Sick Ollie, Bruh.

My Goals

                One of my main goals in art is to get better at illustrations so I can one day be a concept artist for video games, animations and more! I think one of the biggest things in the way is motivation—I try to perfect every piece then tend to burn out and stop drawing for periods at a time. But concept sketches and designs don’t NEED to be perfect. I think for one of my goals (short and long term) I’d like to start an “ugly” sketchbook—which I can fill with less serious doodle ideas, gestures and speed drawings that I’m not allowed to stress on. I think it could help me get the practice I need without burning out.

                Another serious goal is continuing art classes to better my skills—such as taking classes like life drawing to better my anatomy and perspective, or more painting so I can practice color and backgrounds more!

                I’m hoping both practice at home and continuing to take art classes will eventually help me reach my ultimate goal.  

Young Poseidon (WIP)

(WIP)

This is one of the more realistic paintings I am working on! It's far from finished and needs tweaks in some places perspective wise, but I think I'd like to purchase a specific kind of blue for the ride before continuing, since mixing turquoise and cobalt blue didn't really work well. Overall I'm liking it though!

Young Poseidon, done with acrylics on a 9x12 canvas. 

Monster

          Monster was my medical ethics piece, based on The Monster Study. I chose to do the Monster Study because I think people are especially shocked and horrified when experiments are done on children. The experiment began in 1939, and was performed on 22 orphan children. Half of the children were given positive praise for their speech, while the other half was given negative feedback for every imperfection they spoke. The phrase shown on my piece “Don’t ever speak, unless you can do it right” was actually said to these children, some were as young as 5 years old.  While many of the children did not develop a stutter, they did suffer from terrible negative psychological effects; several began to refuse to speak at all in fear of being reprimanded. These speech problems would affect them for the rest of their lives. This experiment did not become publicized until later in the 2000’s. 

In my painting, I chose reds, blacks and oranges to create a grungy-like atmosphere that resembled something like hell—while the child himself was rather gray and colorless. I think most of us can agree that what these children went through was a psychological hell, and I wanted to show how this treatment sapped the color or light from their childhood. I made a makeshift gas-mask to symbolize how many of these children had to filter how they spoke in order to avoid criticism from their doctors. There are other little details I included, such as a faint silhouette of the doctor in the background.

            I think overall the piece is effective in representing what it was based off of; however, there is a lot of room for improvement. If I could re-do it, I’d like to make the text brighter so it’s more easily seen. I also had the end of the top phrase trail off the canvas with the words clumped together—this detail was done on purpose to show that there was no “right” way for these children to speak, as they would be negatively reprimanded no matter what. However, I worry it just came out looking poorly rendered more so than anything.

Overall I like how it looks, and I can always go back and touch up the text! 

Monster, a multimedia painting done with acrylic on a 16x20 Canvas.

Filtered in Photoshop Express: 

Detail Shots:

Don't Ever Speak Unless You Can Do it Right

Trust The Doctor

One Day I Floated Away

     One day I Floated Away was an assignment where I was meant to replicate the style of a certain artist, or use a specific kind of theme. So I used some of my favorite aspects in Gustav Klimt’s art, as well as a use of symbolism.

     One thing I noticed about Gustav Klimt’s pieces was his heavy use of gold and ornamental patterns, as well as a focus on the figures face in his paintings. So I decided to use gold, bronze and copper in my own piece and have the main focal point fall on the face. I also noticed he typically used women in his paintings and sketches, so to differ it a bit I decided to make my figure rather androgynous. So depending on the viewer, they can be presented as male or female.  

     Initially, I was going to make this piece on anxiety, but as I painted, it felt far too light and airy for that subject alone. So I decided to make it based around a day dreamer instead, (which daydreaming can tie in with anxiety depending on what ones day dreams are about)!  

