My Portfolio

Class artwork

Piece #1: Color Scheme Zentangle Drawing

This piece is a combination of contour drawings and patterns, with the main 3 objects being the crown, daffodil, and chains, each representing different things. They are emphasized with a split complementary color scheme, with the objects being different shades of yellow, the outlines being blue-violet, and the background being red-violet. The background and objects are completely filled with different types of lines to create patterns that separate the art piece and add interest to different sections, such as the teardrops around the crown. In this piece, the crown represents the expectations people have for me, the daffodil represents the growth and potential I have, and the chains represent all the things that limit those. Having a deeper meaning behind this really helped me to put my best effort into this, though I am not completely happy with the result. I wish I had stuck more strictly with yellow and not included the shades of yellow-orange as much, and I feel some of the patterns in the crown don't look as neat as would like. But, overall, I am proud of what I have created.

Piece #2: Ink Blowing

I made this piece by blowing red, purple, blue, and black watercolors across the page with a straw. It is supposed to resemble a butterfly, though it was difficult to control what the paint did, so I'm not completely satisfied with the result. The strands reaching outward add to the symbolism of taking flight and branching away, and the different colors represent the unique traits of every living thing.

Piece #3: Clay Paint Pallet

I made a Stegasaurus-shaped paint pallet out of clay using carving tools, sponges, slip, and other clay tools. The pallet has many lines through it, some to separate the spines and some to give a geometric effect to the middle and to form paint wells. These were smoothed out using a wet sponge and carved out using the carving tool. On the back, there is a base so that it can sit raised above the table, which I attached using a needle tool and slip to bind the pieces together. After it was fired I added glaze to make it glossy and less likely to break. I chose a stegosaurus because I was inspired by the spines on its back, as they would translate well into the geometric design. After all, they were already pentagons to begin with. I wanted to make this not only functional, but also cute and easily recognizable. While it's not perfect, I had a lot of fun making this and I'm proud of how it turned out.

Piece #4: Bob Ross Painting

I made this painting with mountains in the very back, some pine trees and a lake in the middle, and deciduous trees and bushes in the front. I used acrylic paints mixed to different shades, along with a pallet knife and various brushes to paint this. I followed a Bob Ross tutorial video to know what to do, especially with the mountains' shading and the trees' depth. I was mainly trying to portray a scene of serenity in this piece, and my main goal was to make it look realistic and give it depth. Overall, I think I achieved that and am very pleased with how this turned out.

Piece #5: Perspective Drawing

I made this with multiple skyscrapers and buildings, with a road going horizontally through the piece. I used a ruler and pencil first to make boxes, then used the vanishing point to draw out the buildings using the correct perspective. For the shading, I did it mainly as I saw fit, but there is shading on the corners and edges of buildings to give them more depth. My goal with this piece was to make it look as 3D as possible and to give each of the buildings their own characteristics. Overall, I think I did well in achieving this, though I think I could make it even better if I kept working on it.

Piece #6: Felt Practice Stuffy

I made this practice piece to look like a circle-shaped whale, with buttons for eyes, a tail, and a blowhole squirting out water for extra details. I used blue felt to make the tail and body shape, then added a white chest patch using a running stitch and a longer dragged-out stitched in the middle to add detail. I used the whip stitch for both the tail and main body and stitched them inside out, then flipped them around to stuff them at the end so the stitches weren't as visible. I wanted to have smoother edges and was struggling with the blanket stitch. My main goal was to make it look cute and intentional and overall I'm proud of how it turned out, though I struggled with attaching the tail in the back and want to improve on the different types of stitches besides the whip stitch.

Piece #7: Felt Food Sculpture

I made this piece to look like an order from a coffee shop, with a coffee cup and bagged pastry. I used white felt to make the coffee cup, used the whip stitch, and turned it inside out to make it less visible. I then stuffed it and added a brown top to be the drink, then sewed on a little dollop of whipped cream for extra detail using three small circles of felt. I then made the donut first by sewing the pink felt onto the tan using the sprinkles to secure it in place, then sewed the inside and outside circles using the whip stitch and blanket stitch respectively. Finally, I made the tan holders using the blanket stitch and sewed on green details with a running stitch. My goal with this piece was to have lots of details and pieces, and to challenge myself to use new stitches. I think I succeeded in this, as I challenged myself to use a lot more of the blanket stitch and sewed some unusual shapes that ended up looking good in the end.

