#11 Pet Portrait

I waited to do this project because I didn't know which medium I wanted to use. I decided that there weren't enough colors to work with (and I am tired of colored pencils for now) so I chose to work in black and white. Here is a peice I made in Art 2 in pen. 

 I ventured from colored pencils and stippling and stuck with just drawing pencils. I was able to create a lot of shades in the fur similar to in stippling. My favorite parts are the ears, the paw and the tail. As you can tell between the bottom two pictures, I had to adjust the proportions of the face completely. To draw the right edge of his face, I turned the picture upside-down. Once I finished the dog, I decided to add a shadow underneath it. I felt that adding the pillow would make more sense because you can tell that his head and ear is resting on it. 

Even though this is my last art project of high school, I plan to keep making art and growing as an artist. Art 4 has been a great opportunity to make a lot of peices I am proud of and develop my art skills. 

#10 Free Choice: Donut

I decided to draw this donut because of its beauty and deliciousness. I loved all of the colors and sprinkles and of course I love drawing food. The had was also interesting to draw. The most difficult part of this project was trying to recreate the pink of the donut so I made up my own version of the color. It took me an extra 30 minutes to add value to the whole picture. The solid background also took me a long time to get the blue as smooth as possible. The blending pencil was really useful for the background and for the pink glaze of the donut. Overall, I like this drawing because of the subject matter, the colors, and my execution of it. 

#9 Free Choice- Rock stack

This project was the most challenging project I have ever done. It is a sentimental piece because of the setting and subject matter but it was not easy. I chose to use colored pencils because of all of the amazing colors and textures. It was very challenging to acheive the colors in the water and in the rocks. I'm still not satisfied with the bottom right of the water. 

If I were to do this over again, I would paint it. It would have been a lot easier to mix the unusual colors with paint rather than layering it with pencils. The water and sky would have appeared smoother as well and I could have acheived a really cool texture on the rocks. 

#7 Self-Portrait

I used one of my senior pictures as my Self-Portrait. I also decided to try a new medium, charcoal pencils. It was challenging to try charcoal but it was fun in the end.

 I had to try several papers because none of them were blending the way I wanted them to. My skin ended up looking a bit splotchy but that goes along with the charcoal look. I struggled layering the charcoal to get the very dark values. I also struggled with the shape of my face and facial features. Drawing people is not my strength but this is the best face I have drawn. I flipped my paper over many times to make sure the lines and placement were in the right spot.

I added prisma color pencils for a pop of color with the ice-cream cone. Who wants to eat gray ice-cream? It was hard to get the right blue with a limited number of pencils.

In the end, I am pleased with this self portrait and it encourages me to try drawing people again.

#8 Snowy Landscape

I struggled deciding which landscape to create and what medium to use. I chose to paint this picture from my neighborhood the last time it snowed. I used oils because I thought that would be the best medium to use in creating the trees and the smooth water.

 I used a blue acrylic wash to get a blue tint to show through the snow and sky. I struggled with keeping the grays the same color throughout the water and the trees. Some of the water got tinted and it became too yellow. 

The photo doesnt do the painting justice, it looks brighter and more blue in person. The finished result was not to my standards. The dirtiness of the grays in the water really bothers me and I also do not like the texture that I created for the trees on the left. The bushes, trees, and branches were the hardest areas to paint because the branches were so thin and the leaves are so small. There is plenty of room for improvement in my painting skills, particularly brush strokes and details. 

#6 Colored Pencil Contest: Bows

When I first saw the reference, I was so excited to draw the detailed colorful bows. My goal was to make it look as much like the picture as possible. I left the image uncropped until the very end when i cropped a bit on the left side due to time restraints.

 This project was a good learning experience because with each bow, I got faster and better and drawing them. I started drawing while using a wide grid of 4x5. I wanted to stay true to my drawing schools so I strayed away from projecting the image. There ended up being a few minor issues with proportion but it was hard to notice with so much going on in the image.  I also had to get creative with some of the values and colors on the bows because I had a limited number of colored pencils (hopefully santa will bring me a set of Prisma Colors). When I was done with the entire project (after many many hours) I asked for a second opinion of anything I can improve. I was challenged to add a little more value to the shadows and the edges of the bows to make them pop.

Overall, I was very pleased with the end result after hours of work. For the Colored Pencil Magazine's monthly challenge, they awarded it with an honorable mention. 

#5 Turning something organic->mechanic

     At first I couldn't think of many concepts for turning something natural into something mechanical. As I sat down with my sketchbook and really thought about the topic, many ideas started to form. Many of the other people in the class were using animals as references so to be a little bit different, I took inspiration from Ciara's painting of sliced citris fruit and decided to do some sort of fruit. Another reason that I chose fruit was that I wanted to incorporate circuit boards into my peice by drawing circuit board leaves. Inspired by a dish my mother has, I sketched two pears and leaves. 

     After many doing colored pencil drawings, I decided to switch it up and use mostly pencil with a touch of colored pencil.

      I drew the pear sliced down the middle to reveal a mechanical interior. I strayed away from gears because most people in class were using them so I chose plumbing instead. Then I colored the exterior of the pears with their natural color. The most challenging part was creating depth because my reference was pumbing on a flat wall. Here is the result. 

    I drew the stems as wires and added a "plug" where the stem meeted the pears. After moving on to the circuit board leaves, the drawing seemed boring and empty. I was encouraged to add more leaves and pears in the background that were realistic/natural looking. It seemed to improve the composition and add depth to the piece. 

    I ended up liking it a lot more after I added the extra leaves. Making up concepts in my mind without a photo refererence is challenging for me so getting second opinions really help.