This is my fruit and veggie drawing. I drew a peach using yellows and reds, and then darkened up the shadowed areas with purples and browns.
This is my fruit painting in acrylic. Its a green apple on a dark background. I used oranges and blues in the green of the apple to make it seem more realistic.
Color wheels
Reflections project
This is my reflection project using colored pencils. I decided to draw downtown Apex because I was born and raised here. The picture I used as reference was taken when it was decorated for Christmas last year. There was a lot of reflections of light in the picture with puddles on the ground. The challenges i faced in this project were perspective and dark colors in pencil. The sidewalk on the right side doesn’t really work with the perspective, and the blending didn’t work out very well with the black pencil. My successes i feel we’re with the actual reflections. I feel like I used a lot of color in these and that they were the best blended part of the piece. This project was also a good way to get back into using colored pencil. I started lightly coloring over the piece to get colors in place, and then started darkening and blending on the piece. In the future or if I redid this project I do think it would turn out a lot better, having it better blended and more realistic. Im proud of how this drawing ended up, but would love to see if I could do it better now that I learned what I did.
Interior spaces project
This is my interior spaces project. When i was brainstorming I was trying to think outside of the box, (bad idea because this was literally a interior spaces project.) I chose this idea because i had an image in my head that looked a lot better than what i could actually put onto paper. The artistic challenges I faced was just a lack of skill. I feel like the colors i used didn’t really fit with each other and the shading isn’t well blended. I also for the life of me could not get a thin line, so all the lines are choppy. I tried my best to use the acrylic and get the perspective correct but in the end it looks super flat. I don’t really have anything positive to say about this piece. I learned a lot about blending paint and perspective in the process though, and do think that with a redo it would turn out better because of this learning experience. I also feel a lot more comfortable with acrylic paint and decided I really do need to get my own paint brushes to add some more detail. Moving forward I am excited to use acrylic paint again and see improvement in it with blending and colors.
Facial features practice
This is my use of colored pencils and acrylic paint to practice realistic skin tones and facial features. This was fun to do to see how realistic I could draw and paint. Some challenges I faced were not having the colors I wanted for the nose and lips, so it was hard to darken the shades and blend, I also didn't have a small paint brush at the time of painting the eye, so I couldn't really get the details or the eyelashes how I wanted. I did learn alot about skin tone and undertones as well as finding shapes in facial features.
oil painting practice- palette knife, paint brush, and 100 colors
This is my oil paint practice. I painted a bell pepper with oil paint and a brush and really enjoyed it. I prefer how long the paint takes to dry because it makes blending easier. I then created 100 colors to practice making shades with a limited amount of starting colors. I also painted an apple using only the palette knife, I didnt love how t came ou but it was still fun.
SELF PORTRAIT FINAL
This is my self portrait project. I chose a selfie I already had because I liked the texture in the hair and wanted to recreate it with paint. I added a few pictures of reference I used. I liked those pieces because of the blocky unblended colors and the bold highlights. The challenges I faced were getting small lines for details, I should've used a more precise brush. My successes were the colors, I like how they are more unrealistic and add a cartoony look. I also like how the hair turned out, It isn't too detailed but it gets the point across. I started all over with a base layer and then continued adding on top, finishing with details like the eyelashes and freckles. If i could do this project again I would have done the eyebrows differently and spent more time on the shirt, but I ran out of time.
LANDSCAPE PAINTING OIL
This is my landscape project. I chose to paint a picture of the beach I had taken because my whole family loves the beach, and I wanted t gift it to my mom. I used oil paint in this picture. I really like how the painting turned out. It wasn't completely accurate colorwise, but there is a filter on the picture, so I still think it looks realistic. Some challenges I faced was getting the color palette right and making the water look realistic. It was hard to get the waves and the foam with a brush. I also used the palette knife to add some texture on the water. Some successes were the sand and sky. I feel like I got a good texture on the sand, and the shells look realistic. The sky was easy to blend with all the colors because the oil paint took a while to dry. If I had he project to do over again I would probably pick a photo with more details in it, like a boat or some birds, because I feel like it looks a little bland. Other than that im very happy with how this project came out.
Final project
This is my choice project. I chose to paint a photo of my cat Olivia in acrylic paint. I actually really liked how this painting came out and I almost think its because I only had two days to work on it. I feel like because it was rushed I didn't overthink each thing and just went with it. I feel like it is more abstract, but still looks similar to the reference picture. Some struggles I had were getting smaller details, like the whiskers and details in the eyes. I do really like the color in this picture though, and how I added yellow tones to the body. I think the body could've used more detail and fur, but the face turned out super good in my opinion. I think the fur looks really good and the blending between shades. I do wish I had more time for this project just so I could've used oil paint because I think it could've made it look a little better. Over all I am happy with this project and my mom hung it up right away!
Overview of this course
This class taught me a bunch about art. I'm glad I had the opportunity to take it considering my last two years of art had either been online or cut short from COVID. It was nice to have the materials and actually be able to use them. I learned more about how to use colored pencils, oil paint, and acrylic paint. I liked how much independence there was in picking what I wanted to make art of. The mini practice paintings were also super fun and quick and helped me practice on my skills a bunch. My favorite painting was the oil painting, and my least favorite was the colored pencils, (and my interior spaces project but we don't talk about that.) I was able to watch my artwork progress and become more and more realistic, and im proud of the work I brought home at the end of the semester! Thank you for a great class!