Senior Studio FInal Blog

I really enjoyed Senior Studio. However taking both my photo independant study and this at the same time was not a good idea for me. there were two very differnt creative outlets going on and I noticed at the end of theterm that this was destructive for me. I also found myself spending alot of important time for photo, finishing my large projects for senior studio.

However, the class itself was really great. I really enjoyed the freedom to just do whatever I wanted and paint whatever I wanted.
In using the tiger painting instead, I noticed that that was my best piece. this was a supposed to be just a practice run for learning how to paitn a tiger with its shape, highlights, shadows, etc. I was completley relaxed doing this and it made me take chances with choosing colors, using weird burhs strokes and other thigns that I wouldnt normally do on a normal painting. Most of these experiments worked out and made the painting my best one I think.
The building painting was so pressured and incredibly pressed for time and it aboslutley showed in my worked. I think the way you feel when your paint, especially painting, shows in your work. I know I do a half ass job even if I am spending extra time and effort to finish it.
Thats anotehr thing with my tiger painting,. It's not even finished as a picture of a tiger. I didnt finish the teeth, add eyes, or correct the black lines in the face, but because I was relaxed, the work was the best.

I learned alot about my work style and timing in this class and it was incredibly benefical. This class will be one that I miss most when I leave Beaver.

Second Critique

the second critique, still doing painting of building

- keep layering
- details last
-maybe not as many details as in picture
- start thinking about backgrgound because the sky in picture is not the same as in your picture because the building is the same color as sky in your painting
- hurry up with your work

Seven Days in the World & Critical Responces

Reading about these critics at California Institute made me realize that I could definite improve my critique skills. At art schools, people take part in critiques all the time and are used to not take critical repsonce as critiscm. When doing critiques in class, I was super sensitive to other peoples feelings, but at art school, honesty is very important. During the second critque with the class, I think I was much more open to new ideas that people were giving me and was more honest with other's and their works.

Critical Advice!

My partners for theses critical advice activity were Sam, Rachel, and Brae. At this point, due to me painting over old projects, I could only show them the skull and tiger paintings but I shared but idea of light tranfersing through my painting to create a surprise illusion. We brainstormed on my ideas with the big red canvas as well.

-try using paper not canvas
- or try using a different type of canvas. - Hanes white t-shirt - much more translucent

-have orange canvas- only paint black in tiger face- that way I wont have to focus around details and then worrying about them not coming through with the light

-with big red canvas, hard timing because it would take longer, and you are used to small canvases.

THE CRITIQUE HANDBOOK!

I think that critique should be a large role in our class. One factor that makes senior studio what is it, is the freedom everybody has. However, from the looks of everybody's projects right now, I think they, and myself, may not have enough structure to make decisions. In this way, I think critique will be very helpful for those that need outside opinions on which path they should take.

I think that just being as honest as possible would be the most helpful and thats what I will try to do for the people I am critiquing.

ART & FEAR

"you know better than anyone else the accidental nature of much that appears in your art" - on the subject of doubting your own credentials.
I relate alot to this because I have alot of doubts of about my work mainly because my type of art, oil painting, is usually judged alot of precision and accuracy to the outside viewer. I get very self conscious of my work because unlike a sculpture or even other types of painting that is more abstract, outside viewers aren't judging their accuracy as much as a painter that is painting still life like I am. But I think its the confidence in your work that will produce a much better piece.

This next quote relates alot to the one before and the idea I was mentioning about being perfect, " Art is human; error is human, ergo, art is error. Inevitably, your work will be flawed." In my first finished painting in senior studio with the skull, I had originally wanted to paint a pattern on different pastel colors checkers. Once I was done with teh first line of orange and white, I got tired of the idea and instead of paitning over it, I found a skull in the art room and just started painting it. Now the orange plays very well with the royla blue background I think. It also has a certian Cinco de Mayo feel with the skull.

The last quote ties everything together for me I think in regards to my first two quotes. " The difference between acceptance and approval is suble, but distinct. Acceptance means having your work counted as the real thing; approval means having people like it". I think knowing the different between acceptence and approval is important because now I can feel comfortable being a little creative instead of accurate with my still life paintings.

Twyla Tharp!

I have hit a couple road blocks on the way so far. Most of them have to do with planning what I will do for my final presentation. I have been so set on the idea of light and how I can use the idea of projecting some sort of image on my canvas. However I have let that idea chain me down from other ideas I keep coming up with. I have also found with the more experiments I do with this idea, that there's a chance that I might just be wasting time.
I think this is one of Tharp's arguments about the problems an artist might hit when working and how they achieve a certain idea they may have had in the beginning of their work and also learning when to say the idea isn't working and to be flexible.