Pieces #8-9: Watercolor Paintings

I made these pieces using watercolors and various flat and round brushes. The first one has a cool color scheme with a mountain range, forest, and lake, while the second uses a warm color scheme with a sunset, tree, and mountains as well. I used drops of water on the page, then watered down pigmentation to make the sky in both of them to give it texture and the look of having clouds. The mountains used a more concentrated pigmentation and less water. The lakes used watered-down paint with strokes going horizontally across. I then mixed a darker shade of the same color and went along the edges of the water to give it dimension. the trees were added by dabbing on paint with a dry brush and adding detail with different colored layers and small branches as well. Overall I think these turned out good for watercolor, but I struggled with not being able to control exactly where everything went and was frustrated with how one stroke could ruin the whole thing. I'm glad I challenged myself though, as it was fun to just go with the flow instead of stressing over small details.

Piece #10: Valentines Stamp

I made this stamp to represent self-love and it shows candles, a book, and a cup of tea or hot chocolate to represent this. To make it, I first traced my design into linoleum, then carved out the negative space using a carving tool. Then I moved over to the printmaking station, rolled out ink onto the stamp, and used printing tools to press it down onto the paper. I wanted to make a clean-looking stamp that represented love in an abstract way, and I think I succeeded in both. I struggled with getting the print to not be blurry, as I kept adding too much or too little ink, but after practicing for a while I finally got it to look how I wanted. Overall I really like how it turned out and it was a fun change of pace from painting or drawing.

Piece #11: Lotería Prints + Linoleum Block

I made this stamp to resemble the album cover for the Broadway musical of Wicked and first sketched it out onto a piece of paper. I then used the paper to shade and transfer it onto the linoleum block, which I then carved out to make the stamp. For the prints I mainly stuck to the color scheme of black, green, white, and pink, as those are the main colors in the musical. I wanted to make a stamp with correct anatomy and experiment with multiple colors in my prints. I think I succeeded in this, as I tried a variety of different colors and papers and even used markers to color one of the prints. I struggled the most with cleaning and preparing my station in between each print, and it was difficult at first to get the right amount of ink to print. Overall I'm proud of each of the individual prints, but also how it turned out as a whole, as the color schemes compliment each other.

Piece #12: Surrealism Painting

I made this piece to have surrealist objects starting with the letter "h" (Hats, hens, horns, harp) in a tropical background. I first brainstormed and sketched multiple backgrounds and unusual objects onto paper, then sketched out on the watercolor paper. I then taped it down and used watercolor techniques such as wash, gradient wash, and dry brushing with different amounts of water to create texture in the environment. I then went in with colored pencils and Posca paint pens to add extra details, highlights, and shading. I wanted to create a scene that had many different textures and was affected by the setting sun, and I think I mostly succeeded in this. I could have done better with having more colors affected by the sun(hat) set, but overall I'm proud of how I did the water and sand to reflect that. I struggled most with deciding what objects to add, and how to make it clear what they were, as the hats and horns look a little ambiguous. Overall I think it looks nice, but in the future I think I could improve if I had more creative freedom over the objects in the painting and the background.

Piece #13: Graffiti 2D and 3D Pieces

This piece was inspired by the 3D bubble effects created by graffiti and uses designs inspired by Greek Mythology for the background, including Athena's owl, Achilles' helmet, and Hermes' scepter. To create it, I first sketched out my design on paper twice and colored one to plan it out, then used cardboard to cut out different layers of the piece. Then I painted them all using acrylic paint and hot glued them together using hot glue to create a 3D effect. While I struggled with making clean lines while cutting out the cardboard layers, I still think the final piece turned out well. Overall, I am very proud of this project because it is something I wouldn't normally think to do, but something that I'm rally proud of anyway.