Passion Blog

So since this is my last post, I think I’m going to take this time to reflect. 

So, my goal for this blog was to explore new styles and see if I could develop my own. And I will say, I definitely got to try more styles than I was expecting. 

I first explored a kind of hazy landscape painting, which was really good at helping ease me into watercolor painting (something I really hadn’t done that much before all of this) and teaching me basic layering, glazing, and brush techniques. Although, in the end, I really didn’t end up liking the final product, I do think this taught me a lot about how to apply the paint. The style just wasn’t very inspiring to me. 

Next, I did some abstract shapes, which honestly was really fun. I find that I put a lot of pressure on myself to draw and produce pieces that I think would look good to other people, but with this week, I got to make what I wanted and it helped me get back into this project after the tragedy of my first piece. (I did end up inking the background a nice solid black so the colors really stand out now, and it’s great.)

After that, I tried some undocumented expressionism just for fun. I bring this up because in one of my easier posts I said that I thought it would be really hard to do with watercolor, but honestly, once I figured out that I had to be more patient with this than acrylic, it kind of worked? I mean, I’m no Monet, but it does have the crazy up close and kind of an image from far away that I consider the most defining characteristic of expressionism.  

During October, we had Inktober that I also completed! 28/31! That might not seem super impressive, and it’s not, but it’s a lot farther than I’ve gotten in other years. And, even though they were all pretty small, I was excited to get them done. For this Inktober, I actually used ink and drew over my watercolor when it dried, which I had never mixed before. I really like the effect, and I think, although I didn’t find a district style, I did find this process that I really like. I’m definitely going to continue to explore this combination without this challenge, although it won’t be as often. 

So, I might not have accomplished everything I set out to, I did gain some skills and I’d consider this experiment a success. 

 

Alright, here we are! Week I-Wish-I-Knew-But-I’ve-Lost-All-Understanding-Of-Time! 

 

It’s almost the end of Inktober, which honestly is a bit of a relief. My lovely perfectionist tendencies have me spending a frankly disgusting amount of time on each of these little doodles. And, despite the fact that they take up an unreasonable amount of my time, I have benefitted from the practice.

My sketches are more accurate now than when I started. It has, I admit, been a while since I’ve spent a lot of time working on prospective, and some of these projects (Stretch and through your window, specifically) have given me some time to practice angles I am not used to or haven’t used in a long time. Foreshortening, I admit, has never been one of my strong suits, but I did get to spend a few hours practicing on witchy figures. 

 

My most recent project has been a series of ink and watercolor architecture sketches. I call them sketches because I don’t do much correcting or even an outline when I go into it. Mostly, when I’m doing these sketches, they are done in one of my smaller notebooks between my (few and far between) in-person classes. I’ve found that painting from life, something I haven’t done outside of simple anatomy studies since COVID started, really helps me get out of my head more.

I know this is kind of unexpected, everyone else that I’ve talked to, at least in my old art classes, has found drawing from life to be more accurate sure, but much more difficult and with greater stakes. Now for me, I get way too stressed out drawing alone in my room. Right now, this definitely is being affected by the whole social isolation thing, but even before this, I have always found it nicer to be outside, both among and withdrawn (get it?) from other people while I sketch whatever exists in front of me. Now these drawings in particular, while more fun to do than some of the other projects are getting a little harder to complete. I’ve drawn all the pretty buildings that I come across daily (The Millennium science building, almost all of West, Old Main, Ihlseng cottage, and the Pattee Library) and now I’m kind of running out of places to draw. There’s a lot of Brutalist Architecture along my daily path through the labs and quite honestly, it’s a little depressing. Do you know of any particularly nice buildings on Campus? 

 

Next week sees multiple birthdays so my watercolor exploration will be temporarily on pause, or simply sidetracked, while I attempt to draw some cartoon frogs and, strangely, a rainbow of Warios. (for the record, these were direct requests, I did not assume that either of my friends would want these, but apparently, you really don’t know as much about people as you think you do.)

Alright, great news everyone, the first piece is finished! 