     The brick wall in the background of the piece was meant to represent hitting a standstill, a creative block, “hitting a brick wall”, ect. Everyone knows the feeling, whether an artist, musician, writer or whatever! However, there is a reason I made everything else in the foreground, which was meant to be taken on a more positive note—these blocks happen, and they can last a while, but they don’t last forever.  The twisting gold pattern was meant to represent good vibes, or a creative flow. The small, broken pieces below it are meant to represent the same, but perhaps when it’s not coming as steady as one would like.  The tidal waves represent ideas, which come in varying sizes—ideas can start out small and grow bigger with time! It’s hard to see, but there is also a silhouette of a shark within the waves—it had no real meaning, but perhaps (depending on the person), it can be taken as a bad idea—or a badass one! The bats (as much as I love them) and the fog can represent negative or unsure thoughts. They are semi-transparent as these thoughts aren’t always made known to outsiders. Bat’s as a totem animal however, can represent rebirth. Sometimes these kinds of thoughts can motivate us to work harder, (example: anxiety for a test can make you study harder), resulting in a better outcome. The bell on the figures hat is just a symbol for the phrase “Bats in the Belfry”.

       One day I Floated Away was definitely one of my favorite paintings to do this semester. I had no issues with it and it was just really fun to make. However, if I were to make any changes, I would probably add more streaks within the waves, as they seem over blended compared to the harder lines and texture in the rest of the painting! I might also go back in and add more gold accents at a later time to balance it out more. 

One day I floated Away, a multimedia painting done with acrylic on a 16x20 canvas. 

No Border:

Detail Shots: 

Conflicting Feelings

     Conflicting Feelings was my first pour I did in class! A pour is typically an organic type painting that you allow to take on its own shapes as you pour it. (Of course it can be manipulated to an extent!) I initially went for warm and or autumn-y colors. 

     After looking at it for a time, I chose the title Conflicting Feelings as it reminded of how someone might feel in a moment of invoked mixed emotions. For example, that feeling one might get riding on their first roller coaster or just trying something new in general: excitement, anxiety, hesitation, happiness, fear. That's my personal interpretation of it, anyway! 

Conflicting Feelings, done with acrylic on a 13x16 canvas.

Purple Street Lights

This is my second analogous painting, using red-violet, violet, and blue-violet, (with a touch of straight blue in the background). This is an organic painting that is asymmetrical, as he is primarily on the right-hand side of the painting.

                I believe the focal point would fall on his face, as it has the most lighting and details on the overall painting. I attempted to capture texture in his hair to make it look as if it were slicked back, using lighter lines.

As I said before this guy was meant to be what I thought a humanoid of my Doberman may look like. Just as the Doberman did, this portrait also came out a bit more cartoon-y than my liking (mainly because of his eyes), since he came out kind of looking like a Disney prince. His neck is also a bit too long and I need to bring his shoulders up to fix that! I also wish I could have captured his more angular features better (since it’s why I picked this model), but it got more smoothed out during blending. Despite its flaws I think I learned what I can do differently when I do my next portrait to make it easier!

Purple Street Lights, done in Acrylic on a 16x20 canvas.

Devil Dog

     This is my complementary analogous, using purple, red-orange and orange, with yellow as my compliment to purple. This painting is asymmetrical, as the Doberman is mainly pointed toward the right-hand side. I definitely think the focal point is drawn in on the bright yellow moon which frames his much darker figure. I tried to emulate the Doberman's shiny fur by emulating a velvety texture. I think the colors may make him look rather intimidating, due the darker contrast against the reds and oranges—as well as the fixated eyes.

     I like this piece though he came out a bit more cartoon-y than I would have liked!  I exaggerated his nose a bit (which reminds me of Scooby-Doo a little bit) and his eyes are very animated. I’d also like to touch up the black background when I get the chance!

Devil Dog, done in acrylics on a 16x20 canvas.

Color Play Assignments Part 2

My second model for our color-play assignments! I wanted to choose a human model that might reprsent what a doberman might look like as a human--so I chose person with really sharp features.

 

I chose this coloration as it looked similar to the combo as I had chosen for the Doberman. The flecks of color in the background also reminded me of streetlights in an alley, which is pretty cool.

Color Play Assignments

These were my photos for our color project! I chose to use a doberman, as I thought their angular features would be fun to paint.

 

Original:

 

 

What I Chose:

I really liked the color combination here, the purple that had touches of reds and even some yellow seemed like it would make the perfect complimentary analagous!

