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ARH2000 Final Exam Assignment

Final Project =

Title – Mid-Afternoon reading

Media – Pencil on paper, colored in digital media – photoshop

Artist – Michael Cheng

I tried to portray an image of a peaceful afternoon as the main character reads a book under a tree out in the forest.  I want to give my artwork a sense of ease and peacefulness with a mix of brighter colors of the picture, with the green and blue offering a form of unity.  At first glance the picture has a subtle upward direction in which the viewer’s eyes focuses on the girl first, with her differentiating colors that stand out against the forest; and then picture should direct the viewer’s attention upward to the ladybug, the forest, and then to the afternoon sky.  

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Virtual Sketchbook Assignment #4

Virtual Sketchbook 4 Work – Jackson Pollock

Assignment =

Part 1 =Describe how Jackson Pollock went from studying with Thomas Hart Benton, using abstract imagery, to creating his signature drip paintings. 

Part 2 = Create a piece of abstract of your own.

 Jackson Pollock was initially born and raised in Cody, Wyoming, by his Scottish Irish parents but moved around to many parts of the country.  In 1930 he moved to New York City, where he enrolled in Art Students league and undertook a mentorship with Thomas Hart Benton, where he studied many art skills such as life drawing, painting, and compositions for over two and a half years.   Amidst his studies, his inspirations include surrealism and works from artists such as Pablo Picasso, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Jose Clemente Orozco.  While he was studying with Benton, much of his work was inspired by his compositional methods and the poetically expressionist vision of Albert Pinkham.  After his studies, Pollock lived in poverty but was later employed as an easel painter during end of the Great Depression. Pollock also struggled with alcoholism throughout his life and also for a short duration was institutionalized due to a nervous breakdown.  Later on in his years, Pollock wanted to challenge traditional use of creating art and moved away from figurative representation.  Instead he used his whole body to pain and expressed his work on a large canvas, and also drew inspiration from American Indian sandpainting in which it is a style of painting on the floor.  His technique combined movement of his body, the viscous flow of paint, how fast it drips to the canvas, and how much it spreads and gets absorbed into the canvas.  

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Virtual Sketchbook Assignment #3 for ARH2000:23170 class

Above - wristband for my visit to the Ringling Museum Below - the painting i chose for this assignment

Michael Cheng

Katherine Bazura

Virtual Sketchbook Assignment #3

 For my third virtual sketchbook assignment, I ventured over to the Ringling Museum of Art to visit the museums vast collection of fine artworks.   Usually I am only able to appreciate fine art by viewing such artworks from a book or from a digital image via the internet, but physically being at the museum to view the actual works of art has been a reinvigorating experience.  Many types of artworks were showcased at the museum such as abstract, sculptures, fine china, modern art, and more!  

For my assignment, the artwork I chose is a painting titled The Judgement of Paris, painted by Ludovico Antonio David in 1690, during the end of the Renaissance era and the beginning of Baroque art.  David’s painting is one many fine examples of High Baroque.  Baroque is a form of art in which is expressed in various ways from music, architecture, paintings, sculpture and more!  This form of art emphasizes dramatic expressions such as contrast, movement and grandeur in which to give the viewer a sense of awe.  David was born in Lugano, Switzerland, and moved to Venice to study Baroque art.  Later on he was recognized as the one of the first true scholars of Leonardo Da Vinci.

There is much to enjoy with this painting and for those who understand the story context behind the art would appreciate it much better.  David’s painting of The Judgement of Paris depicts a story from Greek mythology in which a contest of three goddesses appeared before a shepherd, Paris.  Each of the three goddesses would offer Paris a reward if he chose her as the fairest.  Minerva, also known as Athena – goddess of wisdom and war, would offer Paris victory in battle.  Juno, also known as Hera, would offer land and riches; and Venus, also known as Aphrodite, would offer love of the world’s most beautiful women.  Paris eventually chose Venus and was award Helen of Troy.

There have been many other renditions of The Judgement of Paris by other artist, but David’s version is made with oil on canvas and it seems to exuberate the most aesthetic portrayal compared to others.  At first glance, there are many movements that happening in the scenery that might overwhelm viewers who are new to renaissance art; but with patient observation there is much to appreciate about the art too.  Despite the painting appearing to be busy with numerous characters posing in their own narrative, the artwork does have balance and unity with all of its elements, so one part doesn’t stand out compared to another.  There is also subtle rhythm and pattern in this picture with the way the characters are arranged.  The balance of the dark colors in the background make the brighter colors of the characters in the foreground stand out.  There is also a balance of colors in which the tones and saturations does not make one stand out against another.  The angles of the spears and the shepherd’s rod act as guiding lines for the viewer to focus attention on the characters.  Colors of the character’s wardrobe also maintain a single solid color instead of mixing of colors or patterns that might confuse the viewer’s attention.  

I am glad to have the opportunity to visit the Ringling Museum again to appreciate fine art such as David’s Judgement of Paris.  David’s painting remains of the fine examples of baroque art for generations to come.  

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Virtual Sketchbook Assignment 2 - 4 Photo/design - Logos

I am Group 1

Logos I usually see every day include -

Valve Software’s Steam game host client

Visa/ MasterCard/ American Express/ Discover

Chrome, Firefox

Target

Publix

Nike

Asics

Amazon

Intel/AMD

Logitech

Racetrac

7-Elevan

Coca-Cola

Logos that represent a company should be simple and quick to understand.  Everywhere you look there are logos of companies out there placed to advertise their presence; from our everyday lives outside, to television, to browsing the internet.  A logo is a mark, or a small design of a graphic that identifies a company or an organization.  Some logos are a group of shapes while others are a name or a set of words (Such as Calvin Klein, or Build-a-Bear) and a lot are a mix of both.  Currently, simplicity and minimalism are often the design theme for logos, especially for the ones without names or words.  The simpler, the better; companies would want a design that is quickly recognizable and can quickly grab the viewer’s attention.  Logos with letters would need to be easily read, from close or afar too.  

