Illustration (Colored Pencil)
Having it All but Not Having Enough
Size: 10 in x 15 in (2x) Medium: Colored Pencil Completion: December 2019 Exhibition Text: In having it all but not enough demonstrates the opposites of full vs. empty. I was inspired by George Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. Being full is shown as being able to have nothing stop you and to reach your goals. In this case, it is running, being able to run is shown as full and happy. Being empty is shown when you are trapped and can't do anything about it. Me, not running displays emptiness and sadness. |
Planning
Inspiration
For my UWM illustration piece, I was inspired by my love for cross country and the challenges I've faced through cross country. I chose impressionism for my inspiration. Impressionism shows movement through small brushstrokes and I wanted to show the movement of running with the impressionist style. Impressionist work is done with bright colors and small brushstrokes, it also demonstrates the light qualities and the passage of time. I was inspired by Georges Seurat and his piece A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. He used small dots to create fine lines of movement and defined form. These small dots created a single hue and brings attention to the audience. The simplified forms have inspired me because they draw the audience's eye and each figure in the painting is its own central focus. In my piece, I want to bring the attention of myself and others and the difference from my perspective.
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Planning Sketch (Colored Pencil)
In this last planning sketch, I thought I wouldn't celeste, which in my colored pencil version I included her in it. I thought it would be cool to make it look like a cross country course, and it would be set in a park (in most cases). I thought that this sketch would show where I've felt the most empty, but then I reflected that I'm usually not sad at the cross country meet, most of the time, I'm happy because I'm still a part of the team. During a meet, I'm usually occupied with timing the races and getting mile splits. Meets weren't the main thing that I missed, it was running everyday. This thought helped me realize that this wasn't a sketch I wanted to continue with my colored pencil sketch. I continued to use celeste in my final because I was still surrounded by people.
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Process
Experimentation
For my experimentation, I had to do a lot of experimenting with colored pencils. I used a 50 pack of crayola colored pencils for my illustration. When I first started experimenting with the colored pencils, I had to pick a blue color for the sky. In my reference picture, the sky was cloudy, so I knew for a fact it wouldn't be a sky blue or any bright blues. Luckily, I had this grayish-blue color called slate. When I tested it out on the side, I knew that it was the sky color that would use and I would use different shades to show depth in the sky. When I finished with the sky, I had to experiment hair colors, clothing colors, and shoe colors. After finishing coloring me and my friend, I decided to start on the grass. In the first picture, you can see that I had to experiment a lot greens. Some were too light, and some were too bright. I decided on four green colors that I would layer for the grass in my illustration. Another thing I had to experiment was my picture size when printing out me and my friend. The first times, I printed them out small, and then after a couple tries, I printed them out too big. It took me about 5 times to get the perfect size so that I could continue with my illustration.
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Process
Reflection
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Overall, I like my idea for my illustration, however I do think there needs to be changes before I start my painting. When I talked to Katie from UWM, she gave me some ideas on what to do for my illustration to show the opposites. I'm going to keep my inspiration as George Seurat's painting "A Sunday on A La Grande Jatte". In the first picture, I'm going to keep I'm going to keep the same idea, but in the second picture, I'm going to take my friend out of and to keep myself in it, to show emptiness. I also have to keep the placement of the trees, the horizon line, and the grass and path the same. I think I felt a bit rushed and started to create a new version of the first illustration to the second. Otherwise, I am glad with the outcome of my piece and I think with the right improvements, I think I'll like my painting a lot more.
Critique
Similarities:
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ACT Responses
1.). Clearly explain and describe how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and it’s effect upon you artwork.
Me and my friend running are the main idea of the piece and this is shown through both of us running in the first picture but showing the opposite with me not running.
2.)What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overall approach for my inspiration is "A Sunday on A La Grande Jatte" by George Seurat
3.) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
The main generalization I made was through being full vs. empty and how that can affect a person and how they feel.
4.) What was the central idea or them around your inspirational research?
The central idea around my inspirational research was a person being happy or full and being able to run and the same person feeling empty and sad when life goes wrong and there's nothing you can do besides wait.
5.) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
Some inferences I've made while reading my research was that George Seurat is very famous for this piece because of the line work through small dots.
Me and my friend running are the main idea of the piece and this is shown through both of us running in the first picture but showing the opposite with me not running.
2.)What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overall approach for my inspiration is "A Sunday on A La Grande Jatte" by George Seurat
3.) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
The main generalization I made was through being full vs. empty and how that can affect a person and how they feel.
4.) What was the central idea or them around your inspirational research?
The central idea around my inspirational research was a person being happy or full and being able to run and the same person feeling empty and sad when life goes wrong and there's nothing you can do besides wait.
5.) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
Some inferences I've made while reading my research was that George Seurat is very famous for this piece because of the line work through small dots.
Bibliography
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Neo-Impressionism.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 28 Jan. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/art/Neo-Impressionism.