Harmony
My concentration is called Harmony. It's all about the synchronicity between music and nature. I'm bringing together various instruments and elements of nature to show the similarities between reality and the world that music creates. Almost every piece contains an instrument my family, friend, or I have played. Music has made a huge impact on my life, I've played an instrument for most of my life and many of my friends come from a musical background. So this concentration gives me a way to combine two of my passions, music and art. Music has taught me to view the world differently and that's where the nature plays a part.
Concentration #1
Sketches
In Progress
Final Artwork
This piece is the first of twelve in my Harmony concentration. I brainstormed the idea for this piece by thinking of an object in nature and an instrument my friend, family or myself has played. The trees are in the shape of a viola which my friend Abigail has played for four years. Original I was going to do a close up of a tree and have the instrument kind of fusing with the tree rather then the tree being in the shape of a viola. A challenge I faced while working on this piece was distinguishing the trees from each other and the tinier branches from the wood's grains. To start this piece I picked one of the twelve instruments from my list and an object from nature that was similar in shape. Then I decided how to lay out the various viola/trees, from there I started shading the trees, starting with the closet and working my way back. After I added final details such as strings and wood grain. Something I am proud of with this piece is how subtle the violas could be for example if I had made the strings the same as the wood around them then the shape would be the only tell, and I think that's neat. Something I would change if I was to do the piece over again would be the grass. I don't know what i would do differently but it just seems off to me. Overall, I learned that with pen and ink somethings can be light. Normally I get darker with my shading, it's not on purpose it just happens, but strings and the sky are lighter and I think it looks magnificent, and that's how I've grown as an artist.
Concentration #2
Sketch
In Progress
Final Artwork
Like the previous piece I chose an instrument and a thing from nature, this time it's a harp and a waterfall. Unlike the other pieces in my concentration I don't know anyone who plays or has played a harp. Nevertheless I couldn't get this piece out of my mind while I was thinking up my twelve ideas. A challenge I faced when creating this piece was the shading in the rocks and the movement of the water at the top and the bottom. To create the piece I first drew the outline of the harp then added the shapes of the rocks. From there I took around five different browns and started on the rocks. For the harp's gold I did a lighter shade if it was under the water opposed to if it was out of the water. The water was done with three different blues and one green. From there I moved on to the sky I wanted bright colors but I didn't want the viewer's eye to be dragged there first, so i took some pinks and the yellows I used for the harp and created a sunrise/sunset look. Something from this piece I would consider a success would be the harp and the way it appears behind the water. Something I would change if i was to do this piece over would be the rocks at the bottom. They look flat but I don't know how to fix that now that I can blend it anymore. Overall I'm very proud of this piece, I love the colors used and I don't think that the photograph doesn't do this piece justice.
Concentration #3
Sketch
In Progress
Final Artwork
This piece is a mix between a harmonic and a honeycomb. The original idea was to have the entirety of the page be honeycombs and have the harmonica emerging from it. This piece is another one that I don't know anyone who plays the instrument depicted. Actually that's not true, my dad told me that my great uncle George plays but I've never met him. While creating this piece I didn't run into and technical problems but I did have issues deciding what color the harmonica should be and what to do in the background. The piece started with the most difficult sketch ever. From there I moved on to how to make the honey color. Then the bees and the background. I'm most proud of how the bees and the honey turned out. If I was to redo this the thing I would change is the background. I would have taken the time to think of it before I start the piece. As an artist I learned to plan out the entire piece before starting instead of doing have of it then thinking of the background.
Concentration #4
Sketch
In Progress
Final Artwork
My idea for this concentration piece didn't start out this way. It was originally symbols instead of the actual drum part but my sketches weren't coming together the way I wanted them to. So I compromised, I used a different part of a drum set and kept something close to the original idea. The drums were inspired by my best friend's brother, Julian. He plays so frequently that when his family moved they made sure that he had a separate room for his drum set and various other instruments he plays. A challenge I faced while working on this piece was the water and the sky. I intended for the sun to be setting and reflecting in the water but when I added the other colors to the water it became muddy. So instead of having the colors not reflect off the water I decided to just make the sky different shades of blue. I'm really proud of the sand and the trees. The sand is the best sand I've ever done and I'm especially proud of the shadows of the trees that I did in the sand. The trees were what I was most worried about because I was going to do this piece in prisma and I knew that I could blend the color I wanted. So when someone suggested oil I had no clue how the trees would turn out, and they ended up being one of my favorite things about the piece. With this piece I learned the importance of a small brush, I went out and bought an extremely small brush for things like the details of the leaves and the lines of the drum. If I was to redo this piece I would do the drums in a different color. The grey just doesn't do it for me anymore.
