I've learned so many things this year in art when it comes to manipulating different media with better craft and skill. However, I feel that the most important part about this year was learning how to look. Having the skill to take in a subject for what it is essential to being able to reproduce it. At the start of the year, the Old Master's project required me to really look closely and examine the mark of the master I chose. Doing so, made me more aware of my own mark. Making the bust also required me to try to reproduce what I saw of my face in the mirror in the clay instead of going by my false assumption of what I look like. The more I really focused on the little details that I saw, the more the bust began to resemble me. In trying to replicate my face, the smallest tweak made all the difference.
Looking at my figure drawings from different points in the year, I can see that my ability to create a successful composition has greatly improved. The first figure I did was right smack in the center of the page, while in the most recent drawing, I cropped the figure, paid attention to the rule of thirds, and took into consideration the negative space in order to direct the eye around the page.
I still feel that I have a lot of room for improvement in all areas, but I would really like to work on improving my figure drawing skills. I love doing the gesture drawings, but I still struggle when it comes to refining the figure and the face and capturing the shapes of light.
I'm looking forward to using the skills I learned this past year when I have more freedom with art next year. Knowing how to build my own canvases and to mat and mount my pieces will give me more room for creativity when it comes to scaling and displaying my work.
In the end, It was a great year of learning and developing as an artist. I can't wait to see what we'll do when we come back in the fall.
Looking at my figure drawings from different points in the year, I can see that my ability to create a successful composition has greatly improved. The first figure I did was right smack in the center of the page, while in the most recent drawing, I cropped the figure, paid attention to the rule of thirds, and took into consideration the negative space in order to direct the eye around the page.
I still feel that I have a lot of room for improvement in all areas, but I would really like to work on improving my figure drawing skills. I love doing the gesture drawings, but I still struggle when it comes to refining the figure and the face and capturing the shapes of light.
I'm looking forward to using the skills I learned this past year when I have more freedom with art next year. Knowing how to build my own canvases and to mat and mount my pieces will give me more room for creativity when it comes to scaling and displaying my work.
In the end, It was a great year of learning and developing as an artist. I can't wait to see what we'll do when we come back in the fall.
