TRYPTIC
Stardust
Size: 1ft x 2ft
Medium: Acrylic paint on canvas
Date: February 2, 2017
Medium: Acrylic paint on canvas
Date: February 2, 2017
Exhibition Text: This self-portrait has an overall theme of connection. I wanted my painting to convey the idea that I reside within a vast universe and that the vast universe resides within me. I used Deleon’s art style to create emphasis on my self-portrait and set a somber mood. Frida Kahlo’s Tree of Hope gave me the inspiration to incorporate the starry night and the moon into my self portrait.
PLANNING
Artistic Inspiration
In Frida Kahlo's Tree of Hope, a gloomy sky is portrayed. The sun and moon divide the background into two halves of light and darkness. In the middle of the painting, Frida is sitting there and weeping in a red Tehuana costume.Despite her obvious tears, she seems strong and confident. Behind her on a hospital trolley lies a second Frida, who has surgical incisions still open and dripping with blood on her back. Frida is holding a pink orthopedic corset while sitting on a wooden chair. I really liked the idea of creating a portrait of myself crying but still maintaining that surge of confidence and determination. I felt like I could really relate with Frida Kahlo when I saw this painting.
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The reason I chose this painting as my artistic inspiration is because the lighting and shadows used in it captivated me. It gives the painting a somber mood, a mood I wanted to go for in my self portrait. Deleon has a unique painting style that I really wanted to replicate. She uses a lot of pink tones when she paints skin. "Light Witch"
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PLANNING SKETCHES
In this sketch, I wanted to draw myself with a black to white gradient background. The drawing would be done in the Pop Art style and my eyes would be all white to create a creepy look. Since I was born on February, my zodiac sign is Aquarius The Aquarius constellation would begin underneath my eyes and ascend to the top of my canvas, where it will be more visible against the dark contrast of black. |
In this sketch, I was inspired by the saying that your head's always in the clouds. With this sketch, my head will be in the middle of a thunderstorm. That thunderstorm represents all my pent up frustrations and stress. My tears act as the rain in this thunderstorm. This sketch was inspired by a painting I saw once of Jesus Christ holding a baby lamb. I really liked the halo and the cute lamb so I decided to make a parody of that painting. The reason this sketch is closely tied with religion is because I was raised in a strictly catholic family. I wanted the lamb to represent all the things I hold dear and that the reason why I'm holding the lamb so close is because I don't want to lose it the hungry wolves, which in this case could represent fate. |
EXPERIMENTATION
For experimentation, I had a lot of trouble learning to blend with acrylic paints.I had to look up YouTube videos to find strategies that would be best for me. In the end, I used a method that required using the colors of your choice and whitening them with white acrylic paint. The white paint served as a blender. I also experimented with various amounts of paints I had to mix to make my desired colors.
PROCESS
I forgot to take pictures of a bunch of steps but hopefully an explanation of what I did helps make up for that. I outlined the shape of my body and added a base coat on everything. My sweater is black with a white center and I painted my hair with quick strokes of different hues of brown and yellow and mixed them in with white paint. I painted the moon white and used an old brush to stipple gray paint on it for the moon's craters. I outlined the hands with a reddish brown and used a light brown to sketch the facial features. |
I outlined the eyebrows with black paint and added eyeliner to the eyes. I kept the eyes white because it created a more surreal look that I thought was appropriate for an outer space theme. I added pink around the eyes and under the eyebrows. I also added white paint on the nose and lips to create a shine. I repainted the hands and used the color pink to shade them in. |
I fixed the lines on the sweater and outlined the whole figure in white in order for the black to stand out against the background. Using gold acrylic paint, I painted the Aquarius constellation, starting near the left eye and making its way to the top of the canvas. For extra "oomph" I added stars and planets in the background. |
REFLECTION
MEANING
In this self-Portrait, I wanted to express a somber mood. My zodiac sign is Aquarius, so it's no coincidence that the constellation on my face is the one that pertains to Aquarius. The constellations start near my eyes and extend to the dark, night sky. I wanted the meaning to be about me having stars in my eyes, and that I'm a child of the cosmos and a ruler of the skies. Another potential meaning I had for the constellations is the message, "Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground." This pertains so much to me because I'm a huge dreamer. I long for so many things and I never run out of hope that I'll one day be able to obtain the things I want most in life.
