Final Reflection

"Lani you are completely focused. When you work you get totally in the zone." Ms. Roberts said these words to me a few days go as I was working overtime on my artwork. It was the first time anyone has ever called me focused. After she said those words I realized, art is my therapy. There isn't another class I want to sit in and actually do the work for hours on end. I know myself well, and I'm aware that my attention rate is extremely low, but when I'm in the art studio I am somehow able to focus my energy into one piece of work for hours. Cut, glue, paste. As redundant as it sounds it's something I'm able to take complete joy in. In senior studio, I also had the pleasure of exploring new ways of making art. One of my goals while making Drake was to add my own twist instead of taking it straight from the original photograph. I started off by making a water color background which eventually turned into a modern spray paint blend of colors. If I could do anything different this term, it would be to explore with the background more instead of starting with water colors. Everything happens for a reason, I wasn't inspired by the spray paint idea until I saw Jake Libassi use it on his drawing of Wiz Khalifa, so at the same time I'm glad I gave water color a try because sometimes in order to succeed you need to fail first. I've decided I going to keep creating celebrity collages after senior studio ends. I want to build off the three I already have and create a collection. There was a long time when I wasn't making art this year. Senior studio reminded me art was stress relieving, fun and always there for me when I need it.

Process

This week I managed to finish about 1/3 of drakes face. I'm now going to focus on more detailed areas such as the right eye, lips and some shading. Once thats done, finishing filling in the skin with the right color scheme will be that last touch. I will take pictures of the new and improved background which came out better than I had even imagined. The spray paint gives the background a graffiti image gives the artwork a more modern feel than the watercolors which is exactly what I wanted to go for. It also suits the fact that my piece is portraying a rapper and the background completely fits the theme.

Spray Paint inspiration

I found some of these paintings that my background was inspired by. Notable Artists- Graffiti Artists

Banksy, Imminentdisaster, Gaia

Being a genius vs. having a genius.

I think my genius now has changed from where to start to how to finish. Drake started with a rough start, finding the color scheme to free handing his facial features. That was the first genius I acknowledged. Breaking through the rough beginning until you find something that works and that you love. No matter the frustration, I had to keep playing with the colors to make it work. Now it is about the finish which is the background. I need to open up my imagination to new ideas which is how the spray paint idea came along. I saw a peer using it on one of us drawings and it inspired me to use the material. My genius now is opening up to the last original spec of creativity I have to make this project something I will be extremely proud of.

Inspiration

TITLE: Week 5

This week I got a lot done. I finished Drakes left eye and decided to start a new background but keep the lettering. The water coloring was too blotchy to put on display for the show so instead I'm taking up something new- spray painting. This is perfect because I wanted to add my own touch to this picture and bring something original to the piece. I plan on making the whole background tomorrow and finishing his face by this weekend. The framing will be done next week.

Crit Notes #2

My project was on the right track when critiquing came. I had a vision, I let them know and there wasn't much feedback because it is very straight forward I just have to keep going with it. Now that critiquing is over, I am changing something about my project which is the background. I will be looking for more feedback on that this week as it progresses.

Austin Blog

One quote I really like is "fake it till you make it." This resonates with me because I like to play around with materials until it turns into a concrete idea. This happens frequently when I make mixed media artwork. The other quote the resonated with me is "make things=know thyself." The reason I chose this is because my art is a visual display of how I feel. Not when I am making my Drake painting necessarily, but if you put me in front of a blank canvas with a paintbrush in my hand, whatever gets put onto the canvas reflects off my emotions at the time. What I make is who I am. The art work visually shows me how I am really feeling. Making things, know thyself. As far as strategies go, I want to follow the fake it till you make it route. I sample and play with different materials until I find something worth building off of.

Week 4

I started collaging Drake during week 4. His skin is going to be a challenge because it's very light so I will need to seek out more magazines for the correct color. With only 12 days left I'll need to take him home and work after hours to complete him. So far it is coming out perfectly and the background is perfect. The letters are also complete, they flow very nicely with the rest of the painting.

Crit notes #1

I did not get much feedback on my Drake because my idea is incredibly concrete. The only complaint I had is that I wanted to add something original. Phoebe had the idea of adding my own colors to the collage. I might play around with the border of the picture once it is finished to add my own touch. Also the watercolors didn't blend the way I would have liked them to, so Ms. Roberts had the idea of washing a very clear brown over the water colors. I think this will help mute the background and blend the colors even more, helping drake pop out as much as possible.

