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Portrait Project Reflection

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Artwork Investigations

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These are some artworks from Art Beijing

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For our portrait unit, we created two self-portraits for practice. First, we took pictures with a strong source of light and chose two of them to paint: one colored acrylic, and one black and white oil painting.

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This unit, the Art 1 students focused on paper cutting, where we utilized knives with black and white paper to form pictures that tell a story. Before starting the project, we did some media testing for paper cutting on small papers and researched paper-cutting artists such as Bovey Lee, Mikito Ozeki, Beatrice Coron, Kara Walker, and Li Hongbo.

           In the process of creating my final piece, I found that it was not completely what I had originally envisioned. Starting off, I planned on creating an image of a caged angel, but after many edits changed it to a clockwork angel in relation to one of my favorite books. Although, my first sketch and plan for this clockwork angel were still different from the way it turned out, as I had intended for this angel to have roses and vines wrapping his body and the outer frame. However, after reflecting off of feedback from others, I decided to remove these roses from the paper cut since it was decided that it would take the focus way from the angel itself.

           Throughout this entire process, I think I have not only challenged myself but also grown as an artist. As at the start of this project I was so used to observational art, so this unit has forced me to break out of that comfort zone and embrace creativity and the creation of works that not only come from your own head but also incorporates a deeper meaning. Additionally, I have always had a fear of sharp objects such as knives; so having to work with one for many hours definitely was a concept I was fearful of. Therefore, because I was so scared of cutting myself as well as making mistake on my art (since cuts cannot be erased), I worked much slower that usual. This resulted in me being unable to finish my project in class but engaged and persisted by coming after school to complete it. Now, in comparison to before the start of this unit, I definitely have grown in terms of skill using a knife, but I have also found an appreciation for non-observational art.

          The story I aim to convey, as stated previously, comes from one of my favorite series called The Infernal Devices. This paper cut portrays a single scene in this ethereal world. The story tells of a guardian angel trapped in a clockwork necklace. I choose this scene and story not only because it comes from my favorite book, but also because these books have always been a ‘guardian angel’ to me, as it was a way for me to escape reality, replacing it for otherworldly adventures. I deliberately made this angel appear majestic and powerful by creating a sense of nobleness using the open positioning of wings as well as body, with his face turned upwards, facing the sky.

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This is a small paper cutting we did in class for media testing. Through this, I experimented with size, shapes, and positive/ negative space. In this piece, I tried to incorporate organic as well as geometric shapes, along with balance among the black and white. In my opinion, the most challenging part of paper cutting is precisely cutting curved lines. However, this did help me practice cutting and realize the importance of balance.

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This card is intended for one of my close friends who I share many inside jokes with, this being one of them. When putting together this design, I had the idea of the simple style of art commonly seen in memes in mind. As it incorporates the idea of bold lines but simple colors. My intention in the design of this card is to hopefully make someone laugh.

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This bike drawing that we did was inspired by the artist Danny Gregory and incorporated the concept of fast and slow. It was by firstly drawing this bike using water color in the span of 30 seconds. After that we used 30 minutes to careful observe this bike and draw it more accurately using pen. In my opinion, this process was very helpful in building observational skills as well as overcoming the fear of making mistakes. This practice was very enjoyable despite the fact that i did un fact make a couple of mistakes.

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This quarter, students in the Art 1: Seeing like an Artist class created a representative piece, which incorporated several creative media techniques such as ink and coffee. Although this project was essentially based on observation, we were given a lot of freedom to explore many materials and compositions in order to convey to others a unique story or point of view.

Before starting this project, we were given the chance to practice the concept of developing craft as we familiarized ourselves with the art studio space and its many materials. At this stage, we experimented with many supplies and techniques, while studying the effects created by each different media. For example, one of the first techniques we worked with was a simple practice inspired by the works of an artist who came to visit our school last year. All we did was glue strips of paper in a crosshatching fashion, add graphite, and use sandpaper to rub the loose bits off, to create a unique textured surface, adding a certain sense of depth to the art piece. During the exploration process, I not only learned how to use resources in a multitude of ways, but I also learned how to care for the art studio.

Additionally, drawings created during the practice let me further explore these resources as I built knowledge of which medias I preferred working with. Overall, the explorations we did before starting the project taught a lot about how to properly as well as creatively use materials, demonstrating the develop craft step.

When first creating the final piece, I wished to express a sense of hope as well as love and mystery. Considering the fact that I am a fascinated by the many magical works of Disney, I essentially wanted to incorporate the well-known story of Beauty and The Beast into my artwork. Therefore, my choice of drawing a flower, specifically a single red rose, symbolizes the love between the two characters, but also the literal rose that was part of the storyline. Furthermore, I conveyed a sense of optimism and mystery through the contrast of the dark background in comparison to the rose. I did this by firstly gluing large chunks of newspaper to the edge of the elegant curves of the rose, and then harshly ripping the paper off, leaving jagged lines. Afterward, in order to make the background as dark as possible, I rubbed charcoal and ink onto my piece, careful to avoid my flower, as the focus of my art had only slight values with red ink on the highlights to create a sense that it was glowing despite the darkness surrounding it. Doing this, represented the way Belle- the protagonist in Beauty and The Beast- would stand out due to her kindness and always hold on to her virtues, even in her darkest moments. To wrap up, a variety of methods were integrated into my art to express a poetic story of love and hope.