Compare & Contrast
SIMILARITIES:
- Frida Kahlo's and my painting both feature the moon and the dark night sky
- DeLeon and I both use pink to shade in the face and hands
- All three paintings features a woman
- My painting focuses only on the night sky, whereas Frida Kahlo also included daylight
- Deleon and I both use a limited amount of color in our paintings, whereas Frida Kahlo also included bright colors
- All of our paintings are surreal and are not entirely based on reality
Connected to You
Size: 1ft x 2ft
Medium: Acrylic paint on canvas
Date: February 2, 2017
Medium: Acrylic paint on canvas
Date: February 2, 2017
Exhibition Text: This painting has an overall theme of connectivity. The telephone pole is symbolic to my relationship with my surroundings. The style was inspired by Claude Monet’s landscapes paintings. I was attracted by his artwork’s subtle color schemes and the sense of tranquility. I was inspired by his paintings to do a simple landscape painting of my neighborhood to portray how my surroundings affect me as an artist. Claude Monet seemed to be fond of sunsets and sunrises so I made a landscape with a sunset as the background for my painting to mirror his style.
PLANNING
Artistic Inspiration
"Impression, Sunrise" by Claude Monet, 1873 Claude Monet’s Le Parlement, soleil couchant. 1900-1901
I chose Claude Monet as my artistic inspiration because of his beautiful landscape paintings and his use of soft colors for sunsets and/or sunrises. The painting I had in mind of doing will also be a landscape painting so Claude Monet was my go to artist. In Monet's "Impression, Sunrise," the orange color against the gray and the vibrant force of the sun against its motionless surroundings make the painting interesting. The sun in the painting seems to undulate or pulsate slightly because of the way the sun is nearly the same luminescence as the grayish clouds.
Planning Sketches
This sketch features the Milwaukee landscape separated by a small river from the other side. On the other side, I planned on drawing myself roaming, with discarded and broken things surrounding me. Around these items, plants are struggling to grow. This sketch was supposed to represent my feelings toward litter and destruction in my city.
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EXPERIMENTATION
For experimentation, I had a lot of trouble learning to blend with acrylic paints.I had to look up YouTube videos to find strategies that would be best for me. In the end, I used a method that required using the colors of your choice and whitening them with white acrylic paint. The white paint served as a blender. I also experimented with various amounts of paints I had to mix to make my desired colors.
PROCESS
I then made the background using hues of blue, purple, pink, yellow, and orange. I used white to make the colors blend into each other. After painting the background, I outlined the pole using a ruler and went over it with small strokes of paint. I used multiple shades of brown to paint the pole and used white and red as well. I also sketched in where I would be painting the telephone lines. |
REFLECTION
COMPARE & CONTRAST
SIMILARITIES:
- All three paintings have a sunset theme
- All three use subtle colors
- Use small quick brush strokes
- Both of Monet's landscape paintings include a lake/river. For my painting, I refrained from doing that.
- My background does not have small quick brush strokes, but everything else does
- My landscape painting is much more simple compared to both of Monet's paintings
MEANING
I used a telephone pole as my painting's subject to serve as a metaphor of my connections to my surroundings. In a similar fashion to how telephone poles connect people from different nations and region together via the telephone, I am connected with everything in my surroundings. This can range from my neighborhood to my country. The environment in which I live in shapes me and makes me the person that I am today.
Hidden like the Moon
Size: 1ft x 2ft
Medium: Acrylic paint on canvas
Date: February 2, 2017
Medium: Acrylic paint on canvas
Date: February 2, 2017
Exhibition Text:
The central theme for this piece is commitment. This piece was inspired by the works of Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night and Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam. In this piece, I wanted to express my commitment to making art. Ever since I could pick up a pencil, I have been drawing to making art. I see the world in an unusual way and am a big daydreamer. I see the world as being surreal and often get inspiration for art from my surroundings. The moon ring in this painting represents my eternal bond to art and creativity.
PLANNING
For my artistic inspiration, I was deeply inspired by Van Gogh's Starry Night. I wanted to incorporate the moon and the starry night sky into my painting. There are various interpretations of Starry Night and one is that it depicts hope. It seems to me that van Gogh wanted to show that even with a dark night such as this, it is still possible to see light in the windows of the houses. Furthermore, with shining stars filling the sky, there is always light to guide you. Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam inspired me to paint in a style similar to his. In his frescoes, Michelangelo never seemed to create his forms with a soft focus. Instead, he believed it was more important to create figures with clear outlines, which was a Florentine tradition. Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel with bright, light colors that daringly harmonized. Michelangelo painted freely and with great dynamism.
In this sketch, I am in my room on top of my bed reaching for the ceiling of my room. My room's ceiling will be covered in glow in the dark stars but they will gradually turn into actual stars and form the constellation of Lupus (Wolf). The Lupus constellation will turn more three dimensional and that's why I'm reaching for it. |
EXPERIMENTATION
For experimentation, I had a lot of trouble learning to blend with acrylic paints.I had to look up YouTube videos to find strategies that would be best for me. In the end, I used a method that required using the colors of your choice and whitening them with white acrylic paint. The white paint served as a blender. I also experimented with various amounts of paints I had to mix to make my desired colors.