Alternative Exhibitions Formats Response

I loved the artists Cai Guo-Quiang and Andy Goldworthy. Andy Goldworthys format is so original because in real life the art he makes is always changing. I think the real format of his art is planet earth/mother nature. There is no place he cannot put his art because his format is out in the wilderness. Much of his art also has to do with photography because he cannot carry his art around with him. Cai Guo-Quiangs art is engaging and almost interactive. I love the Head On sculpture because it is action pact and literally fun to look at because of the format. What I really like is how he suspended the wolves in the air. That is what makes this specifically unique. You don't oven see wolves flying like reindeer through the room!

Week 3 Reflection

This week I continued to work on the background of Drake. I was able to stencil in the letters D.R.A.K.E. at the top of the painting and filled in the letters with the same watercolor pattern as the background. Black acrylic paint outlines the letters. I expect to be done with the background by the beginning of week 4 and start collaging. I want to add my own originality to the image in some way, which I have yet to figure out. I feel as if I am just copying an image and not putting enough of my own creativity into it. I will brainstorm this weekend and experiment with different materials.

Art/Fear

If you think good work is somehow synonymous with perfect work, you are headed for big trouble. Art is human; error is human; ergo, art is error. (Perfection)- this quote stands out to me because no matter how good I think one of my paintings is it will never be perfect to the human eye. Everyone has different tastes and while one of my paintings looks perfect in my eyes, it can be completely different through someone else's. There is also room for change and improvement. As long as an artist can get their message across to the audience the way it was intended, I feel that is what makes them successful. Not the actual visual art itself.

You cling ever more tightly to what you already know you can do- away from risk and exploration and possibly further from the work of your heart. - This really follows my mindset this year. I feel like I have been sticking to collages because it's what I excel in. I tried taking up mixed media and failed the first time then quickly quit. I was scared to explore due to time and deadlines which limited my ability to share what I felt like I wanted to explore.

To demand perfection is to deny your ordinary (and universal) humanity, as though you would be better off without it. Yet humanity is the ultimate source of your work. - this spoke to me because when I look at my friend's artwork I often envy the work they are capable of creating. I wish that I had the natural ability to create their work. In result I lose faith in my own art. I'm demanding something that is someone else if I am not creating my own art and not putting my own heart into it by replicating someone else's. I should not be ashamed of what I am capable of creating.

Week 2

This week has been successful to say the least. The watercolor background is going exactly the way I planned. I am still playing around with ways to emphasize certain colors and making them contrast well with each other. It is taking more time than expected to do the background which is not a negative, I still have plenty of time to start the face. Unfortunately because the projector wouldn't aline back to my pencil tracing, I decided to draw the rest of the rappers face free-hand. I am not 100% satisfied with the results. I become very obsessive about shading details. In the end those are less important details because it is not going to be a pencil drawing so I plan to move on from the drawing.

Reflection/Process

I've came across a new love for watercoloring first term. This is perfect because I am able to incorporate watercolors into my piece. What makes this interesting is the contrast between the water colors and the magazines scraps that will cover Drake's face. A watercolor background will bring emphasis to the vivid colors in front of it. It also creates a background that seems slightly out of focus like a photograph.

Modern Art Inspiration

Notable Artists: Jason Mecier, Juan Gris, Andy Worhal

Looking at Artists Studios

In Hamlets pictures of the studios, I viewed many different kinds of art spaces, but many of them had similar qualities. Most, if not all artists are surrounded by there own pieces of work on the walls or that leaned against the wall. Also a lot of the artists have a side source of entertainment while they work like a t.v., stereo, or an ipod. Many have cluttered spaces, which is very common in my case. Also a handful had very clean work spaces which makes it easier for the artist to find the tools they need.

Me

I've taken many art classes throughout my four years at beaver. Fortunately I was able to explore the things I am capable of doing and discovered some areas that need improving. Ceramics, and drawing from observation are two things that I could improve on. Its important to me that my artwork is completed the way I envisioned it, or even better. I want to be able to share what I can do with the rest of the school which is why I signed up for senior studio. On the big paper that we worked on in class, I drew a picture of a magazine because one area of art that I excel in is collaging faces. Jay-Z and Lady GaGa are two famous faces that I collaged that came out fabulous and received a lot of praise. Magazine scraps are what I use to make up the colors in my collages. The word "therapeutic" is also sprawled across the top of the page because thats one word that describes art for me. In order to create my vision as sufficient as possible, I plan to have all my materials together by the end of the week. This includes paintbrushes, watercolors, a poster of my collaging celebrity face, and tracing paper. I'm excited to share what I can do with all my peers and teachers.