What Do You Think?

As I've mentioned in previous posts, one of the mandatory factors in creating visibly pleasing works of art is successful placement of objects, colors and textures within the piece, or the composition of the work. A painting, drawing, photograph, or collage with good composition leads the viewer's eye smoothly through the piece. No one object or color appears to "stick out", and the image seems altogether balanced.

Below are two works of art– both considerably well known. Which one do you think has better composition?


David Shepherd– Christ On the Battlefield

Gustave Caillebotte– Paris Street; Rainy Day

If the answer seems obvious, think to yourself, why? How did you know immediately? Both pieces work, but in my opinion, one is better than the other in terms of composition.


Recognizing these features in other people's work allow you as an artist to better use them in your own art.

My Work

At first glance, this painting may seem pretty typical. You've got your flowers, you've got your skyline, your random inanimate object. All of this is true. But what makes this painting one of my favorites was the way I completed it. It's called night painting, and I bet you can guess how you do it. I sat on my porch and painted this in the dark, with only the distant lamplight to help me see. This forces the artist to create shades and colors based on exactly how they see what's in front of them, instead of using ideas of what colors different objects should be. I completed it in the dark, so I couldn't really see the actual colors I was using, but it came out resembling the glowing, weak light that nighttime creates. This type of painting gets the artist in the field and forces him or her to work by the image in reality rather than going by an image in his or her head. It's exciting to experiment with different times of day or atmospheres and see how they affect the outcome of a piece. 

My Photos

Just some photographs I've taken of some fairly beautiful places. Photo 1: Downtown Lancaster City, Pennsylvania. Photo 2: Park in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Photo 3: Keuka, New York. 

My Work- Caged Bird Song

This poem is based loosely off of Maya Angelou’s “I know why the caged bird sings.”

Caged Bird (A Tribute)

The saddest thing is not a bird

Who laments being kept in a cage,

But rather

A bird who does not recognize

That she is trapped.

I know-

Sometimes the cage is so close

That her eyes cannot see the bars.

Sometimes

The light flashes across her

And for a moment, she is strong.

Strong enough to fly,

Or to try to.

Her wings beat against metal bars,

Fierce but silent,

And only for a moment before they come

Again

And clip her wings.

The color drips from her feathers

And gathers on the ground-

Lovely and tragic,

A pallet spilled by careless hands.

When her wings are stripped of their hue

And left slate grey,

The color of rain,

She no longer tries to sing.

The caged bird does not sing.

Not because she’s lost her voice,

But

Because she has forgotten the words. 

My Work- Glass

Glass

Late at night

when the house had closed its eyes

and I stepped with hesitation

to protect the silent air

I dropped

a glass, clear and round

and it clattered to the ground

shattered as I knew it would

and settled moments later

strewn across the dim lit floor.

The sound had been enormous

no respect for sleeping world

but the glass was now a

landscape of shards and slivers,

a veil of pale moonlight

dancing on it from the window.

And as I watched it glint and shimmer

I could only help but wonder

if some things

are more beautiful

only after

they’re destroyed.

My Work- Review/Critique

All three of the above pieces fall under the category of mixed media artwork. I decided to work with one of my favorite materials, watercolor, along with various other mediums to create different effects. The first piece features watercolor and sharpie pen, the second features watercolor and pencil, and the third features watercolor, pencil, and charcoal. Although I like the contrast between the loose, colorful paint and the definite, black sharpie lines in the first piece, the composition suffers without bringing in those dark lines somewhere other than the giraffe in the middle of the image. It may have been more effective to add more contrast to the background to create a better flow in the image altogether. I have similar feelings about the second image. I love the detail that I accomplished by using pencil in combination with the watercolor drips, but having all the pencil in one half of the portrait lessens the movement of the piece. The third piece, however, incorporates the charcoal smoothly with the watercolor. The mediums blend effortlessly without too much contrast, making it more effective compositionally. The duller paint colors in the third image also cause it to blend more easily with the charcoal. Overall, my experimentation with these multimedia pieces proved to be successful, because I learned to blend mediums in order to accomplish successful composition. Although I wish the sharpie blended better with the watercolor, the first image is my favorite, because I enjoy the loose blobs of watercolor. I also like the darkness of sharpie versus pencil, because it allows for more vivid detail. 

My Work

The above pieces work with photo realism, using pencil to mimic life in portraits. Some of celebrities, some of unknown subjects. I wanted to focus on vivid, pinpointed detail paired with more abstracted aspects. 

My Work- Shelter

I was inspired to write this poem after going on various mission trips and working closely with the homeless in cities like New York and Chicago.

Shelter

Each city carries a nameless race, a

species contrived from the

dust and the dark,

born from the alleys

from park benches with cold metal

from the lack- the negative space.

They float

angels with dirty faces

pelted with disgust and weighted with

inadequacy.

We push them under shaky roofs

dismissing them, and pat our own

backs

with honest hands.

We pay no more mind

to the mind

of the runaway teen or the widowed

mother of three.

But the pulse of the city will always

pound in time

and in rhyme

with the hearts of these who are

forgotten.

And if you ever wish to see the soul

of a city,

instead of its manicured hands

or speckless face,

look into the eyes of these who are

abandoned-

and the city

will look back;

silent, and suffering, but strong. 

My Work

To draw this portrait (done from a photograph of myself), I also used sepia-toned charcoal and conte pencils. I enjoyed the warmth these colors gave to the piece, rather than traditional greyscale charcoal. I added more detail than Aristides does in her overall pieces, but some areas still contain more contrast than others. 

Juliette Aristides

Artist Juliette Aristides focuses on conveying the human form, often exploring many different mediums and materials. This drawing titled "Pan" features sepia-colored charcoal and conte pencil. Aristides attempts to convey the contrast in the human spirit through her use of lights and darks. She creates interest by leaving some parts of the portrait loose and sketched, and giving other areas heavy detail. 

My Work

I was inspired by Bolognesi's messy watercolor portraits in the creation of these pieces. Although I "finished" these faces a bit more than she typically does, I liked the effect of the undone, white sections that show through among the colorful lines and blotches. 

Marion Bolognesi

These colorful watercolor portraits are the masterpieces of NYC artist Marion Bolognesi. Her emotive faces explode from the page, and Bolognesi's mastery of the paint-dripping technique has made her rather well known in the watercolor world. She uses blotches of color and loose brush strokes to reflect changing of mood and layers of feeling. Bolognesi captures the human emotion in her portraits, making them both realistic and visually fantastical. 

Come On In.

If you're out there reading this- which, clearly, you are- welcome. This space is designed to bring you an eclectic collection (try saying that three times fast) of creative material. Above all else, I hope to bring you a momentary break from the normal. The world can be a pretty interesting place. Sometimes we forget.

Here you will find creative expression in all of its various forms and styles.
Enjoy.