Concentration #5
Sketches
In Progress
Final Artwork
The original idea for the cattail flutes was to have the flutes be the stem of a flower. It changed from that to what it is now when someone suggested I wind chimes. I realized that a flute didn't really work as a stem and decided instead to use as the top of the cat tail. The flute aspect of this piece comes from many people. I used to play the flute in sixth grade but recently one of the kids I watch had to pick a instrument. I suggested the flute. I asked her why she picked the flute and she said that both her parents played but they weren't that goo. So her goal is to be better then them. A challenge I faced was the medium I chose to use. Watercolor isn't my strong suit, so this whole project was an experience. I'm proud of how I blended the colors though. The flutes, in my opinion, look fantastic and I like the color of the sky. If I was to re-due this piece I would do the water differently. My goal was to have it be a muddy bluish grey because cat tails are traditional found in swamp like areas. As an artist I expanded my skills by using a medium that is less familiar to me.
Concentration #6
Sketches
In Progress
Final Artwork
I don't remember the specific of coming up with the cello/shell. So when I was doing the sketches fell any where between a lone shell on the beach to a pile of various shells. I decided on one of the variation of a bunch of different shells on display. This piece, which I have nicknamed shello, was inspired by two people I know who play the cello. My cousin Chris and my friend Jo. Chris has played for six years while Jo has only played for only two weeks. A challenge I faced while creating this piece was the cowrie shell in the front and the coral. Both of these were challenging because of their color. The other shells have many color while both the cowrie shell and the coral are predominantly white. I'm proud of how the shells turned out. The colors are pleasant to look at. And the blue of the background really adds to the piece. If I was to re-due this piece I would get rid of the cowrie shell or switch it with the clam shell. Also I would make the conch shell and the long spiral shell more noticeable different colors.
Concentration #7
Sketches
In Progress
Final Artwork
While brainstorming for this piece I found it very difficult to not do a tree. My goal when I started this concentration was to do a different part of nature for each piece. I planned out a bunch of things that weren't trees, but as I do more pieces trees just keep appearing within my concentration. Unlike the other pieces where the instrument is the only thing inspired by a friend, both the clarinet and the log came from my friend Briana, who has played the clarinet for 7 years. The biggest challenge I faced while working on this piece was the fox. Originally there were two smaller foxes but because of the size difference they made the log look huge. So I drew a larger fox but I couldn't get the face shape right. I'm proud of the shading on the clarinet. If I was to redo this piece again I would do the mushrooms differently only because of the fact that since the ground is also stippled they kind of blend into one another.
Concentration #8
Sketches
In Progress
Final Artwork
The idea of pipe organ mountains came from a field trip I took to New York. We went to a church and the back wall was entirely organ pipes My grandmother is who inspired this piece. She played the organ for over 50 years. The one she had wasn't as grand as the ones you would find in a church but I remember going into her basement when I was younger and seeing her organ in the corner. I was really looking forward to this piece, it's the largest piece of art I've ever done. A challenge I faced while working on this piece was the pipes because after I did two sections of pipes I started with the actual mountains and when I went back to do more pipes it was difficult to paint them without getting green all over my arm. I'm really proud of the texture in the mountain. I was worried about how the sky would turn out but I like how it brightens up the the rest of the painting. If I was to do this piece over again I would use different colors for the mountain. In my opinion they are too green. I realized this half way through so that's why I added browns to the top. This piece helped me grow as an artist because it expanded my skills with oil paint and the size of canvas I would be willing to work with.
Concentration #9
Sketches
In Progress
Final Artwork
When I was brainstorming I knew I wanted to do a brass instrument combined with a flower. So when my dad reminded me that my brother Russell played the trumpet in sixth grade, I knew that the trumpet vine was the perfect flower to use for the nature part. Even though the idea of the trumpet/vine is one of the simpler, more obvious ideas, I did it as my ninth piece because I wanted to use a new medium. This is the first project I've ever done with chalk pastel. One of the biggest problem I had while working on this piece was keeping things bright and not to over blend. Another challenge I had was what to put in the holes of the fence, I settled with some grass and a little bit of sky. I'm really proud of the colors of the trumpets and the buds because a friend of mine, who knows a lot about flowers, says the colors are nearly identical to actual trumpet vines. If I was to do this piece over again I would do the bird differently. I would try to keep it lighter and maybe use a few other colors. Overall with this project and this medium I learned it's difficult to not over blend the color and I learned to expand the list of mediums I'm okay with using.
Concentration #10
Sketches
In Progress
Final Artwork
This piece is tambourines as lily pads. At first I wanted to just have a bunch of tambourines without the real ones, but as I thought about that more I knew it would be difficult to tell what the nature part was. The tambourine is one of the easier instruments and nobody really plays it professionally so this piece isn't inspired by anybody. I original drew the tambourines with a sharper indent like the lily pads but it didn't look like a tambourine anymore. A challenge I faced while working on this piece was the amount of water I used. Multiple times I accidentally put too much and the paper came up. I'm really proud of how the lily pads turned out. Another thing I'm proud of is the symbols on the tambourine, they turned out better then I planned. If I was going to redo this piece I would do the colors of the tambourines differently. Overall this water color piece turned out a lot better than my first one and I hope to keep improving with my water color skills.
