Positive vibes

Here's some shots of the little instalment I did in our school hall for my visual cultures course. The criteria was to create a positive sign or something that would encourage the viewer to be a better person.

thankfully the sun shun at the perfect time and looked really lovely when the class did the critque. 

here are some close ups of the little details. took me four hours to cut the boxes and fill them in agggh.

The following paragraphs are from the rational I submitted to my prof. :

       After watching the documentary Helvetica I began to view fonts in a different way. There was one comment in the film that mentioned that the font itself was created by looking at the spaces between the letters and the negative space around it. Rather than filling in the letters with paint/ink I chose to solely focus on the negative spaces around the letters and allowed the letter to somewhat emerge out of a box. It was extremely difficult to create the letters without filling in the letter itself but I found the end result to be quite appealing.

            The message I wanted to send across to the viewers of the sign was simple: “Get out of your comfort zone” and do something you usually would not imagine doing. I chose to have “Your Comfort Zone” written in a black circle to portray how our ‘safety bubbles’ or comfortable routines are boring, constraining, and limiting. One may feel like they’re doing the right thing or heading the right direction because they are so accustomed to that process (ex. Painting a certain way, keeping to themselves, or assuming particular roles). By making the phrase “Where the Magic Happens” in larger squares that included bright colours and various details I tried to illustrate the beauty of getting out of one’s ‘safe place’. I believe there is something undeniably lovely about trying something new and diving into the unknown because it is those times that one does the most growing as an individual. I simply wanted to showcase how doing something you’re not necessarily comfortable with can have a very positive ‘magical’ experience.

            In addition to the typography and the choice of the layout being visually appealing, I wanted the sign to be eye catching for students and faculty members passing by the sign. I chose the window on the second floor in the hallway that connects both the science and art wings together because I believe testing out new things applies to both fields (along with everyday life). Furthermore I’m hoping for the light to shine through the thin layers of water colour to give it a happy and somewhat whimsical/magical feel (like that of light shining through stained glass). If that fails to work then the idea of fresh air outside the windows will help add to the idea of ‘new things’ or a ‘fresh start’ which ties to the result of getting out of one’s comfort zone. I just really hope that the viewer’s make a connection to the beauty of doing something new even if it scares them.

progress

more progress on the self portrait. sorry about the crappy quality it was taken with my phone. almost don still have to work in the details and fix the bottom of the painting cause it looks awkward.

work in progress2

here's my self portrait project only 6 hours of work so far. it's the biggest project i've ever done- 4X8 feet. but i love it, even if i have to stand on the chair to paint half of it. it gives me more freedom. i can't wait to see the end result although i don't know what i'll do with such a giant double portrait of my self...

last year

here are some pieces i finally decided to photograph and post from last years painting course

just a still life of a clear bottle & lemon: purpose was to paint transparency

close up

 hah looking at this self potrait now i notice all the flaws and wonkyness of it. such as how my left eye is really close to my nose, and the left side of my face is huge...oh well at least im learning.

just a close up to show the various colours i used and more detail i suppose

this was the final project. we were to combine 1-2 (or more) images together. i chose a photo of a latin american native girl from a natural geographic magazine and a photo of a lake from Costa Rica. it was really difficult making the girl look her age- at one point she looked like an angry old lady. it was also the difficult to get the proper skintone. i chose to keep the background a bit abstract because sometimes i forget what Costa Rica looks like- it becomes a blurr.

oh and for some reason the last photo came out really bright- the expossure is off but i have no time to tweak the photograph. you get the just of it.

inspiration3

so since im back at uni studying art i'll have more projects to share. in painting we are currently doing a portrait and that won't be completed till another 3 weeks. but we are starting on a self project. well working out the process and kinks on a smaller scale before we tackle the larger one in class.

here are some ideas/inspiration for the self-potrait (both paintings are by a very talented artist from California named Charmaine Olivia here's her site:http://www.charmaineolivia.com/)

inspiration 2

psychedelic animal

obviously due to my current situation, poor 20 year old art student from Canada with absuletly zero connections, i won`t be shooting any stunning creatures in their natural habitat. maybe later in life.

but this photograph doesn`t just inspire me to perhaps one day be able to take such killer shots (and by that i mean shooting the animal with a camera and not a gun) but for paintings. hmm i`ve got some ideas stirring round my head now. get ready for some fierce animals against vibrant backrounds. someone hold me accountable for this project cause i`ve been pretty lazy lately, but it`s a new year and a new blank slate to start creating again. 

GrimmTales: Little Red Cap

Once upon a time there was a dear little girl who was loved by everyone who looked at her, but most of all by her grandmother, and there was nothing that she would not have given to the child. 

Once she gave her a little cap of red velvet, which suited her so well that she would never wear anything else; so she was always called 'Little Red- Cap.' 

 So he walked for a short time by the side of Little Red-Cap, and then he said: ’See, Little Red-Cap, how pretty the flowers are about here–why do you not look round? I believe,too, that you do not hear how sweetly the little birds are singing; you walk gravely along as if you were going to school, while everything else out here in the wood is merry.’

Little Red-Cap raised her eyes, and when she saw the sunbeams dancing here and there through the trees, and pretty flowers growing everywhere, she thought: ’Suppose I take grandmother a fresh nosegay; that would please her too. It is so early in the day that I shall still get there in good time’;

 and so she ran from the path into the wood to look for flowers. 

 And whenever she had picked one, she fancied that she saw a still prettier one farther on, and ran after it, and so got deeper and deeper into the wood. 

this is the result of my photography series of the story "little Red Cap" by The Brother's Grimm. i have yet to work on the pieces of the wolf. i'm thinking of illustration for it, perhaps? shooting in forests is so wondrous by the way

SelfPotrait

my final project from my introductory drawing course last semester. the task was to create a self portrait and somehow implement time. the term "self-potrait" was vague and gave us the creativity to do whatever we wanted. i choice to separate the project into three different drawings rather than one large piece. the series was done in charcoal, graphite stick, willow charcoal, coloured charcoal (brown/sienna), and pencils (b to 6b).

prt1:

for this piece i chose to draw the face as a typical self portrait (realistically) and do the hair differently. the hair is more of an illustration feel because i wanted to focus more on it. for me my hair is a part of me, it's a safety blanket i suppose and people just obsess over it (if i were ever to chop it off again, though i doubt i would, there'd probably be an outraged group of people haha). it also goes off the page cause i let it grow and rarely go for trims (once a year...).

 prt2:
 (blind portrait/contour)

this piece was done using the blind contour method. i chose to jut draw the basics of my face and do so by not glancing down at the paper, solely on my reflection (hence the blind contour aspect). i chose this technique because people are blind to what they see/how they perceive themselves. we perceive the way we think we look differently the world (either better or worse).

also you may have noticed that in both part one and two my left eye is larger than the right...that's because i suppose sub-consciously i drew it out that way. in photographs when i smile the right eye is most often smaller than the left. funny how your conscious pours into your work ain't it?

 prt3:
the piece was when i had fun letting my creativity take over, as it should. i implemented time through the tree; on the left there are blossoms sprouting (as it does in spring), the center is summer and a bit of fall, and then the right is autumn/winter and barren with dead leaves falling. this piece is symbol of how i am strongly rooted to my faith, values, spirituality, and heart. i know that wherever life takes me, whatever gets thrown at me, i will always be rooted to god and i know through whatever season of life he will carry me through and be there.