Emily

=**Concentration 3** =

In the past quarter, I have basically started a new concentration. My main objective is to complete these new pieces and tie them together, both to themselves and to my old pieces and old concentration idea. I also need to get my act together and pour gloss medium all over my big canvas. I have definitely become more ambitious because I have started ten or so new pieces and now need to find a way to finish them. There are two pieces where I am very interested in both the front and the back, and I would like to somehow work on both sides. I don't know how I could display them, though--whether the sides would be part of the same piece or two separate pieces. I want to incorporate portraiture back into my work, so I may paint vague people in white over some of the pieces or bring out more human-like shapes. I have become very interested in the way the watercolors work on the paper and how they can be absorbed in different ways, so I may push that farther as well. = = =  = = =

=Concentration 2=

My project has evolved in that I have been using the materials to express my relationship with the person, whereas in the beginning of the project I thought I would mainly be painting. However, I want to return to painting because that is where I feel most comfortable. I was talking to Dianne today about her portrait and she said she felt "it needed more Emily." That really struck me because I have been looking for a way to have my pieces be more cohesive, and so far I have been at a loss, aside from thinking about 3D techniques. By trying so many techniques, I learned a lot about the process of creating art, but lost some of my own vision in the process. I think that to unite my pieces, as well as show my own voice and self more, I need to go back into my works and incorporate more of my usual "painterly" style. I also want to push the gel medium farther, especially with blocking things out and adding 3D elements. =﻿= Deirdre portrait (very much in progress)

Dianne

=Concentration 1= Eric

(Eleanor/Hannah and Matt still to come)

For my concentration, I am focusing on the relationships I have with various people in my life. To do this, I am painting portraits of people who responded to a mass invite I sent out: best friends, acquaintances, family members, and people I have met only once or twice, if at all. I originally set out to do just straight portraits, but as my project progressed, I have decided to use the materials in each painting to reflect my perception of the subject. For example, one piece is of a boy from Chewonki Semester 45 who I met briefly when I visited this fall. Because I only know the basics about his life and personality, his portrait is a screen print that just gives the most basic information necessary to determine what the picture is about. Likewise, for my portrait of one of my best friends from my Chewonki semester, I painted an abstract piece with a Robin Hood style hat on top. The abstraction represents our phone conversations, in which I am constantly having to think of things to say because he never says anything on the phone. Thus, in painting the abstraction, I made myself keep working non-stop, trying application after application to make something interesting. I painted the hat on top because after our discussion of what he wanted his portrait to look like, he sent me many pictures of him in full Robin Hood regalia (including tights) in the snow, and I wanted to incorporate his vision, silly as it may be, into his portrait. I am also working on a large oil painting of Hannah Woodward and Ellen McKnight. However, this portrait has been hard to develop because it has been too cold recently to work outside for any long period of time, and I have been out of town or sick many weekends. For future projects, especially oil pieces, I need to keep in mind the weather conditions and time management so that I can finish everything well.

Digital Project



Being able to copy and paste images in Photoshop was very helpful because it greatly sped up the process of covering a page with material. Being able to immediately fill areas with specific, flat color was also helpful because I often misjudge the amount of paint I need, and it is hard to match colors exactly. It was also great to be able to undo mistakes rather than having to work around them. I like working with physical materials more because I feel as if I have more control over the piece as the mouse can be hard to maneuver when you are cutting images out and so forth. Also, I like the tangibility of a brush in my hand and mixing really specific colors of paint myself rather than having to use what a computer can generate. I can make use of Photoshop in my concentration because I can make a piece ready for submission relatively quickly.


 * Project Five**

The purpose of this project was to challenge us in pulling together random objects, textures, and patterns. I think this project was also to show us that it's okay to get really frustrated with something because it makes you work harder to make everything come together and prevents mentally "slacking off." In future work, I should remember that when the piece is not going the way I want it to, I need to work harder than ever to complete it. I will also not be painting on pleats or unstretched fabric in my future work. My piece kept the same elements throughout, but the elements' colors changed often, with many layers and large blocks of color added. In the end, I brought everything together by using a chaotic yet harmonized palatte, overlapping shapes, and blocking out the pattern of the fabric in specific areas and emphasizing it in others.


 * Project Four**

For this project, my strategy consisted of careful planning and working from the ground up in specific layers. This enabled me to construct layers of paint I would not have been able to capture otherwise, such as splatter-painting the first layer and painting the horse with drips. I think each layer is simple in and of itself, but together they make up a complex composition. The deer is probably the simplest part of my piece, painted in only six flat colors, and the horse is the most complex. Strategy is essential to executing a successful concentration because having an set goal, or at least an outline, enables one to work efficiently yet with thought. Without a strategy, one could also run into the problem of having several pieces that do not particularly correlate to one another and then having to connect them. For my concentration, I should draw four complete compositions and have significant ideas for at least four more, allowing the last four pieces to develop along with my ideas. I should also decide the size of each piece and materials before setting forth into the great beyond of The Concentration. Planning my concentration beforehand would help me to best utilize my time and work strategically.

In my self-portrait, I am wearing a white hat with a veil and a pair of Kanye West sunglasses, pursing my lips into the light. The light could be representing all the challenges we face as seniors. I/my character--who many believe is Lady Gaga--is looking into the light and making a funny face, as if I am confronting my trials head on while retaining a sense of humor. This could say I am able to retain a positive attitude in light of any situation. In addition to my hat and sunglasses, the most important things I brought to the photo shoot were wit and an open mind regarding the pose. I think the photograph I chose for my drawing worked best because not only was the composition strongest with the stark contrast of the veil on my face and sunglasses, but it also has a sassy pose rather than a serious or "artsier" look. I think the pursed lips and veil are what brought my drawing to the next level. This project showed me the importance of working fast while still paying attention to detail. Being able to take my work home was supremely convenient, and I should keep that in mind when preparing my concentration.
 * Project Three**

For my piece I presented a baby bird as a monster. My original "10-second drawing" was just of a bird; however, as my piece progressed, I began to think of the bird as a baby rather than an adult to heighten the tension between the bird in the middle and the chicken carcass split in half and hanging on either side. As I worked in acrylics, the quick drying time allowed me to paint many thin layers of color over another and still have the colors underneath be vivid. This created ambiguous edges between the baby bird, the dead chickens, and the background, as well as complex areas of color within all of the birds. My piece is influenced by Francis Bacon and Chaim Soutine. I originally intended for my piece to be in the format of Bacon, but with Soutine's heavier paint application, especially in the meat. However, the acrylic paint was not very cooperative when I tried to smear it on the canvas and dried flat instead of remaining chunky, so I resorted to thinner washes of paint in most areas. This created more interest in the colors of the paint and direction brushstrokes, instead of the paint's 3-D aspect. If I were to continue this as a concentration, I would look at more Bacon pieces and use them as a catalyst to make more paintings, hopefully in oils, in designs somewhat similar to his but using more concrete animal subjects.
 * Project Two**