Update + Mentors

We were recently assigned a final 3-piece project. Seeing as though my senior year is coming to an end, I really wanted to put forth my best effort...And I did, even if it didn't turn out as great as I would have liked. For the first, I decided to use oil paint. It was somewhat successful since I haven't really used oil paint before. Then I decided to switch to oil paint sticks. I really enjoyed using them because it helpedme stick to using dark color for shading. I liked that it was a combination of drawing and painting since I think I'm better at drawing. I used my hands a lot too and it was then that I understood what Mrs. Smith meant when she said that painting with oil is kind of like sculpting. My third piece did not end up like I wanted it to. It looks very unfinished, and I learned that a smaller canvas doesn't always mean less work.

As

for my mentors, the first is Leonora Carrington who I learned about because of her recent death. She was a surrealist painter from Mexico (although she was born in Britain). She was one of the last living surrealist painters from her era, and her work has been shown all around the world. Her artwork first caught my eye when I was on a news website. It's a shame she's no longer living. H

ere's one of her paintings on the left!

Another thing I found while browsing online recently was an p

ost about a sand sculpture festival in Turkey. The website did not provide much information other than an amazing picture, but I looked into it a little and found that it was located on Antalya's beach. Then I found that these happen not only in Turkey but annua

lly in other parts of the world such as Australia, India, and Russia too. I thought pictures of these would be interesting to share since Alex is doing a sand sculpture/sand castle project right now. I'm not really sure who the artists are, but they're clearly very talented. I never thought sand sculptures could go this far. Here are some

pictures!

In Class

The last project we did had to include an eye and a reflection. After working on it in class, I ended up taking it back to my room to work on it more. There, I found a 9b pencil, and it really helped because I improved my drawing by adding darks to it for contrast. I also added highlights which really improved the quality of the reflections. It was hard to draw a magnified eye, but I think overall it turned out pretty realistic. I think we decided in class the name of it would be "Everybody's Fish Dies Eventually." Now, I'm working on the next project involving an animal, and I want to do a mix of watercolor and ink. I'm still in the process of planning, and testing it out.

-Dannie

inspiration!

My inspiration is...LOVE!

I struggled in deciding my inspiration, because I can't think of anything in particular that "divinely influences me directly and immediately is exerted upon my mind or soul." However, as I thought more about my life, I realized that the relationships that I have with people are what influences me the most. Often, my motivation for doing things comes from the people in my life. Feelings for others is what drives us, and often can re-energize our life. More specifically, I'm referring to my family and friends. I love my family. I love my friends. I think the same goes for most other people, and when I think about what can be achieved and what people will do for love, it inspires me. Without my family or friends, I would be a lost in this world. So that is my inspiration for the year. Not only the people I love, such as my mom, dad, brother, and friends, but also the emotion itself. I more commonly see people passionate about other people than I see people who are as passionate about "something." It's all around me everyday and all around the world, and so it's something everyone can relate to. As I continue art class this year, I will channel my artistic energies towards what inspires me the most; love and emotion.

Xan hehe

Xan...

Her face is challenging.

I tried.

I feel like this was kind of a failure, probably partly because she was moving a lot. Xan likes to flip her hair a lot and scrunch it in her face to make her semi-bangs look voluminous, so that was part of the challenge I think. Also, I was trying to accentuate her features, because often she looks dollish if you don't, so I think I went a little too far with the lip size. The picture I have was from the board, so Xan is the one on the left. It may not all be completely visible...I plan on trying to draw her successfully in the future.

Recent

Here are some recent drawings that I have been doing.

The first is part of a self portrait that was made with charcoal. I took pictures of several different parts of it, because as a whole I feel like it doesn't look like me, and I decided that was mostly due to the elongated face as well as the shape of the lips.

Here is a picture of a part of it that I feel resembles me slightly...

Not Obsessed...

I know with some of my recent works (fetus, child etc) it may seem that I have a slight obsession with children. Alas, I do not. However, I can't help but really admire these paintings by Kevin Peterson. The contrast between the girls and the environment really interested me, sooo you should check it outttt. "Graffiti Girls" and his project "Boundaries" are really creative and he is clearly a very skilled painter. Here is a link. (Mentor?)

http://kevinpetersonstudios.com/?page_id=3

http://www.behance.net/Gallery/Graffiti-Girls/450926

Woman I

This is Woman I. She's a hottie.