Fundamentals of Studio Art EMILY

october reflection

In October, I learned many more artistic skills. I started the month with the Two Hands Interacting. I loved this project specifically because it taught me how to draw realistic hands and how shading can change a drawing completely. This skill was also practiced in the Self Portrait with a Grid. I developed the skill of scaling during this project. I created original art and practiced shading once again while making the Cross Contour Pumpkin. The most recent finished project is the Watercolor Skill Building. When doing this I took a risk with a new art type while also strengthening my ability to use watercolor effectively.

november reflection

In November, I developed new skills while creating original artwork. First, I learned a new technique on how to use colored pencils; by holding them sideways and using a circular motion, you can blend colors much easier. Using this skill, I made a drawing of an eyeball on fire. After that, I learned a new form of art: pottery. I was taught how to make a pinch pot. A dilemma I faced was shaping the pottery with long nails, however I improvised and used my knuckles instead of fingertips, and the pot came out looking just fine.

december/January Reflection

When using soft pastels, I learned ways to blend, create depth and shadows. I also learned which colors to use when making depth. I improved on lighting angles and how to optimize shading. When creating the apple drawing, I used what I learned to create a natural gradient and some shine. In the acrylic paint color wheel I learned how to mix colors and that paint must be fully dry to add another layer, otherwise the bottom layer will be wiped away. Knowing this, I created a disco ball with acrylic paint. I combined the skills learned with soft pastels to make the illusion that the disco ball was truly reflecting.

January/February Reflection

The dip pen with the India Ink was not my favorite project this year. It was very hard to control the pen, and the ink was very unpredictable with how dark and thick it came out. Although, in the skill builder it was fun to play around and write my name. I didn’t get to make a WOW piece with the dip pen because I was out sick. The next project, the perspective drawing, was my favorite so far this year. It’s a very versatile skill to have that you can apply to any piece of art and it’s easy to learn. In the skill builder, I made some boxes and colored them with colored pencils. For my WOW piece, I drew a city from a worm’s eye view and colored it rainbow with markers to add some uniqueness.

Wolfgang lettl

Artist Research Project

final reflection And retrospective

During this year my favorite unit was by far learning about linear perspective. I enjoyed this unit the most because knowing how to draw in perspective is a very versatile skill that you can apply to almost any art piece. I also developed and learned the most from this unit because of that. The piece of artwork from this year I am most proud of is the colored pencil WOW piece. I enjoyed this project because of how much freedom we were given, and because of that I was able to create something I thought was a cool concept. Colored pencils were also very easy to use, and overall I was and still am very happy with the result.

I think this course is a great class for people who are creative and interested in art, and who also want a more laid back class where you can relax and have fun. An aspect I would change is the amount of time given for each project. Sometimes I felt a bit rushed, particularly when we did watercolor and copper tooling. Everything else I would keep the same. The projects were very fun and were not repetitive which, as someone who gets bored very easily, kept me interested and excited for the class everyday.