During this entire unit, I personally believe that I have learned a lot through the many new experiences that were presented. Before this project, I never thought to freely stretch and explore with so many different materials, nor have I ever worked on an art piece as big as the one I had accomplished. Although this unit wasn’t all successes, it, however, was made up of a series of attempts, mistakes, and achievements after overcoming or learning from errors. For example, considering the fact that this was the first time I had worked on such a creatively driven composition of this size, I had no idea where to start, regardless of the several practices done beforehand. For in spite of knowing that my rose needed more overpowering highlights rather than shadows, I completely painted over any white spaces in my first petal using gouache and ink (see how the section of the flower in the picture above blends in with the background and overall doesn’t coordinate with the rest of the composition). After seeing the results, I immediately learned from that and began applying ink in only necessary areas to create a lighter and more transparent appearance that couldn’t have been achieved using gouache. Altogether, this project taught me a lot and has pushed me to stretch and explore beyond what I was familiar with.

In conclusion, throughout this unit I have gained a further understanding of several types of media and learned many artistic traits in the creation of our projects. 

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The title of my piece is ‘Behind Walls’. In this project, the story I aim to convey is the converging of the two cultures I associate myself with- Chinese and American. I did this by putting two images of myself, one inside the frame, and one behind it. Inside the frame was the Shanghai cityscape. it symbolized the way people initially saw me as Chinese. Behind that was the New York cityscape, representing what people don’t see, but what has influenced the person that I am. The connection of my two faces shows how the two different ways I view myself from these vastly different cultures connect and shape my life. This story is significant to me because since a young age I have always struggled with the culture that I had associated myself to be from. Considering I had spent the majority of my life living in the United States and the people I had interacted with all spoke English, I had always thought myself American. there was a time I hated both looking different and having different traditions as all my friends. However, my Chinese roots couldn’t just be ignored. As I grew older I learned that rather than neglecting one culture, I should proudly embrace both sides of who I am, and this project just further exhibits that. some surreal devices used includes the transformation of my face being stretched, transparency of the cracked wall, as well as the levitation and dislocation of the foreground and background. I chose this compositional layout because I felt like a wide frame with a continuous long cityscape in the back unifies the long lines created by the stretching skin. Moreover, it also acts as a way to balance out the very square frame in the center of the piece while setting it apart from the rest of the composition- bringing out a focal point. Additionally, the picture frame is a warm, golden color that further contrasts with the cool toned background.

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This is a short practice we did in class where we drew and watercolored an apple while eating it through intervals of two minutes. In my opinion, doing this help me learn to draw freely. Considering the short amount of time we had for each drawing, I feel quite proud of how they turned out. However, if I had more time, I would definitely go back and improve both colors and values.

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This is a drawing of one of my best friends. We live on different continents so we don’t talk much; however, I visit her every summer, and it's like we were never apart.

This was inspired by ‘Drawings For My GrandchiIdren’ as we were to draw someone we care about that lives far away. I chose to do this drawing of Isabelle not only because we are best friends but also because of all the great memories that she brings. In fact, throughout the tedious process of drawing a human face, I had found that the nostalgic memories made it much more engaging. Additionally, drawing her was also easier, as I had basically memorized her every feature. Overall, through this drawing, I aim to communicate Isabelle that despite the fact that we live almost 7000 miles away, I hope that we remain close (it sounds cheesy I know).

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This assignment done in our sketchbooks was focused on drawing a single object nine times with a different composition for each frame. This practice no only gave me a chance to work with pen and improve my observational skills, it also helped understand the many different aspects of a single object. Throughout this process, I explored sizes and angles, creating several  compositions that display a single object in different ways. Overall, I built a better apprehension for these compositions while developing an outcome that had turned out better than imagined.

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This piece in my sketchbook was assigned during our autumn break, as I had chosen from four options to draw my shoes. Considering I am fairly familiar with observational drawing, sketching out these shoes was not a problem. However, what I wasn’t accustomed with was working with colored pencils. Through this art assignment, I familiarized myself with this media, creating an outcome that I had not expected. I had made this drawing while experimenting with contrast, value, and color, which as given me a further understanding of colored pencils. Overall, this assignment exposed me to different medias, while creating a drawing that surprised me in the way it turned out.

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This Is the portrait party sketchbook assignment in which we were to take a few minutes to draw our friends and family members using pen only. Because of the fact that I am so used to drawing and sketching with tools that can be erased, drawing using pen in a limited amount of time seemed like a huge feat. At the start, I found that I was very reluctant to move the pen freely, as I didn't trust myself to not make errors. However, once I started and actually made several mistakes, I realized that they were inevitable. After that, I put less pressure on myself and just put what I observed onto the paper while still carrying on despite any mistakes. In the end, I was proud of the way this had turned out, but moreover, I was proud that I had gone out of my comfort zone and learned something new along the way.

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This piece was created in photoshop and inspired by the surrealist, Jerry Ulsman’s. Ulsman’s piece was a black and white composition where hands- much like the ones above- seemed to be holding a scene of a boat resting on the shore. The edit above was manipulated in photoshop to create a scene that incorporates contrast, a focal point, as well as different obejcts/ scenes. It was done by firstly desaturating the cupped hands picture and replacing the background with black. Then, the picture of the lighthouse was put onto another layer. To meld the two photos, I selected darken as the blending mode. Overall, I found that creating this composition allowed me to experiment with different aspects such as size and color.

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This is a photo of beautiful winter branches taken on a clear day. The picture was manipulated in photoshop to create a reflective effect. The utilized photoshop to create this image was by first expanding the canvas, then filling in the spaces with rotated versions of the image. This effect creates a sort of surrealness yet still holds on reality of the real world, making it useful to soften the edges of our world.