AW1

My subject matter is a girl in a pond. Where she’s surrounded

by koi fishes and lotuses. Overall, I wanted the painting to
evoke a sense of serenity in the viewer. Via the feedback I’ve
received, my subject matter is identified clearly as the girl in
the pond. The responses hint at the fact that the girl in the
body of water symbolizes peace, additionally, the theme of
nature is prominent in the painting. Additionally, the meaning
and messages they get from looking at the painting are loss of
innocence, incapability of helping oneself, as well as the feeling
of being alienated. To improve my messages delivered to the
viewer in the future, I could manipulate the figure’s pose to
better portray a message rather than relying on other organic
matters in the painting to carry it. Furthermore, I could think
about how I can use different shades of each color (grey, red,
blue, undertone) to emphasize specific subjects in the painting,
thus directing the viewer to focus on what is being underscored
in the painting.
I followed the Impressionism style by using short, swift and
thick brushstrokes of different colors on a base to mimic its
principles. The artwork is painted in a cartoon or animated
style, with some realistic elements like the lotuses and the
fishes. I painted the girl’s facial features with big eyes and a
round face, her proportions mimic that of an animated art style,
featuring exaggerated characteristics like her waist, head to
body ratio and her big flowy hair. Layering short brushstrokes of
different colors on a dry base allows the color to be seen easier,
it also establishes a foundation for the paint to appear vibrantly.
The feedback I’ve received from my peers affirms that the
palette used in the painting conveys a joyous, innocent and
calmness. The bright, verdant and saturated tones, shades, as
well as colors used help create a flow of contentment within the
painting. For my artwork for unit 4, I plan to keep the pastel
scheme, as I want it to exhibit bliss to the viewer.
Throughout the making of the artwork, I’ve conducted
numerous trials to decide on what I wanted to work with. I first
used oil pastels as I was mostly familiar with their texture, color
and technique. In my experiments featuring oil pastels, I first
sketched what I wanted to illustrate with a pencil, then layered
the color on top of it. Nevertheless, it was hard to achieve an
Impressionism style since layering a different color on an oil
pastel base was nearly impossible. Overcoming my fear of
creating something hideous, I finally went back to working with
oil paint after 8 years. Surprisingly, they were pleasant to work
with. Its opacity, smooth texture and ability to be layered or
blended seamlessly on top of each other help foster the traits
of Impressionist art within my painting. I could achieve the flow
of water, clothing and plants texture,… in my painting using
complementary colors to shade or add depth to a subject. Thus,
these traits allowed me to paint a fleeting scene instead of still
life, allowing the viewer to witness the moment unfolding
before their eyes. I plan on pursuing Impressionism painting in
development of Unit 4’s artwork, as I want to continue
reinforcing serenity, vitality and resilience within my painting.
I aimed to create a scene where perseverance is shown through
the girl’s effort in reaching out to the audience. I used bold dark
outlines to create emphasis in my painting, which was done for
every subject depicted within it. Moreover, I used a lot of
organic shapes to draw the viewer’s focus to nature, which is
widely associated filling one’s mind with composure and
contentment. In the evaluations conducted by my classmates,
they could identify the conspicuous representation of
Impressionism in the painting. They affirm that the use of a
bright verdant palette allows the painting to communicate a
sense of serenity to the viewer. The congested position of every
subject depicted in the painting creates an overwhelming
scene, which is strengthened by the unrealistic big sizes of the
lotuses and the fishes. Additionally, the repletion of curvy lines
mimics a feathery texture of certain subjects (the fish’s fins, the
lotuses’ petals, the girl’s hair) adds a pleasant softness to the
painting. In my development of artwork 3, I plan on using the
same techniques used in this artwork to depict yet another
scene of serenity.
AW2
In my second artwork, the subject matter changes from a single
woman to a young girl, and a boy. I incorporated both figurative
drawing and landscape drawing in my artwork, thereby creating
a composed balance between the two. The comments I’ve
received from my peers validate the subject matters depicted
in the color pencil drawing are a young girl and boy, thus
portraying innocence. The meanings I wanted to exhibit via this
illustration were childishness, innocence along with playfulness.
Which was achieved through the depiction of children (with
opposite genders). I still want to preserve the characteristic of
purity in my unit 4 artwork; however, I don’t plan on drawing
children again as I no longer associate with that age. To replace
their presence, I could include herbivore animals, which are
often connected to weakness, incapability, thus adding a pitiful
innocent trait to the future painting.
My pursuit of Impressionism isn’t clearly seen within this
artwork as layering color pencils on top of each other wouldn’t
exhibit their vibrancy. Despite that, I could still attain a happy
and bright depiction of the scene in the drawing via using a
wide range of saturated colors. Compared to the first artwork,
the second artwork features a more comic-style. By utilizing
unrealistic, exaggerated demonstrations of figures within my
drawing, I could arise a feeling of whimsy, informality as well as
innocence embodied in the artwork. These emotions are
confirmed by my classmates, who have stated that the bright
colors and decision to illustrate children aid with
communicating simplicity and childishness. Color pencils
require considerable effort to attain a seamless drawing, which
may be timely and not health sustainable. Whilst I still want to
keep the Impressionist traits in my future artwork, I won’t use
color pencils in the Unit 4 painting.
I conducted a trial using color pencils at the beginning of
semester 1. Its creamy texture, ability to create a lighter shade
or more saturated shade via adjusting the pressure put on the
tip of the pencils, all work together harmoniously to create a
soft and delicate picture. Working with colored pencils was
significantly less difficult than working with oil paint. Through
the utilization of hatchings, emphasis on specific subjects in the
drawing (making the girl’s attire more vibrant and extravagant
than the boy’s) along with the positioning of the subject
matters in a scenic landscape, I was enabled to exhibit the
drawing’s playful hallmark. The process of making this artwork
was straightforward, I first sketched the silhouette of the
finished drawing in pencil using geometric and organic shapes.
I softened out the ridges and sharp edges to follow the
appearance of everyday objects (the couch, the bushes).
Finally, colors go on top, I used both markers and color pencils
to draw it.
Via the employment of a rich, bright palette, I was able to
replicate the qualities of Impressionism to a certain extent.
Furthermore, the implementation of texture, creation of space
between each subject, as well as unrealistic figurative
proportions (the heads of the boy and girl are way bigger than
their body, their eyes are also enormous, thereby allowing an
informal cartoony style to be embedded within the drawing.
The comments I’ve received have all collectively stated that the
bright color palette, establishment of negative spaces between
every object and linework of the drawing appear evident in the
drawing, thus arising joy within the viewer. To further amplify
my ideas, meanings and symbolisms communicated to the
viewer in my artwork through the use of art elements and
principles, I could add more texture to every organic matter
depicted in the painting, thereby making the qualities of
Impressionism in my painting more prominent.