Accepted into Windows!

A few blogs back, I whined about not winning an award at the Student Art Show.It was an honor to even get into the show.  My petulance was pure silliness.  I have not taken many art classes.  The few I have taken prior to my experience at FLCC lasted an afternoon or two.  My mother was an artist, so anything I might know is from having been exposed to her.  One of my major  flaws in my execution and technique is the failure to have enough contrast in my work.  I am always being told to add value to my projects.  I find it interesting, when I looked through my mother's work, that she was also very light on the use of contrast.  I don't know if it is a hesitancy to commit that might be circling in my (our) minds?  I know that prior to final submission of my charcoal project I darkened the darker values in a big way.  I did get an A- in my Foundation II class, which I am quite happy with.  Oh, yes, I would like an A, but only if my work is A quality.  It is not there yet. Hopefully next semester.  I did get an A in design!!!

FLCC has an annual publication called Windows.  It is a collection of work that is chosen to be put in a soft cover book.  This was the first year it was published in color.  I submitted a few things.  I was aware that my fellow students were very impressed with my Mother Teresa rendition, so I submitted it.  It is a collage from newspaper and magazine snippets.  When making this type of project you match a photo with the paper, section by section.  I was guided by the contrast already present on the photo.  The Mother Teresa was a design project from last fall.

Foundation II Self Portrait

This was my final project for Foundation II Drawing.  I was hoping it would resemble me, but my grandson Lucas, (2 years old) said "no,"  when I asked him, "Is this Nana?" I drew this portrait while holding a mirror-looking into it,  this method is more challenging, than to draw from a photo.  It is water color with pen and ink.  The assignment was to have at least two medium.  I sketched first in pencil in, then I applied ink over the pencil lines- The ink was allowed to dry.  Next I painted with water color paints.  A challenge encountered was the that the hot press illustration board would pill when worked too much.

My professor Barron gave me a run down of what was a wrong.  (my professors are outright honest, no silly ego stroking)  The eye on the left of the face, as you face it- It's inner canthus is too stretched-and the eye needs to be over more, toward the nose.  The other eye, does not have enough of the upper lid..  There also could have been more values to the blue sweater.  I fixed a major flaw, which was the jaw line.  The jaw line had a notch, (in the area where the chin blends to the jaw).  On first submission Barron directed me with authority(see other blog)- on how to create a leading line with shadow to direct the viewer to me, the subject.  The shadows are incorporated into the rose bush to create this line.

Many have told me that  in real life I am much better looking than this portrait.  My daughter-in-law (Pratt Art Grad) comforted me with the agreement of how difficult self portraits are.

Someone said the expression looked suspicious.  I am not feeling suspicious!

This is a second attempt of this same pose and background scene. Here is the first attempt:

I might just work on it some more!

Buzzed!

This is a design assignment that was finished a few weeks ago.  I went to the Art department at FLCC and my instructor, Mr Fox, encouraged me to re-enrole in classes after being sick (in the head!).  I had withdrawn from class during my episode of mania.  I came into class during a different section, to make up for lost time, and I was back in business!  This is my little guy who experiences something unexpected while being pestered by a flying insect.

Generations Captivated by Chickens

When I was 13 my parents decided to build a house in the country.  My mother designed a one story hacienda which was built on a drumlin over looking a wooded valley.  June embraced the country life with many projects, one of which was raising farm animals.  Tending to a flock of chickens was one of the first endeavors she approached.  I was involved with their care, of course!  After I married my diary farmer boyfriend, he and I also raised chickens.  I now have two grown children, one with her own family established and another just embarking into the world of being a "little farm family!"  Chickens are a part of my children and grand children's lives.

My mother appreciated chickens very much.  Her favorite thing about them was their movements.  She would sketch them.  I dedicated the design project I will share with you to my grand- kids, but it probably should have been dedicated to June.  I attempted to capture their character, but I am not yet as skilled  as my mother was!

Dada-Avian Scatological Interpretive

I am finishing up Art History II.  We just learned about Modern Art.  One of the movements in Modern art was Dada. (post World War I)  My Dada art is not a reaction to war- no, it is a reaction to the modern takeover of technology- into the human being's consciousness.  (For me this is the current horror of our time).  My visitation of Dada is in silliness found in the natural world!  Because of the focus we humans have on our technology we fail to appreciate the natural world around us!  We no longer see it with imagination!  The irony is......the photos were taken with an iphone!

Fish out of Water

Elephant 

Monkey on Stilts!

Black bear in snow storm with brown dog following!

Aliens!!!!!

This is all in fun!

Amelia's fish!

Extra Credit for Art History

This looks uglier on a photo than in real life.  My art instructor- told the students- that for extra credit they could do a modern art- Jackson Pollock type piece.  I thought well, "I will do one like his wife might have done."  I ended up doing something a little more impressionistic than Krasner would have done, though.

Final Project for design

This is very light- sorry photo is not so good.  For design our final project is going to be a Children's book. I have decided to do a book about chickens and chicks and a Rooster- Maybe I shall call it the "Little Chicken Family".  My granddaughter and grandson live on a farmette and have chickens.  I took some pictures of their chicken environment and I am  working up a little story about a broody hen and her babies.

First we wrote the story and next we incorporated drawings.  We made little phoney book so we would know how it all goes together. I bought the expensive paper(6.00 a sheet)  And my next step is drawing the illustrations onto the book.  The illustrations must be sketched lightly in hard pencil- (this paper does not erase well)  I was thinking of pastels, but I think that color pencils with pen and ink is a good choice.  I have decided to put the words on the left and the drawings on the right side.

Self Portrait Prototype

This is not a final project.  It is a sketch of an idea.  The sketch is a self portrait for the final Self Portrait project.  It is supposed to be somewhat narrative.  I am very much into plants.  I saw something on the web with a girl surrounded by greenery- so I thought I would hinge my project around that similar idea.  Dad and I work on the roses all the time--growing roses is a hobby--It is also symbolic to me, the Virgin Mary is symbolized by roses, and I enjoy the feminine archetype of the Virgin Mary.  I will do this in pen and ink and water color, most likely.

Charcoal Projects

These are my charcoal projects. I still have the chance to put a little more effort into them.  Only one needs to be in my final portfolio.  I chose the lower subject- because it was so challenging to do a paper bag.  My instructor did not think that it "actually read like a paper bag".  My main problem with all my projects is that I work to lightly.  I need to increase the contrast--which I do attempt to do!