Concentration #11
Sketches
In Progress
Final Artwork
This is the first piece I've done this semester where I didn't have the idea of what it was going to be before I started. So to come up with the idea I asked a bunch of different people to name instruments. From there I thought of a part of nature it could be. Despite the fact that I didn't know what I was doing the maracas are inspired by my best friend, Evan. He has no musical talent but he has always joked about buying maracas to jam out with when we drive together. In a way this piece is also inspired by Mason becasue of her nickname, Bunny. Originally the bunny was going to be white but while I was adding shadows I used the wrong color so I decide to make it a brown rabbit instead. I wish I had done the maracas slightly different because they resemble eggs more then I wanted them too. Overall I proud of how my bunny turned out. If I was to do this piece again I would use a different color for the yellow parts of the maracas. What I did just doesn't seem right. Also I would have blended the sky better so you don't see the lines of my pencil. As an artist this piece helped me grow by improving my skill with prisma and my limited experience drawing animals.
Concentration #12
Sketch
In Progress
Final Artwork
My twelfth and final piece is another example of me not knowing what I was going to do when I started. I had ideas, like xylophone stepping stones or a tuba as a potato, but they didn't seem right. I finally asked my friend to just name as many instruments as she could, from there I crossed out the instruments that were similar to the ones I've already done. A majority of the instruments that were left had a round aspect to them so I searched Round objects in nature. despite the fact that the banjo/dandelions were unplanned they still relate to someone in may family. My grandfather. He dabbled in learning and playing for many years. A challenge I faced while working on this piece was having variety in between the darks and the lights. I'm proud of the little things in this piece, like how the frets aren't too close together or too far apart. If I was to redo this piece I would change the layout of the dandelions and I would use watercolor paper so my background could have been a wash instead of stippling.
Breadth #10
Original photo
In Progress
Final Artwork
The idea for this piece was inspired by the three girls in the photo and by my six or so years of karate. I've taught these girls karate for about two years now and they have inspired me in many ways. The girl on the left, Brooklyn, actually was inspiration for the flute cattails in my concentration. Originally I was going to have the person at the front desk in the photo as well but the timing didn't work out for taking a photo. I'm really proud of how the bodies turned out and all the little details like the different patches. I'm not too fond of the faces but that may be just because I know what they look like and I can tell something is off. A challenge I had was making a distinction between different people/ fabrics. despite that I think I did a good job fixing that problem by adding dark greys instead of using straight black. I also had so trouble with the paint. At certain times it was like the paint wasn't sticking to the canvas and that was problematic. If I was to redo this piece I would make sure the face shape was correct before moving on. I would go back and fix it now but my paint has dried and I don't remember exactly how I made it. So if I went back over it now I would have to do the whole face again.
Breadth #11
Sketches
In Progress
Final Artwork
This idea came from a different version of my concentration. This piece is also about the connections between nature and music. Instead of an instrument combined nature it's a person treating nature as though it's music. A challenge I had while creating this piece was the pinkie finger on the left hand. I had to have done it at lest three times and it still doesn't look right. Another challenge I had was making the waves not look symmetrical. I am proud of the skin tones I created. Surprisingly I was able to create this color on the first try. I did this whole piece in some new paints and they worked so well. They were smooth and blended very well. If I was to do this piece over again I would change the shapes of the rocks and I would also make sure the hands were exactly how I wanted them before I put paint down.
Breadth
Original photo
In Progress
Final Artwork
I did this piece because of a scholarship opportunity. The task was to make a sixty second video about the university you have accepted. I plan on attending UNC Greensboro in the fall so I decided draw the Minerva statute and take pictures at different points in the creating process to compile into a video. A challenge I had with this is the transitions between photos, at the time I'm writing this I only used a blank sheet of paper as the transition. Something difficult while creating the art was the face because it is a small area my pencils weren't small enough to get small details and with the had. I really like how her color turned out. If I was to do this piece over again I would spend more time on the perceptive of Minerva, something seems off and I can't tell what it is. I hope that despite all the complications I had with this experience it's still good enough to win the scholarship.
Breadth
Original photo
In Progress
Final Artwork
Breadth
In Progress
Final Artwork
Breadth
In Progress
Final Artwork
Breadth #12
In Progress
Final Artwork
AP Art Presentation
Final Reflection
Last semester I said art 4 was the busiest semester I've ever had, if only I knew how AP would turn out. I did a total of 20 pieces in less time because after I finished my concentration I had nothing else to work on. As the weeks went by my concentration's idea grew. It evolved from just merged instruments to incorporating animals and backgrounds into the piece. My favorite piece from my concentration is the lily pads/tambourines and from not my concentration would be the hot air balloons. The reason for both of them is because of the vibrant colors. My least favorite would be my first concentration piece, I think because it was first it lacked the same vibe of the later pieces. From what I observed time management is the one of most important things when working on a portfolio another is picking a topic that you actually want to do.