 

It took a lot longer than I expected, mostly due to time constraints, but there were a few instances where I just wasn’t really feeling it. Now, normally, when I’m experiencing these art blocks, it is more to do with my actual life, not necessarily the art itself. However, because this was more of an experiment, I think that might have significantly contributed to it. I just couldn’t really get behind the style. I love looking at the final project, and all of my inspirations, but the process was so tedious, I don’t think it’s something I’m going to be pursuing. Additionally, it really felt like work? And that’s not really what I want when I’m painting. I want it to be a peaceful process that relaxes me, not something that stresses me out. I guess that’s what I get for choosing to use it for this project. It’s kinda like that “do what you like, not what you love” thing. If you start putting too much pressure on yourself, it stops being fun. Anyway.

 My other complaint (sorry) about this piece is that it’s not really me. It feels a little too “cottagecore” and honestly, that’s just not how I see myself. At least, it isn’t how I see myself now, that could have been how I saw myself four weeks ago, I don’t remember. And that’s why I need more fast-paced projects! I’m not nearly a consistent enough person to have one dedicated style I’m finding. 

 

But my theatrics are not the point of this blog, so I’ve gotta keep going. For my next project, I’m going to incorporate something I’m already doing: inktober. I’m not going to cheat, and use those projects for this, but I think because I’m already starting to explore (and actually enjoy) the watercolor and ink style! 

 

There are a few examples I starting look at: 

And I think these pieces, with their focus on architecture, without all the technicalities, have the same qualities I liked from the other style. They seem like small samples of a more peaceful world, and right now, I think we can all find value in that. Also, I think being able to draw from an actual reference, some of the many beautiful buildings around campus, I’ll have an easier time getting this work done. I think I’d feel too awkward sitting in one place too long to finish these sketches in a reasonable time. 

 

Finally, an update on Inktober: it’s going pretty well so far. I’m using a list that I found on Pinterest that has a lot of very vague but still Halloween-y words. So, for example, today was “tread” which I took to mean “tread lightly” so I painted a haunted house!

Well, happy October everyone!

If you aren’t super into the art scene right now, and not like the fancy people actually selling their art, like the regular person art scene, you might not know that October is a very special month! Every year, a special challenge is held for ink artists, everyone from regular ballpoint pen doodlers to animators to calligraphers, to draw something new every day. This very special challenge, named Inktober, was created in 2009 by Illustrator Jake Parker to help him “improve (his) inking skills and develop positive drawing habits.” The goal of it is simple: create 31 black-and-white ink pieces during the month of October, ideally one each day, and post them to social media. By the end, you should see some improvement in your skill or your drawing habits. 

 

Since then, Inktober has totally taken over. There’s an official prompt list, as well as a subscription box that only comes at the beginning of October. 

But many artists have put their own spin on it, creating their own lists, challenges, and choice of media. (There was a bit of an issue with the copyright of Inktober last year, and I don’t totally feel the need to comment directly on that, because I don’t care, but here’s a link to some other fun art scandals/fights ) 

 

I have been participating or at least attempting to participate in, Inktober for about six years now, and every year, my take on it has been a little bit different. When I first started I stuck to the rules, making a simple ballpoint pen drawing every day. The next year,  I found a different prompt list, one that had a bunch of nondescript names of made-up apps, that I designed logos for. In the following years, I took it a step further, adding in alcohol drip ink (i would not recommend this, it was very messy and stained literally everything) and making more complex pieces. 

This year, I’ve decided to add watercolor and I could not be more… confused… about it. Getting to learn watercolor has been difficult. It takes a lot of time, isn’t nearly as perfect as I’d like, and the final results have been a little less than exciting. However, it is really calming, and it doesn’t take as much time to clean up as some of my other experiments have, so it’s pretty perfect for someone like me with limited time management skills. 

 

I might make an extra post at the end of October with all my pieces, it really depends on how I feel about them. 

 

An update on the original piece: layers two and three have been added, and she’s actually starting to look like something. I wouldn’t hold out hope for this dreamy cottage style though, its a real pain. 

Alright, the original concept is banished! Gone! I never want to see it again. 

 

Well, at least for this week. 

