Subtractive drawing - Pig's head

When I hear the word subtractive drawing, I get uneasy. Drawing with nothing but an eraser scares me because I find it a lot harder to create accurate shading. The last subtractive drawing I did was in 8th grade and it did not turn out well...or look like the original object at all. The pig's head looks very intimidating at first but by looking just at the lights and darks, I was able to recreate it fairly accurately. I'm proud of my improvement and the attention to detail. However, I could definitely add more detail and need to focus on the negative space. Instead of making it black to death, I should have had a medium tone in the back as well as shadows and a reference point. Overall, I did better than I thought I would and I hope to still improve on it before moving on to the antlers.

Multimedia Composition - Glass

On our first day of art, my teacher handed us a glass and told us to draw it 6 different ways. At first, I couldn't think of anything or be creative in any way. I started off with a regular pencil drawing and went on to draw with water colors and pastels. For the final, we had to draw a multimedia composition drawing. I chose to draw one glass but divide it up into 4 quadrants and make each one with a different technique. I used the same scheme of colors to create cohesion and unity between the 4 different sections. The 4 different sections were pastel, color pencil, water color, and dots made with the tip of a paint brush by dipping it in tempera paint. Two of the backgrounds are black (on opposite sides) to create rhythm and movement. Overall, the project can be improved with better technical skill as well as a more creative way to represent the glass.

Cabin in the Woods

The assignment was to draw an imaginary window so I drew a cabin window but didn't draw anything on the other side of the glass. I chose to focus on the details of the wood around the window and on the window sill rather than what was inside the window. I did some simple shading for the actual window part which was done using both the pencil and eraser to draw. The space in this drawing is shallow since it has some shading on it. I made the window sill darker than the rest because I wanted it to stand out from the rest of the drawing. I also used a full range of values and many different types of pencils (from 3H to 8B graphite pencil). To improve the drawing, there should be a more specific light source and better shading on the actual glass part of the window to make it look as realistic as the rest of the wood.

Artist Statement

My biggest strength as an artist is my eye for design and composition; I have the ability to look at something and draw it in perspective, with shading, and as many details as it requires to look realistic. I aspire to be an architect or interior designer one day so these skills really help me with that dream. Another strength adding value to drawings because I am good at reading how the light is falling and drawing what I see and where the light hits. I also like to focus on the yin-yang type compare and contrast relationship in many of my works. I like showing the contrast between color, line, shading, perspective and others because it make the drawing more aesthetically pleasing. Lastly, a strength I have is evaluating and criticizing myself which motivates me to do better and also helps me learn a lot from my own mistakes. I’m not afraid to make mistakes because that’s the way I learn best, and I have learned a lot since I first started drawing.

My weaknesses, on the other hand, are mainly technical and creative. Since I skipped Art 1 and went straight into Art 2, I find myself lacking some fundamental art skills like how to paint with watercolors, use pastels, color pencils, and be good technically overall. Another technical skill I’m lacking (and trying to work on) is the ability to draw portraits and people. No matter how hard I try, I can’t make a drawing look like the person it’s supposed to look like. Another weakness is I see everything too geometrically and real and can’t allow myself to get creative and think of ideas that are out of the box. When I am told to draw something, I usually want to just draw how I see it, and I find it hard to add other elements or make it more complicated than it is. I like to appreciate objects for what they are and draw them but it comes down to it, I can be creative and think of new ideas as well. Being creative is an issue I face because I have many ideas in my head but when it comes to putting them down on paper, I don’t know how to realize them the exact same way they look in my head which leads to me getting frustrated.

The brick wall that mainly stands in my way is my competitiveness with other artists, lack of creativity and the desire to always have the best drawing in class. When given a creative task, I find myself more worried about how other people are going to do it than how I am going to do it. This blocks my creativity and instead of thinking about what I want to do, I start thinking about how to do better than the person next to me. This constant comparing of me as an artist to my peers has a negative effect on my art skills because it brings my confidence down which in turn lowers my creativity as well.

To get through this brick wall, I remind myself that every artist is unique and have different skill sets. There will be people who are better than me just like there will be times I will be better than them. I like it when people compliment my work because it reminds me of my strengths and that I have what it takes to be an artist. It’s important to remember why I love art and why I got involved with it in the first place.

Who I am 

Visionary   Affectionate   Welcoming   Contra-distinctive   Transoceanic   Quick-witted   Warm-hearted   Passionate   Zealous   Respecting   Romantic   Powerful   Unpresumptuous   Diplomatic   Competitive   Open minded   Inquisitive   Perceptive   Precise   Systematic   Sympathetic   Innovatory   Foreign   Well-rounded   Commendable