Self Portrait

Acrylic on Canvas

11 X 14

My class and I did self portraits for an art show and this is mine.

Colby

Charcoal on Brown Paper

9 X 10

I decided to go outside of my comfort zone of acrylic paint and try charcoal. Before this, I had only done a portrait of myself in acrylic but I really enjoyed using charcoal. Colby does not have strong facial features besides his chin, so I had difficulty getting the shape of his face right. The picture I took of Colby was dark and the light was mainly on his face. He had some facial hair that I tried to achieve by smearing a light layer of vine charcoal. I prefer using the vine charcoal over the regular charcoal because it has a delicate touch to it.

Laying Brick

8 X 10

Acrylic on Panel

A friend of mine took this photograph and when she showed me I thought it would be perfect for my concentration. It shows working and building something that is in everyday use. The colors are all in a neutral range, with some warm colors. There is not a large range of foreground and background, but I like that about the composition because it gives the feeling of hard work. The worker is the focal point, which I made by the contrast of orange on the neutral background. I also emphasized the focal point by the proportion and location of the worker, making him the most important object in the painting.

Summer Time Fun

 9 X 10 

Acrylic on Panel

This was a photograph taken at my nephew's birthday party in the summer of 2011; He is the boy on the right. Their backs were faced toward the sun so there is a contrast in values making their skin have a gray tone. I had some difficulties getting the skin color to not look too gray and still look like skin. So instead of starting from scratch and only using red, yellow, blue and white to mix the skin tones I started with a pre-made skin tone and went from there. The background colors help the children look like they are facing away from the sun. Also the white "halo" around their heads and in their hair give it an outside look.

The Death of the Pepsi

Acrylic on Panel

8 X 10

Originally this painting was just the Coke cans but I was told it was boring. I had to come up with something to add that would create conflict or a thought process. By adding the Pepsi can, the painting now show conflict between the two brands giving it more excitement. I painted this in a realistic way but I simplified it; I gave it my personal touch. This picture of the Coke cans were taken on a store shelf and I added the Pepsi can from looking at a picture of another crushed can. I had difficulty painting the Pepsi label because I did not have a source to see how the label folded but I know that there are highlights and dark spots that give something form. The isolation of the Pepsi can makes it the focal point and it is also the only blue object in the painting. The vast amount of red is balanced with the blue of the Pepsi can.

Trolley Stop

Color Pencil on Water Color Paper

9 X 11

Color pencil is very different from acrylic paint, which is what I am used to. Colors are layered on top of each other rather than mixed to completely change the pigment of the color. I had difficulty with words on signs because they were so small so I used an exacto knife to carve letters after I had layered the color pencil. This is a very structural, straight lined picture but I think it is balanced out by the organic shape of the tree. The focal point is the trolley stop, which is emphasized by its detail, color, location, and the converging lines. This is the Butler Station in Downtown Memphis.

Airport Wait

Acrylic on Panel

8 X 10

This photo was taken in an airport on the way to France. The picture portrays an element of waiting and boredom because the girls are not engaged with each other. The girl in the middle is the focal point because the girls on both sides of her are facing her. Also there is a line implied by the girl on left line of sight that goes directly to the book in the middle girls hands. I simplified the background a great deal by taking out a counter and a window to make the background less important. The features of the girl on the right are not as detailed as the girl in the middle to make the right girl less important. I struggled with the left girl’s leg because it is crossed and without the foot showing, the perspective looks strange. Overall, I like how the painting turned out and the feeling it expresses.

Summer Lovin'

Acrylic on Panel
8 X 10

When the sun is beating directly down, colors have a greater contrast. The people walking in this painting are almost outlined because of this effect. The woman also has a "halo" around her head because of the sun. The water is lighter close up and a darker blue in the distance to show that the water is deeper and in the background. There is a foreground, a middle ground, and a background. The older people are the foreground, the woman in the distance is the middle ground, and the background is the mountain range, which touch the sky. The sky is darker as it goes up because light reflects and bounces off of the water back to the sky, making the sky appear lighter from a distance.

Cafe Window

Acrylic on Panel

8 X 10

This picture came from a school trip to France that my teacher took. Creating a scene behind glass is very difficult. To set the people back and make them look like they are behind a window, the color must be darker and duller than that of the foreground. The words and stickers on the window also help make the window look like glass. I glazed over all the windows with a gray blue color to give it the far away appearance. The background of the cafe is even darker than the people in the window and has less detail. The most intense color is the red on the outside of the building. This is because it is outside in daylight. The door is dark and dull because it is in a shadow. The lightest color is white and is balanced around the painting.

