example the mouth and the nose so for this piece to turn out the way it did I’m very proud of myself and all the effort I put into it. The clay project is another piece that I would say shows my growth as an artist. I would consider this a growth because I have never actually worked on a project like this with clay and it made me step out of my comfort zone. I had a difficult time getting everything together and making the popcorn look like the actual shape it's supposed to be. Overall with this project I think I did a successful job considering that I didn't have as much time to work on it like the rest of the class but I did learn to manage my time much better than I had intended to.
Question #4
One of the most beneficial mini lessons we learned was the pen and ink because it allowed me to get a lot of practice with it and get comfortable with it before starting my final project. With all the practice we did before starting the final project I was able to practice value changes to demonstrate where there are shadows and highlights. It also allowed me to practice how make patterns flow in the direction in which objects in a picture flowed. The practice sheets for the pen and ink were also very helpful for my success because I practiced recreating patterns and pressing different pressures. The other mini lesson that I would say was helpful for my success was the color prismas. This lesson allowed me to practice and regain a bit of confidence when working with prismas because I don't typically work with them. I was able to practice on how to create transitions from one color to another although I wasn't as successful as I thought I'd be. I was also able to practice on creating colors with just using the primary colors which was beneficial considering the fact that the final project was done with just those 3 colors. For both of this mini lessons I think we had more than enough time to practice which helped me when it came to the final projects.
Question #6
This semester acrylic paint would be my favorite medium. I had a bit of an advantage with already having taken painting class and learned some techniques that would help. Being able to work with paint specially being acrylic paint made me get more comfortable with using it as my medium because it was the type of paint I was least comfortable with. Which I feel as if it made me improve more as an artist by getting a chance to work with again. When using acrylic paint this time around I wasn’t so afraid of making mistakes because I knew if I messed up I would be able to go back over top of it once it dried. Having those mini lessons using acrylic paint allowed me once again to practice on blending colors and being patient. I still struggle with making some of the colors I want but I’ve learned to take my time and not rush the process and eventually the color will come out. With this medium I was able to practice painting with just the palette knife which is something I wasn’t as comfortable with before but now I am.
Question #7
I would consider the watercolor project to be my least successful project. I think this was my least successful project because I had never worked with watercolor in the way we did and it was a completely new technique for me making it hard. I also don't think I was successful because I had no control of where the water was going or moving making some of the places muddy. Due to the laying of masking fluid the paint wouldn't go on as smooth as I would have liked it to. After a while there were so many layers of masking fluid on my paper that I couldn't tell what colors were underneath which it made it difficult for me to decide color to apply on next. I wish that for some parts of my project I would of just left the paint to dry by itself so the part paint wouldn't have moved ruining some of the colors I applied that I had intended to keep. If I could redo my project I would apply less masking fluid or I would at least try to be more careful as to where I'm placing it. Also I wouldn't be so afraid of pouring the paint on the paper because the second painting when I redid it I was afraid of messing it up but I ended up liking the first one I did much better.