I Create Original Art:
-For the mixed media project, my idea was to first paint a silhouette of a couple under a red umbrella, and then paste love quotes surrounding the painting. The theme I chose to do was romantic/loving; therefore I did a combination of red, black, and gray. I wanted the image to be shown as if the painting was depicting the thoughts shared between two individuals in a loving relationship. Therefore, I made the overall background to be just filled with quotes and words that describe love; this makes the viewer easily read what the theme or idea was from my perspective. Silhouette paintings are very common, but I wanted to show a contrast of the black and the red. I painted the umbrella red so it can be the somewhat focus of the painting itself; and then adding the rain also made the scene look more realistic and obvious. Another aspect of the mixed media was that I wanted the overall shape to be in a oval-like shape. This gives it a dreamy effect, as well as variation with different sized quotes pasted on a grayish/blackish background. And lastly, adding the corner borders, I tried to be unique in adding in shiny ribbon strips to give it a more presentable look.
I Developed My Art Making Skills:
-The biggest skill I learned with doing mixed media was involving random pieces of paper (strips of quotes) with the overall theme. Starting with the painting part of it, I started with the gesso paint, so it'll be easy for the printed pieces of paper to stick. Then I painting the center of the canvas white, in an oval shape. I continued this with a grayish shade, eventually ending with black painting on the edges and corners. I used a fine brush to make the outline for the silhouette and the umbrella. I also tried to add some shading onto the umbrella, so it looks dimensional and not flat. At the bottom, I added somewhat of a surface where I very dryly painted some wavy lines. For the mixed media, I cut sections of doilies to frame a border around the oval shape I painted earlier. This added more texture, as well as variation in media. Again, relating back to the romantic theme, I stuck with the original color of love: red. So I dryly painted red on the doilies to give it color. With the quote strips, the hardest part was cutting the pieces small enough to fit the limited areas surrounding the silhouette. Also, I tried something different for the rain. I squeezed a paper towel that was soaked in white/gray paint, giving the raining effect. Then with a dry brush, I spread the paint to make it look like the rain had movement.
I Communicate Through My Work.
-As I mentioned before, I chose the theme of romance/love. My artwork was not a specific message, but I revealed the theme through the painting of the couple, the love quotes, and the typical scene of rain in the background. Some quotes that I took from online were: "You don't love someone because they're perfect.", "Love never dies a natural death.", "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind". So these simple quotes describe the innocence of a common topic known as love. I also intentionally added in the painting of the silhouette because I wanted the quotes to reveal something about a specific scene for the viewer to connect to. The red umbrella also gives the romantic effect because firstly, the color red represents love, and it also contrasts with the black silhouette and grayish colored rain. So I intended to present the common "love theme" with a different look of combining quotes with a painting.
How did you use your own unique ideas in your work?
-For the mixed media project, my idea was to first paint a silhouette of a couple under a red umbrella, and then paste love quotes surrounding the painting. The theme I chose to do was romantic/loving; therefore I did a combination of red, black, and gray. I wanted the image to be shown as if the painting was depicting the thoughts shared between two individuals in a loving relationship. Therefore, I made the overall background to be just filled with quotes and words that describe love; this makes the viewer easily read what the theme or idea was from my perspective. Silhouette paintings are very common, but I wanted to show a contrast of the black and the red. I painted the umbrella red so it can be the somewhat focus of the painting itself; and then adding the rain also made the scene look more realistic and obvious. Another aspect of the mixed media was that I wanted the overall shape to be in a oval-like shape. This gives it a dreamy effect, as well as variation with different sized quotes pasted on a grayish/blackish background. And lastly, adding the corner borders, I tried to be unique in adding in shiny ribbon strips to give it a more presentable look. I Developed My Art Making Skills:
Did you learn new techniques or processes as part of the work for this project?
-The biggest skill I learned with doing mixed media was involving random pieces of paper (strips of quotes) with the overall theme. Starting with the painting part of it, I started with the gesso paint, so it'll be easy for the printed pieces of paper to stick. Then I painting the center of the canvas white, in an oval shape. I continued this with a grayish shade, eventually ending with black painting on the edges and corners. I used a fine brush to make the outline for the silhouette and the umbrella. I also tried to add some shading onto the umbrella, so it looks dimensional and not flat. At the bottom, I added somewhat of a surface where I very dryly painted some wavy lines. For the mixed media, I cut sections of doilies to frame a border around the oval shape I painted earlier. This added more texture, as well as variation in media. Again, relating back to the romantic theme, I stuck with the original color of love: red. So I dryly painted red on the doilies to give it color. With the quote strips, the hardest part was cutting the pieces small enough to fit the limited areas surrounding the silhouette. Also, I tried something different for the rain. I squeezed a paper towel that was soaked in white/gray paint, giving the raining effect. Then with a dry brush, I spread the paint to make it look like the rain had movement.
I Communicate Through My Work.
What is this artwork intended to say?
-As I mentioned before, I chose the theme of romance/love. My artwork was not a specific message, but I revealed the theme through the painting of the couple, the love quotes, and the typical scene of rain in the background. Some quotes that I took from online were: "You don't love someone because they're perfect.", "Love never dies a natural death.", "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind". So these simple quotes describe the innocence of a common topic known as love. I also intentionally added in the painting of the silhouette because I wanted the quotes to reveal something about a specific scene for the viewer to connect to. The red umbrella also gives the romantic effect because firstly, the color red represents love, and it also contrasts with the black silhouette and grayish colored rain. So I intended to present the common "love theme" with a different look of combining quotes with a painting. 