JPG 4: What Are You Obsessed With?

I am obsessed with Christmas. Ever since I was a little girl, I have always loved the Christmas holiday. I love the decorations, the festivites, the lights, and of course, the presents! My favorite part of Christmas; however, is realizing how important family really is. Every Christmas, I become so appreciative of the people and things in my life.

JPG Challenge - Silence in Movement

Water is something that can be both silent and moving. While water can be calm and still, it can also be full of vigorous movement. In a small pond, like in the photos shown above, even when the water moves, it is still completely silent. Even if the water is not moving, the nature around it moves. The wind blows the leaves on the trees and the animals move from place to place.

Replica of Diebenkorn's Painting

This piece was completed in white oil pastel on black construction paper.

Water Glass

I never got a chance to complete this. I don't like that the leaf in the middle of the painting looks like it's outside the glass instead of inside it.

The Joy Series Completed

My Family

On the left, is a picture of my mom and I that was taken during the summer. Of all the people in my family, I am definitely closest to my mom. She knows a lot about me and really understands how I'm feeling most of the time. I know she cares very much about me and that I can talk to her about anything and she will listen. On the right, is a picture of my golden retriever, Taffy. My family has had her since I was eight years old and she has since become a permanent part of our family. She is the sweetest dog I have ever met and always cheers me up when I'm down.

A Place That is Special to Me

For a couple years now, my mom and I have been taking a trip to Block Island, Rhode Island every summer. The first time we went there, I fell in love with the island. It's a small, quaint island right off the coast of Rhode Island. You have to take an hour ferry ride to get to and from the mainland; therefore, it makes you feel like you're in a different country. There's cute little shops up and down the roads and beaches everywhere. This is definitely a place that I look forward to going to every summer just to get away from the stress of home.

Inspirational Photos for the Joy Series

After considering painting photos of nature that I took in the Poconos, I decided, instead, to paint pictures of jellyfish I had recently taken at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. My plan is to use watercolor as the medium for these paintings.

Thoughts From Summer

This summer, I went to the Pocono Mountains with my mom. The setting there was so absolutely beautiful that I could not help but to take several photographs of literally everything. My plan was to bring these pictures back to school and turn them into my own works of art. They may also become the inspiration for our first project- the joy series. This year in AP Studio, I want to create beautiful, unique paintings. I hope that this year's work will complete my AP portfolio to make it the best it can be. My final goal for this year is to just have fun and learn new things about art that I haven't learned in my previous three years of art classes.

Honorable Mention

I was proud of this. :)

Suspended - "Jazz Ensemble"

My goal in creating this piece was to create interesting shadows with the objects we suspended from the wall. I accomplished this goal by arranging the lighting so I could get raking shadows. My painting is about the theme we created. It has a 1920s theme that evokes a mysterious mood. The most difficult challenge I had to face was accurately depicting the shapes in the hat, trombone, and record. I met this challenge by squinting my eyes to see the correct shapes. I think the best part of my painting is definitely the colors and shapes painted in the hat. The biggest lesson I learned from this painting is that next time I need to make sure the sketch on my canvas is accurate before I lay paint down. My mentor in this painting was Edward Hopper. My painting is similar to the style and brush-strokes Hopper uses. From Audrey, I learned to find more shadows in all the objects. If I had a do-over, I would make the paint look a little smoother. However, overall, I feel my work is very successful.

Chili Peppers

Morning Fruit

Dessert

Audrey

My goal for this painting was to paint the colors and shapes found in Audrey's shirt and skirt. I chose to simplify everything else so the main focus would be on her clothing, not on her face or the background. The main challenges I faced were in accurately outlining the angle of her body. I overcame this challenge by redrawing the lines with paint. I mistakenly painted her collar in the middle of her shirt, when in fact it was slightly to the left of the painting due to the fact that her body was turned. I created form in this painting by drawing what I saw instead of from memory. Overall, I enjoyed taking a break from painting myself and painting someone else. It was a nice change of pace.

Snow Day Homework

This is my snow day homework. I completed a 2 page spread in my sketchbook using pencil and charcoal. I drew the office in my house. The love seat is the main focus of the sketch, as well as the window behind it. The door leading into another room is my escape hatch. I found as many dark shadows as I could and made sure to leave no white in the picture.

Power Portrait

From this project, I learned how to paint quickly, how to work with a limited palate, and how to paint shadows instead of objects on my face. The most diffifult thing I neede to do to be successful was to find to find the correct shadows in my face and paint them accurately. The most fun part of this project was the risk of having a short amount of time to paint everything.

Sketchbook Assignments