http://lhs.loswego.k12.or.us/z-mcbrides/AP/2009/09APbreadthconcentration.htm

This year has been so amazing and full of so many transformations for me as an artist. While I have always loved art, AP 2-D has brought me new inspiration, challenged me, and given me a drive that I never had before. Even though I did not officially join the AP class until the second semester, I felt welcomed into a supportive environment.
Creating and developing my concentration was a big challenge. I wasn't really solid on what precisely my concentration would be until I was forced to decide when I officially joined the class, but I'm proud of where it took me. My concentration allowed me to focus on human relationships, which I find intensely interesting in and outside of art, and work on bringing out human emotion. I am most proud of the pieces for which I was most fully inspired, that took me away and transported me into the mental/emotional/spiritual state in which I create my best work; these include my "pinecone" piece, the famous "guitarist," and the graphite piece titled "mothers." While my best pieces were often my most challenging, the real challenge came towards the end of the year in finding yet more inspiration--getting out of that rut and finding the final push. This "rut" did not produce my favorite work, by any means, but getting out of it did lend my final pieces some new and interesting elements.
Advice for next year? Work in class, don't psych yourself out, and most of all find what truly motivates and inspires you to do what you love so much--art!

This piece on the left was done by Jessica Curtaz and was shown in the Charles A. Hartman gallery. At first glance, her work confused me, but at closer inspection I admired the fine detail she put into her work as well as the attention the quiet space drew to her subject. It is amazing to me that something as simple as graphite can do so much and convey so much detail. I am a fan of realism, which Curtaz creates well, but the way she used this realism in a more abstract way (by cutting off objects and using so much quiet space) was really creative and original. I was drawn to the details in her piece and the finer points of such average-seeming objects.

The piece on the right was also done by a local artist, Eva Speer, and I was actually surprised I was so drawn to her pieces, which are pretty different from my own style. They are more abstract and contain no living subjects but nonetheless they are extremely expressive and use contrast, blending and a variety of colors to create a whimsical quality that I enjoy. When asked what exactly she has painted, it would be difficult to describe, yet her billowing, cloud-like forms use an impressive amount of detail. Shapes and forms are distict, if unidentifiable, and she is clearly an expert painter. I must also be a big fan of quiet space, because this artist as well uses it a lot.

new piece, new pic

The reference for my new piece, I'm pretty excited and happy that I have some emotional connection with it.

On the left is my grandmother, in the middle is my mom and on the right is a family friend/my mom's godmother.

I love the relationship that is shown with the baby and hope it transfers well into my art.

February Critique

My concentration is...
people interacting with their environment. Put more specifically, it is how spatial relationships visually portray personal/ emotional relationships between two people or a person and an object.

The picture on the left shows the relationship between Christina and my puppy. I was first drawn to the concept of the image because they both looked so at peace and I wanted to portray this relationship effectively in a piece of artwork. I was excited to do a more close up, portrait-style piece, which I hadn't really done yet in my concentration as well as work in solely acrylic paint. While I had some technical difficulties while painting and I wish the painting had a little more depth, I am pretty happy with the overall effect of the piece.

The picture on the right is of Monica and her younger sister on a day at the beach a few years ago (when Monica was in sixth grade :] ) I liked a lot of the open space in this picture and the familiarity between the sisters that I saw even though they weren't actively interacting with each other in the moment. I used the same media in this picture as I used in my pine cone piece which was watered down acrylics with pastels; however, in this piece I also used verithin prismacolor pencils for the detailing of their bodies and faces. I like how the rocks turned out and how the shading of their bodies turned out, but getting their faces right was difficult due to the drastic shadows and lack of clarity around their eyes. I also like the picture much better in person, for some reason it looks really blurry on the computer.

right now

Right now I am working on a painting of Monica and her sister at the beach (cute! :] ) that I'm planning on finishing either today or tomorrow. It's coming along, I used some watered down acrylics, and plan to go over parts of it with chalk and/or oil pastel (same media I used for my infamous pinecone!). Hope it turns out well, and hope I can post it here soon...

Charcoal Guitarist

Ah, realized after uploading that this is the version with silly hair! I made some alterations soon after the class critique and am now quite happy with this piece. I'll have to steal it from the shared folder so you can compare :).

Sketchbook Stuff

Ok, now I have some images up. They look kina scattered in here, so I'm not sure if they're going to post very well, but whatever. These are all from my sketchbook and are incredibly random. I have more, but including all of those in one post is kinda silly. Plus I have to get to school...