Title: Blue
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Inspiration:
This is a portrait made by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec of a singer-actress and dancer Jane Avril I was inspired by the use of green and blues in the background that seems to add some movement to the piece along with the sketchy nature of the piece with the overlapping lines. I was also inspired by how he made the figure not use realism and use more base colors yet have a The bridge over the pond by Monet I was inspired by his use of color and texture in the piece that gives the different plants in the piece dept using different shades of yellow, green, and blue.
Planning:
Here I started planning. I was mostly jotting down ideas on what I wanted to do. My idea for the painting was myself reflecting as an artist and my impact on the community but it changed to a broader theme of myself and my community. I drew a bottle and the reason for this is because when I thought of myself as an artist I think about painting. When I think about myself painting, I think about the glass bottles I painted in at a Miad art course for practice. That was my thought process but I did not end up including glass. As you can see under Inspiration I wrote a number of artists' names. Those were the names of some of the artists I investigated for inspiration in my research. Where I placed the section color I drew a blue rectangle and a yellow rectangle. My idea was to make one depict warmer color and one cooler color. I also made swatches of the paints I have at home. Some I mixed to get different shades but it was mostly an idea of some of the paints and their colors I had at home. I also quickly wrote my exhibition text and quickly jotted down an idea of what I was going to write.
Process:
Here is the finished painting side by side of each other. The only change was to the second painting, where I added some stripes of dark blue in the street sidewalk and bushes. This was to add more depth and match the color to the first painting. I also painted the borders of these paintings solid green for the first painting and light blue with dark blue for the other but you can not see that in this image. These are the final pieces.
Experimentation:
For the first painting before I started laying colors I would swatch the paint onto this piece to see the color before I would place it on the canvas in order more clearly see the color and how it would look on the canvas before anything on the actual painting. Here I also practiced doing leaves. The first one I layered a darker color first and tried to layer lighter but it didn't work as well. I also did another one for practice just using green and yellow.
For the second painting, I also practiced a bit before I started placing paints by mixing a few of the colors first. I also practiced making some of the textures that I used in the final painting for the street, tree, and sky though there not exactly how they turned out in the final product. There are also swatches of color under each paint to indicate the colors used. Though looking back I should have practiced and experimented more with the leaves since they would come out different depending on the brush so experimenting with different brushes might have helped.
Critique:
Similarities:
- The use of different shades of green and blue: The three pieces share the common color of green in varying shaded along with blue. With Jane Avril's portrait, the green is and blue is manly in the background. For Monet's, it's the entire piece. For my piece, I use a variety of green and blue for the leaves and sky.
- Use of Line: It can be seen that my first painting was more inspired by Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec. In both pieces, we use bold colors and lines to emphasize the shape of the figure.
- The arrangement of different components: In the final painting I made I arranged them in different contents. For the first painting, I added a lot more leaves have to the background that spreads out the focus of the piece but it eventually leads back to the figure in the center. Henri de Toulouse also does this using the lines in the background to guide our eyes and the bright color of the face to lead our eyes back to the center.
- Use of Texture: In my painting like Monet I used the texture to add lighting to my piece though I was not as consistent with it in the first painting compared to the second.
Differences:
- Difference in Media: Both Bridge over a pond lily and the portrait of Jane Avril were made with oil paint while mine was made using acrylic paints. The difference in paints brings different advantages and disadvantages with oil paint taking longer to dry so you can take your time while acrylic you have to work fast or the paint drys. While making this piece worked fast to make the details.
- The space: For my second painting that was more heavily inspired by Monet it has a different amount of space with my piece having a open sky and the street that expands far into the distance. Meanwhile in Monet painting is in a more enclosed area covered with plants making the space seem smaller and more secluded.
Reflection
My final thoughts are that this is ok but I could have done better. For example, the umbrella looks a bit off because of the shading. Though despite this I was really happy with how the darker blue and light blues turned out on the figure and the lighting in the second painting of the street. During this process, I got to practice mixing paint colors again but I already knew how to do that beforehand. I could have also done better when it came to lighting since it's not as consistent. There was also more potential to develop the themes more in the painting. I have painted before so this is not my first painting but I did try a few new things that I have not tried before like adding a wash and swatching my colors before painting. This was also the first time I tried formulating my ideas off the canvas and then painting. Most of the time when I paint I just sketch my idea on the canvas and go into a painting, then I change things as I go, but as you can guess it is counter-intuitive and wasted time. So having a plan this time saved time and helped develop my process. My inspiration for this painting was mostly impressionism and post impressionism with Claude Monet's painting Bridge over a pond of water lilies and Jane Avril by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. I looked through many different inspirations though but I wanted to do something more impressionist because it focuses more on the color and feel. The biggest challenge I encountered was being consistent with the leaves and their colors since I started the leaves and grass with acrylic paints in the art room it became hard to mix the exact same colors at home so I had to just redo them. My favorite part was mixing the colors and getting differently shaded of color. My least favorite part was making the outline though since I got frustrated with it. When it comes to how this piece turned out I think it turned out fine not bad but there is room for improvement.
Questions
- Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
- What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
- What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
- What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?.
- What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Citations:
- Fig. 4. Claude Monet, "Water-Lily Pond, Symphony in Green," 1899, oil on canvas, 35 ¼ x 36 ½ in. (Musée d’Orsay, Paris)
- Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Jane Avril, c.1891-92, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown