Almost taken down by, of all things, a MIRROR!

Oh my, is Lucky going to start posting regularly again? Shh! Don't jinx it.

Today was the final day of class as I have known it for the duration of this semester. Finals are next week and, if all goes as expected, I'll be taking in a 3.75 GPA for the semester. Not bad for my first round of art courses. Yeah, there's a B in there, but it can't be helped. Metalworking ended up being much more difficult than anticipated, and I'm not holding out hope that this last assignment will be enough to pull me up to 90%.

All an all it's been a great semester and I already feel like I've learned so much. Even in drawing, a subject I have been practicing independently since I possessed the fine motor skills to hold a pencil in my hand. So many great tools and techniques have been added to my artistic tool kit.

It seemed fitting that the final project in drawing should be a self portrait. I've spent so much time looking at everything around me and taking in so much outside information that initially the assignment proved to be a struggle. I've never drawn myself from a mirror before and I've never done a large scale portrait in charcoal... Actually, I'm not sure I've ever done a large scale portrait in any medium.

So, after having a minor freak out the first day and leaving class early out of frustration, I took some time to examine what was going wrong. There were a couple major things.

First off, I wasn't using my powdered charcoal which has become my new favorite drawing material. You sprinkle it on the paper and spread it around to give your canvas a nice middle grey. This allows you to add not only shadows with charcoal pencils, but also highlights using an eraser. It also didn't help that the mirror was a bit wonky and squished or stretched my appearance depending on where I was.

The second mental block was a fear that it was too soon to 'immortalized' myself. I was afraid that I would mess it up and forever be ashamed to try again. This is silly, I know, but I'm curious if other artists have had the same problem.

Last Thursday I left early and mulled all these things over in my head. After bolstering my confidence (and practicing drawing myself in the dark), I returned to class on Tuesday to give the self portrait another try. I moved to a darker side of the room because practicing in extremely low light had shown me that if my face were not as well lit, I wasn't as afraid of making the picture too dark too quickly. I also moved to a smaller drawing pad so the task didn't seem so monumental. Once I prepped my paper with powdered charcoal, I dropped all insecurities and began to go to work...

After two full class periods, this is the fruit of my labor:

 

It's not an exact likeness, but then again a reflection can't be. Seriously. I don't have a perfectly symmetrical face or hair line, so any drawing of a reflection is going to be backwards! All technicalities aside, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out... And I'll probably never do it again willingly.

My instructor is actually keeping this one for the foundations show next semester along with the fish painting from last week's post (different class, same instructor). He even went do far as to make sure that I signed up for the Drawing II course that was being taught be the best drawing instructor. It's cool to have teachers looking out for you and I'm mildly curious if my reputation will precede me in that class... Mustn't... Get... Big... HEAD!!

Seriously, though, I have done my best to keep my humility intact. As I said before, even in a subject that ie been practicing since I can remember did I learn something new.

I have got a lot of projects that I have been wanting to work on, so when the break is here, I plan to take a mini-vacation from the Internet... Or at least social networking. After all, I do need to find a job. The idea is to remove as many distractions as possible so that I can use the momentum I have gained this semester to work on things that are for my own enjoyment and not a grade. Either way, I won't be gone for too long. Maybe a week or two at most. I'll be sure to post before I go on break as well.

Speaking of projects done for fun... For anyone who hasn't had a chance to see this yet, this is the finished Thor drawing (WIP was in the last post) for my dear friend Shawnee.

Not bad for ten hours of work... Not bad at all. Until next time!

Because Tom Hiddleston is Overrated on DA...

These last few weeks have been... Shall we say stressful? I may have mentioned the crazy neighbors before, but it finally came to a head last week. They were having what a massive scream-fest accented by what sounded like striking each other and throwing inanimate objects around 4:00-4:30 Thanksgiving morning. Those whole ordeal actually woke me, the sleeping dead, AND Josh who had passed out intoxicated. Needless to say, we called the cops. As usual, the neighbors didn't answer and pretended like no one was home until the cops left, I got a gnarly recording of it all from the bedroom and, after being informed of this third major incident, the landlord has issued them a notice to leave the premises or be evicted. So, that's something to look forward to. However, until they actually LEAVE the other side of the duplex, I have and will continue to feel like I am walking on pins and needles. Now that I have THAT off of my chest...

The semester is winding down and finals are hardly a week away. I don't have many exams to study for, but their are a lot of big projects due soon. I'm trying not to freak out about the final 2D assignment because I caused quite a stir with my last assignment and I'm not sure I can top it! What was the last assignment, you may ask. Well, it was a 9 frame painting of a fish demonstrating the different color schemes. However , since I am blogging from my mobile phone, you'll have to scroll down to see it.

Go ahead. I'll wait...

I think it turned out really well. The color schemes are as follows (top to bottom, left to right):
1. Achromatic - grey scale
2. Monochromatic - many shades and tints of one hue
3. Analogous - two or more colors right next to each other on the color wheel (green, yellow-green and yellow)
4. Cool colors - purples, greens and blues (like water and space)
5. Secondary colors - colors created by mixing primary colors
6. Warm colors - reds, oranges and yellows (like fire)
7. Complimentary colors - two colors directly opposite each other on the color wheel (red-violet and yellow-green)
8. Original image colors
9. Primary colors - red, yellow and blue

The whole project showed me that I'm not that bad of a painter and that I REALLY enjoy painting water.

But, you may have noticed ANOTHER image at the bottom. If you missed it, go ahead and scroll down again. I'll wait...

...

Holy S***! What is that? Is it a graphite drawing of Chris Hemsworth as Thor?! It totally is.

This was brought on by some frustration with the current Drawing project. No one has ever asked my to draw myself in the mirror. I found it quite difficult. A lot of it has to do with the subject matter. It is now apparent that drawing is not something I consider where mirrors are concerned.

So I decided to draw someone else's face to blow off some steam. Actually, I had compiled pictures of the Statue of Liberty as potential references for future projects, but that seemed less relevant to my current study needs.

I don't remember when or why Hemsworth first came to mind, but I made a definite decision around the time the third or fourth drawing of Tom Hiddleston or Tom Hiddleston as Loki hit my Deviant Art DevWatch. I'm not knocking those who like him, but he just isn't my style. Besides, I have a friend who is practically in love with Hemsworth and Thor so I'll have someone to give this to.

Which brings me to my last point. In Non-Westen Art History, we are learning about how many cultures do not see art as a product, but as a force that radiates forth from the artist. Many of these cultures have art that is destroyed or given away once completed because they knew that they can and will create more. So I picked something I knew I would be able to give away to practice this thought process.

I have a possessiveness about my work and have a hard time letting it go. Perhaps I feel that I have left a piece of me with the graphite, charcoal or acrylic paint piled onto a canvas. Perhaps I am just scared to feel rejection, or unimportant if the person should lose or mistreat it. Either way, as someone who is now studying art as a potential profession, I've decided this concept will be important for fighting potential hurtles in the future. I wont be scared of losing pieces of myself with my artwork but will be happy and excited to share and give my talent to others.

Until next time!