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Virtual Sketchbook Assignment 2 -4 Art Project - Comic

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Virtual Sketchbook Assignment 2 - 3 Connecting Art to your world.

A lot of art that I have been following involves many kinds of the science fiction and fantasy genre. From landscapes and cityscapes, to characters and creatures; the creativity shines through with every artists work and can be very inspiring!  Throughout the color spectrum, various color hues are used to portray the different art themes of fantasy and science fiction.  For example, artists who are fans of the cyberpunk genre would create stunning cityscapes where there would be hues of neon colors to shining throughout the streets filled with the cybernetic life, in contrast to the darkness of the night sky above.  Some artists intentionally modify their work to be off balance or to be off some rhythm to show the chaotic lives in the cyberpunk genre.  For many enthusiasts who enjoy creating the great spaceships that will traverse the stars, various tones would be used by artists to show the paints and patterns of the ship or perhaps just different shades of metallic gray. Just showing a black background with stars can start to become dull, so many artists would often put a planet or a maybe a colorful nebula which helps to bring out the foreground element more. The planets, or nebula, or any sort of celestial body can aesthetically help the scene with its mix of complimentary and analogous colors.  Various hues and saturations are used for the landscapes created by science fiction artists to bring it life and believability.  Foreground elements are usually more saturated in color while elements in the back are less.  Just like in outer space, analogous and complimentary colors are used to bring out the beauty of futuristic and/or alien landscape.

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Virtual Sketchbook Assignment 2 - 2 Writing and Looking

Chapter 2 part 2.2 Harmony

Artwork of Choice - Ascanius Shooting the Stag of Silvia

 Ascanius Shooting the Stag of Silvia was created by Claude Lorrain in 1682.  The painting is oil on canvas in which a seems to be from a single-point perspective.  The focal point seems be Ascanius himself with the bow, but the stag is also another focal point.  The two focal areas appear to be triangular in shape which leads to the ravine in the center.  Different saturations and shades of green and blue are used to depict the trees, grass, and water.  The way Ascanius is pointing the arrow implies a line or direction in which makes the stag a more dominant focal point.  The oil painting has a nice balance of blues and greens and also a sharper shade of browns and tans to be used for the viewer as a focal point.  

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Virtual Sketchbook Assignment 2 - 1 Journaling

Virtual Sketchbook Assignment 2 – Journaling the Principles of Design.

Unity & Variety –

Unity brings the entirety of the artwork together as a whole.  Unity in art won’t purposefully make the viewer’s focus wander randomly but instead would bring everything into cohesion.

Variety is almost the opposite of unity in which randomness and juxtaposition are among the factors. Elements in the art are not arranged orderly and arranged in random and contrasting order.  

 Balance – Similar to Unity and Harmony, balance serves to create and equilibrium among the elements in its artwork.  There is symmetrical balance, in which all sides of the art are equal and there is also asymmetrical balance in which two might not be the same or equal but the elements are in harmony.

 Emphasis and Subordination –

Emphasis is when an artist wants the viewer to focus on a certain part of the artwork

Subordination is when other areas of the artwork is dulled in order to focus other parts of the artwork.

 Direction Forces –  A way in which the artists uses the art elements to move the viewers attention in and around the work of art.

  Repetition and rhythm –

Repetition – A element, or a group of elements, that are arranged and repeated in the artwork.

Rhythm – Rhythm in art is a recurring pattern or theme that is a dominant focus made by the artist.

 Scale – The difference in size relative to yourself.  How big, or small, something is compared to yourself.  

The Kiss, down in Sarasota

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Virtual Sketchbook Part 4 - Art Project

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Virtual Sketchbook Assignment Part 2 - Written Self-Portrait

Hello, my name Is Michael Cheng and welcome to my page.  My family and I come from an Asian background and have live in Florida for over 50 years. We own a little family business in town in which we serve Chinese food and drinks, made from scratch.  Our business, the Asia Restaurant & Lounge, was first founded by my grandparents and has served the community since 1976.

I have been an art hobbyist since my elementary days and have been sketching art throughout my life.  After high school I enrolled in a tech school for Computer Animation but after four years and rough luck, that career did not go far.

Years later, I wanted to pursue a career in Computer Information Technology so I enrolled in State College of Florida for a better chance of opportunities.  Whenever I have the chance I still try to sketch and do some art.  A lot of inspirations for art has come from science fiction from various sorts of media such as movies, comics, novels, video games and more!  On social media, I participate in social groups that have the same interest in science fiction and fantasy.  Since my years in High School, I have been working on a passion project where I want to create a whole new world of science fiction of my own creation. There have been many revisions and rough draft after rough draft the project is still evolving.  

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Virtual Sketchbook Assignment Part 1 - Art & Writing

Up above the front desk of my family’s restaurant hangs a sign written in Chinese which roughly translates to “Longevity and Success”.  Calligraphic art such as this has been one of many Chinese forms of art dating as far back as 4000 B.C and many are still found in China as well as oriental shops throughout the world.  Calligraphic art served many purposed throughout China; whether it was for a short commemorative poem or story, or even a large piece which announces a lord’s name and title.  In modern times many of these pieces of art can be found in oriental shops such as restaurants, to markets, or nail salons, clinics, and more.  Each written to give blessing to the owners.  The artist uses a thick and heavy ink, in which he or she dips a big round brush.  With the brush in their hand, the artist then fully extends their arm and writes the characters starting from the top and quickly swipes downward, as evident in many of their works.  The simple and symmetrical art form is fascinating to me as also it serves as a reminder of my family’s culture.