Two Old Men

Acrylic on Panel

8 X 10

This is my first black and white painting I have ever done. I did not use just blacks and white because in doing that I would have given the painting a harsh feeling. Instead, I used shades and tints of purple. The two old men sitting on the bench in the foreground have more detail compared to the abstracted background. The background in the picture I used as a reference, was windows on a building. There were people and other shapes in the windows that I blurred and put less emphasis on. The darkest dark is the dominating color, which balances the less of the lightest light. To me the men have angry expressions on their faces giving the idea that these men are either mad at each other or they are complete strangers.

Family Colors

 Acrylic on Panel

8 X 10

Color plays a major part in this painting. Much of it is arbitrary because its not exactly realistic. The bright colors give it an older 50s look, which goes along with the idea of the happy, typical American families that are thought of from the 1950s. The background is contrasted with the family by the calm blue background, with the busy colors of the family. Some of the blue background is brought into the family in the fathers tie, the girls dress, and in the turkey. There is emphasis on the mothers red dress and the yellow oven because they are the only true colors in the painting. The location of the family makes the whole group a focal point. Unity is created by the proximity of the family. This is important not just for art reasons but also to tell a story of the closeness of the family.

Concert Lights

Acrylic on Panel

8 X 10

This photo is of two different photos I took at a Circa Survive concert that I added together. The focal point is the two people on stage hugging, even though they are in the background. The people in the audience are looking towards the stage adding emphasis to the people on stage. Also the stage lights are directly beating down on the stage and the lines of the beams are pointing to the people. I used two main complementary colors: yellow and purple. All the colors are different shades of these colors. The foreground has more detail and is larger making it appear to be closer to the audience. Also the placement of the people help give the painting depth. The closeness of the people make the crowd look dense and give the painting the feeling of being at a concert. The style of this painting has loose strokes and many highlights to show where the light hits. Also the intensity and hard edges help show the lights on objects.

"Playing" Soccer

 Acrylic on Panel

9 X 10

The subject matter of this photo is of my art teacher's grandchild (the blonde) getting upset because she did not want to play soccer that day. The background is done in very loose strokes, as is the foreground, but to a greater extent. The focal point is the upset child and the converging line of the building in the background is pointing to her face. The bright colored jerseys give emphasis to the foreground and sets it about from the more neutral background. I had difficulty foreshadowing the arms on the girl in the front and it took me many tries and many corrections to get it right. The trees are not geometric at all, they are very organic and have implied lines.

What is an A.P. Concentration?

A concentration for Advanced Placement Art is one theme that 12 pieces of art relate to. My Concentration is art of everyday life. This entails people, places, and things. I chose this theme because I think it is interesting to portray people in a candid way. Everyday life can show the natural beauty of the little things in life.

Farmer's Market

Watercolor Pencils and Pastels on Watercolor Paper

12" x 11 1/2"

Celebratory Dinner

Acrylic on Panel

9" x 10"

Christmas Mass

Acrylic on Panel

9" x 12"

Morning Reflection

This drawing is of a reflection looking into a coffee cup. The face is the focal point and the spoon and hand are converging lines towards the face. The face is also located near the center of the paper helping it be the focal point. The paper towel only has details in the front and fades to an implied line in the back, that is the foreground. It was hard to get the face to look like a reflection in the cup and took me many tries. My favorite part of this picture is the spoon because of the shading on it.

Ryan Peel

Ryan Peel is a local Memphis musician (whom I did receive permission from before using his picture.) This medium is torn pieces of newspaper. I briefly sketched just the shape of his head and body before beginning. There is no other medium used, everything including the shading is just different shades of newspaper. I tried to balance the picture by adding the light source, being the lightest spot, with all of the highlights on his face and shirt. Not much is done to the background but abstracted shapes of different shades just to show that something is present but that it is not the main focus.

Big Red Chair

This summer we had an assignment of having 3 pieces of art due at the beginning of August. One piece that I chose was to paint a corner of a room. All summer I took pictures of different rooms that I could possibly use for my painting. While I was in St. Louis this summer, I saw this chair at my aunts house and knew this was the room I wanted to paint.

I intended for the focal point to be the pillow in the chair. I thought that having the pillow as the focal point would bring the viewers eye to the chair, which has the most weight in the picture. The pillow is also emphasized by the highlights on it from the lamp, or light source. The table next to the chair also has an out of the ordinary element to it but it is shaded to keep the viewers eye on the focal point but also give the painting more interest.