 

Other photo manipulations:

Ermine

This was mostly just practice/play painting! I knew I wanted to do some sort of portrait, though it is highly stylized and by no means meant to look realistic. I wanted to do something with an elf as I adore how people portray elven features. I used a lot of warm, earthy tones for the character and intended to dress them as a hunter of sorts. Despite being so small, Ermines, Weasels and Ferrets are known to take down animals twice their size, and have been used for centuries for hunting purposes. They would be trained to help hunters retrieve or flush rabbits from their warrens! I decided to show that here as its less typical than featuring a canine. This piece is asymmetrical and I think the focal point is likely drawn to the face, perhaps the pointed ear that would show that this person is elven.

Ermine, done with Acrylic on 8x10 Canvas, Photo taken with Ipad.

Alternate Ermine, done with Acrylic on 8x10 Canvas, Photo taken with an Ipad and edited in the Photoshop Express App.

Alternate Ermine, done with Acrylic on 8x10 Canvas, Photo taken with an Ipad and edited in the Water Effects App.

The Straw Men and the Boastful Bat.

Here are my four abstract paintings, though there are two sets of different themes.

My first theme was the merging faces from my play assignments, as I really enjoyed how creepy they looked.

I don't really like the photo for Judgement,as it looks like there is a bit of a haze toward the top of the

painting—so I think I would like to get a more clear shot of it. But overall I like it okay, despite the several flaws I can see. The model was fairly symmetrical, though I can see where the right-hand figures chin is further up than the left-hand figure. However, I  was thinking due to how easily opinions and judgements can be distorted, that can be a theme with in the painting, as it looks like the one eye is judging the viewer (where I believe the focal point is). If I were to do anything different with it, I would likely put down another coat where you can see bits of the canvas, as well as touch up the eye and make it more prominent since I intended to draw the audience to that point. I think he color certainly adds to this gloomy mood that one might feel if they had such looming figures 'eying' them.

Judgement, done with acrylic paint on Canvas, photo taken with Ipad.

 I really like how The Straw Men came out, especially for my first painting. I like the grungy, textural quality of the paint and how along with the color, it could give the appearance of straw. This is where my theme of the "Straw Men" comes from, as it looks like they are being torn, or falling apart in shambles. It has a similar focal point like Judgement, as it draws you into the center. It's rather symmetrical. I don't think there is much that I would change as I had a lot of fun with this, except perhaps paint on a bigger canvas next time.

The Straw Men, done with acrylic paint on Canvas, photo taken with Ipad.

"straw man

noun

noun: straw man; plural noun: straw men; noun: strawman; plural noun: strawmen

1. a person compared to a straw image; a sham.

   • a sham argument set up to be defeated."

" A straw man is a common reference argument and is an informal fallacy based on the representation of an opponent's argument. To be successful, a straw man argument requires that the audience be ignorant or uninformed of the original argument.
     The so-called typical "attacking a straw man" argument creates the illusion of having completely refuted or defeated an opponent's proposition by covertly replacing it with a different proposition (i.e., "stand up a straw man") and then to refute or defeat that false argument ("knock down a straw man") instead of the original proposition.
     This technique has been used throughout history in polemical debate, particularly in arguments about highly charged emotional issues where a fiery, entertaining "battle" and the defeat of an "enemy" may be more valued than critical thinking or understanding both sides of the issue."

Here is an alternate photo of the two on the wall, the two colors almost compliment one another:

Big Dreams, done with acrylic paint on Canvas, photo taken with Ipad.

Play Assignments 1

Here are some play assignments we did in our painting class using the Ipad. We took 3D models from the Cast Form 1, 2 and 3 App and manipulated them in several other apps, including Photoshop Express. These will be potential painting subjects that we will use on our first project!

Here is the original model for the hand cast:

Original

Here are some of the edits and manipulations for the hand model, I enjoy how a lot of these came out, though some were just created for silly purposes. 

Agony

Golden Boy

Silent Hill

Rebirth

Web Design

This was a more challenging cast I wanted to try, though I love to draw the human form I've never PAINTED it! I really love how some of the edits came out, my favorite being the Straw men. I really like the texture and know that would be interesting to paint, especially with all the different tones.

Original Cast: 

Origional

Chemical Fire

Feeling Blue

Anemia

Chemical Fire

Golden Age

Golden Renaissance

The Straw Men

Lobotomy

Straw Man

All Seeing

I know you are, but what am I?

Trypophobia

Judgement

Twisted Judgement