PROCESS
REFLECTION
COMPARE AND CONTRAST
SIMILARITIES:
- Vincent van Gogh and I both have a night theme
- Michelangelo and I both use shadows and highlights to add depth to our hands
- Vincent van Gogh has a swirling motion in his night sky but I refrained from doing that
- The hands I painted have more colors whereas Michelangelo's hand almost appear to be monotone
- The hands I painted aren't painted as realistically as Michelangelo's hands
MEANING
The meaning of my painting was to express my commitment to art and my surroundings. A wedding ring is a gold, silver or platinum ring that symbolizes the union contracted by the marriage of two people. The exchange of rings is a crucial moment of the wedding ceremony shared by the couple and their guests. The wedding band represents the promise of love, loyalty and commitment. In this case, I wanted to convey the metaphor of dedicating myself to art.
ACT RESPONSE
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
I was inspired by Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night to make a painting that also included the starry night sky and a moon. When I saw the Creation of Adam by Michelangelo, I fell in love with the way he shaded his subjects and how smooth his brushstrokes were.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overall approach the authors had regarding the topic of my inspiration was very formal. They included deep analysis on the composition of the works and on their techniques.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I came to the conclusion that the Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh had amazing ideas for his paintings. I never would have guessed that the Starry Night depicted hope. Vincent van Gogh's idea that even with a dark night, it is still possible to see light in many things, such as in the windows of the houses. Furthermore, with the shining stars filling the sky that van Gogh included, his painting gives off this meaning that there is always light to guide you.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea of my inspirational research was of connectivity and commitment.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
While I was reading my research, I inferred that Michelangelo was that Michelangelo complained bitterly about having to work on the Sistine Chapel ceiling,a job he was basically forced to accept. He didn't want the job because he was a sculptor, not a painter. The Sistine Chapel ceiling painting required Michelangelo to learn and use techniques reserved for master fresco artists. He painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling using a technique known as buon fresco (true fresco), which happens to be the most difficult fresco-painting technique there is. Because he was a sculptor, Michelangelo had to teach himself this complicated technique before he could even begin the job. That's part of the reason why it took Michelangelo four years to paint the more than 5,000 square feet of frescoes that cover the Sistine Chapel ceiling today. Despite the fact that Michelangelo never painted before the Sistine Chapel Project, he was successful. I truly admire him for this.
I was inspired by Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night to make a painting that also included the starry night sky and a moon. When I saw the Creation of Adam by Michelangelo, I fell in love with the way he shaded his subjects and how smooth his brushstrokes were.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overall approach the authors had regarding the topic of my inspiration was very formal. They included deep analysis on the composition of the works and on their techniques.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I came to the conclusion that the Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh had amazing ideas for his paintings. I never would have guessed that the Starry Night depicted hope. Vincent van Gogh's idea that even with a dark night, it is still possible to see light in many things, such as in the windows of the houses. Furthermore, with the shining stars filling the sky that van Gogh included, his painting gives off this meaning that there is always light to guide you.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea of my inspirational research was of connectivity and commitment.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
While I was reading my research, I inferred that Michelangelo was that Michelangelo complained bitterly about having to work on the Sistine Chapel ceiling,a job he was basically forced to accept. He didn't want the job because he was a sculptor, not a painter. The Sistine Chapel ceiling painting required Michelangelo to learn and use techniques reserved for master fresco artists. He painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling using a technique known as buon fresco (true fresco), which happens to be the most difficult fresco-painting technique there is. Because he was a sculptor, Michelangelo had to teach himself this complicated technique before he could even begin the job. That's part of the reason why it took Michelangelo four years to paint the more than 5,000 square feet of frescoes that cover the Sistine Chapel ceiling today. Despite the fact that Michelangelo never painted before the Sistine Chapel Project, he was successful. I truly admire him for this.
Bibliography
- "Starry Night." Vincent van Gogh Gallery. Accessed February 02, 2017. http://www.vangoghgallery.com/catalog/Painting/508/Starry-Night.html.
- "Michelangelo Buonarroti: The Creation of Adam." Art and the Bible. Accessed February 02, 2017. http://www.artbible.info/art/large/66.html.
- Christie's. "Upcoming Auctions & Sales ." Auction Calendar. Accessed February 02, 2017. http://www.christies.com/features/Monet-5871-1.aspx%20%20%20and%20%20%E2%80%8Bhttp%3A//mostfamousartwork.blogspot.com/p/claude-monet-paintings.htm.
- "April 1977." History of Kahlo Painting Sales and Auction Results. Accessed February 02, 2017. http://www.fridakahlofans.com/HistoryPaintingSales.html.
- http://jacquelindeleon.storenvy.com/faq