 

I have had such a time recently that the original landscape, with all it’s soothing greens and browns, was really starting to get on my nerves. I like for my paintings to express emotion, the easiest way to do that is to start with whatever I’m feeling. For the past couple of weeks, I’ve had a lot of schoolwork, essays and exams every day, not to mention a whole new environment (and a pandemic!). This week, as I was working on the background of the painting, I noticed I was getting really stiff, and all focused on the details and every. individual. brushstroke.  And I was essentially getting nowhere. 

So this week I returned to kindergarten in the ultimate de-stressing painting technique– fingerpainting!

Now, I will admit, I was never much of a finger painter as a kid (the texture of cold acrylic? No, thank you.) But, my high school art teacher insisted on these kinds of “step-back” activities to help clear our minds and focus on what we really want to get done. Additionally, I rationalised this by saying that art has always been purely fun for me, something I do to relax, so taking 45 minutes out of my day is no big thing, right? 

Time-management crisis aside, I did have a lot of fun playing around with my paints today. I started off using some red because I am generally annoyed or angry with the state of my life/ the country/ the world right now. Then, because I thought that was a little dramatic, I diluted it. I got some yellow on there, both for contrast and potential happiness, and created a bit more of a McDonalds’ look than I would have desired, but hey, it’s all about the process probably. Then I decided that the easiest thing to do would be a primary color pallet. I spent most of the time I was working on this looking for potential textures. Unlike other mediums, like oil paint, watercolor soaks into the surface it’s laid on, removing any potential three-dimensional elements. So all of the texture needs to come from the applicator. I used my finger, an old brush, some twine, and an old bottle of chapstick to add textures. Although few were successful in distinguishing themselves, I had a lot of fun learning about potential applications and the changes they go through while drying. I also threw some green in there just cause it was getting a little boring. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upon looking at it now, a day later, I am seeing some unexpected similarities between this and the work of Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky. This wasn’t intentional, but my childhood bedroom did have a few of his pieces on the wall so maybe there was some sort of subconscious connection there. 

So, to summarize, I deviated a bit from the plan, but I found some fun in the fingerpainting, so hopefully, when I return to our regularly scheduled program, I’ll have the inspiration to finish this piece up. 

 

Okay, so originally, my plan for this week was to finish up the first painting and write a review of both the watercolor and the style. Unfortunately, the universe had different plans for me, and between all the exams and assignments, I only finished the underpainting. I will however take this opportunity to describe the rarely discussed first step.

There are many ways to start a painting, for those with underdeveloped skills and little confidence, like me, paintings start with a sketch. For this painting, I was using a few different references, but this image:

was my main source of inspiration. I honestly didn’t spend that much time on the sketch, I kind of wanted it to be a simple guide that I would hopefully paint over when I got around to developing my colors. Although, because of the way that it looks right now, with like 1-2 layers of very transparent color, I was thinking about maybe testing out this “watercolor and ink” style that’s really popular right now, that is really accessible if you want to start with a sketch. 

But anyway, since most artists don’t start with a sketch directly on their final paper, they usually start with an underpainting, which is a thin, transparent layer of paint in either the base colors or in black and white (which is actually a common misnomer, usually pure black and white are avoided, and in the piece is entirely grey, which is referred to as greyscale). Traditionally, the underpainting is done in greyscale and is used to block out the values in your piece. It’s a great way to test balance and to place shadows, which is really useful when adding details later. 

Like many things in the western world, underpaintings changed during the renaissance, with Italian painter Giotto di Bondone (usually just Giotto) who developed a new underpainting technique that used simple colors rather than values. This technique is better for preserving the color, a major aspect of renaissance paintings because it avoids mixing tints (color mixed with white) and shades (color mixed with black). Artists who are trying to have impactful or powerful colors try to avoid mixing black and white, both of which can be mixed into paints because this creates a tone (color mixed with grey) that appear dull.

So for this week, I worked on making a full-color underpainting that had all of my base colors, very few details, and no tones. 

my painting 🙂

Now that I’ve decided that I want to start painting again, using a few different mediums but starting with watercolour,  I have to find something to paint. My goal is to find my own art style as the easiest way to do that, I’ve found, it to explore a bunch of different styles. 

Like many other people in the height of quarantine, I spent a lot of time in my head, imagining my ideal life. Although escapism probably (definitely) isn’t the healthiest pastime, it certainly helped me identify the types of environments I enjoy the most. Because I spent an unreasonable amount of time daydreaming about rolling fields and old, ivy-covered castles, I think the best thing for me to paint right now, the first subject of my exploration, should be landscapes. 

 

Some of the most famous landscapes and landscape artists are impressionists, whose bright colours and defined brush strokes produced some of the most recognisable paintings of the 19th century. Artists like Monet and Renoir created lively scenes with delicate natural details. Although I do love the impressionist style, and I appreciate the impact they had on landscape painting, getting their signature “clean from a distance, but messy up close” look is impactful with oil, but not ideal with watercolour (although I might consider this as part of my inspiration later, with gouache).

The next style I stumbled upon, in my impressive google search “watercolour artists,” was cubism and futurism, in the artist John Marin’s work. Now cubism is a movement that I, ever uneducated, solely associate with Picasso. As it turns out, cubism, a style defined by its cube-forming abstraction of a subject, was an inter-discipline movement that was utilised by many artists, from architects to authors.

Now, I can’t say I particularly relate, or even like, cubism, but I am fascinated by some of Marin’s work, mainly “Pertaining to Stonington Harbor, Maine” (for copyright reasons, this painting can’t be downloaded) which has the strong, defined, brushstrokes that I found attractive in the impressionists, combined with a dry colour that forces the eye around the page.

(Also, his linework is just spectacular, like, wow) 

But, I think my absolute favourite piece, which honestly looks nothing like any of the rest, is “Village Scene” by Ted Kautzky. It’s exactly what you imagine when you’re talking about watercolour, a nice, fuzzy scene, with a distinct enough image that it’s memorable but ordinary enough that it could be anywhere, and somehow feeling familiar. This is what I want my art to do. Not just capture an image, but a feeling. The colours he uses are muted; they give all of his works a hazy kind of appearance. This might not be my go-to, I am a brash sculpture after all, but it really works for his subjects. 

I’m drawing inspiration from all of these pieces, despite their aggressive differences. However, I think, for my first piece at least, you’ll see a lot of Kautzky similarities. 

I’ve always considered myself somewhat of an artist. I grew up around art, courtesy of my mother’s art history degree, and all of our trips, vacations, whatever, featured notable art exhibits or museums. It is because of this that I have found a feeling of home in creation. I loved all of

my middle and elementary school art classes because they reminded me of the time I spent with my mother.

I continued with my art education in high school, where, for the first year, we quickly dabbled in different styles and mediums of art, from geometric tiles to recycled trash sculpture. These shallow dives taught me the basics of each medium and allowed me to determine both my strengths and preferences. Now, I was also incredibly shy and very nervous about showing anyone the things that I had created, so I focused on a medium, sculpture, that I was good at, but was not particularly excited about.

In my 3D art class, I learn to love the abstract. Dividing figures down to their most basic shapes, while also communicating both an action and an emotion was by far my favorite exercise.  It was here that I was able to understand and apply the elements and principles of art and design. This class also showed me that although I enjoyed making sculptures, I wasn’t particularly passionate about any of the pieces I had created. I found pleasure in the technique and the theory of the art, but the actual product was worthless to me. So, I decided to start over the next year and learn to draw and paint. There, I really focused on the fundamentals of perspective and accurate linework, which allowed me to create accurate sketches and plan my pieces more thoroughly.

Now I’m looking for my style. As I start a new period of my life, I know that what I once liked and tried to emulate will no longer reflect my experiences. Armed with my background in basics, I hope to use these skills to find a way to express myself through my artwork in a way that is meaningful (maybe not to the world, but at the very least, to me).  This blog will hopefully document this experience. I plan on documenting my thought process in choosing a new medium, the many trials I’ll have before I find a good style, my inspirations, and my reasoning.

So, welcome to my art blog! I hope you enjoy the art and the information.