an arts review//

Hello there my fine friends! So wonderful to be back again. It really has been too long, hasn’t it?

(Which is why we need the perfect entrance)

*flops exuberant bow*

I will have my regular post hopefully next week, but this week I wanted to share a project I have been working on when I have had time this year; my Silver Arts Award.

For this Arts Award you have to share what you have been creating for part of the project, so I thought it would be cool if I told all of you about what I have been working on. So here goes.

My Silver Arts Award:

Review of My Own Work |

I had a very interesting experience creating my own artwork for this award – it was challenging but I really enjoyed it and there was a lot of fun along the way.

                The first painting I completed was of a VW Campervan making its way through a lonely mountain pass in the dead of winter. I wanted to convey the cold and darkness of winter in this painting, but also the camper’s security and cosiness in this otherwise desolate scene, as well as the beauty of the mountains at sunset despite their harsh appearance.

                I think the depth of the scene went well, and especially the sketches looked very appealing, but the actual painting itself did not go as well as I’d hoped. For one thing, I forgot that (generally) it is better with watercolours to leave a space unpainted to make it look like snow, an instead tried to paint white watercolour paint on top of the areas I had accidentally made a darker colour. This could have been avoided if I had researched a little deeper into the subject or perhaps have used gouache for the snow effect. Also, the camper turned out a bit less well-defined, as the art pen I used to outline it had a nib that bled a bit into the paper as it was not good quality. What I would change next time would be to research more in how to paint mountain scenery and where to find better art pens.

                My next painting was an acrylic on hardboard canvas of two hillwalkers in the mist of a mountain. I had fun creating the damp look of this painting, and how the eye is drawn to the centre of the scene, where the bright clothes of the first hiker catch the attention. I wanted to show the mystery and strangeness of being on a mountain clothed in mist, as this picture was actually based on a photo of me and one of my friends climbing a mountain during the summer of last year.

                I was very pleased with how this painting turned out, as I’d never used acrylics properly before and wasn’t certain of how it would be different to watercolour. However I was surprised of how similar they were and how interesting and fun it was to be able to blend paint colours and create layers, which you can hardly ever manage with watercolour. I enjoyed creating shadow and the mist swirling overhead as well, it gave depth of field and connotated secrecy and intrigue. The hikers are exploring an unknown world that they know hardly anything about, and the mountain appears to be keeping it from them unless they take another step forward.

                I think what could have been done better would be making the path slightly clearer; also I think what I could change with this painting if I did the same another time would  be  to make the hiker farther away slightly clearer and perhaps use more imaginative colouring; but all in all I was very happy with how this piece turned out.

                In my final painting I portrayed a girl crouching on a mountainside, taking photos of the breathtaking autumn scenery surrounding her. Since autumn is my favourite time of year, this was a very exciting scene to create. I used watercolours for my outline of her face and body this time, rather than using my art pen like I did in painting #1. I wanted to convey a cosy, falling leaves sort of feel to this landscape, so muted reds, browns and the yellow of the photographer’s jumper complemented each other perfectly. I tried to capture her concentration on the scene she is photographing, and show how far up the mountain she is despite it being shrouded in mist by her hillwalking gear (backpack, boots, etc.) and only the tops of trees being visible, with a farther away summit in the distance. These peaks are quite opposed to the previous mountains I had painted, looking more like rolling hills than rocky crags but still a large distance from the ground.

                What could have been improved in this painting was probably how the girl by making her less ungainly in how she was positioned, making the other hill in the background darker and therefore providing greater strength,  and perhaps also the shape and height of the pine trees as they are sometimes too different in height and have differently shaped branches to each other; however, I was very pleased with this painting. Next time I do a similar painting in the future I will probably make these changes and perhaps also adjust the lighting so that it is slightly darker so I can focus more light on one object.

                I learned from my friends reviews that I need to improve my technique for positioning different objects (people, trees, roads, etc.) by making them less awkward and more realistic, and also that my colouring of the different areas could be improved by using vibrant shades and colours to improve the focus and catch the attention better. In conclusion, in future projects I would hope to incorporate these ideas.

The Paintings |

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And, there you go, folks!

Something I would really, really appreciate is if you could comment your thoughts below; as part of my project I need lots of feedback. 🙂 What stood out to you in the art? What do you think I could have done better?

See ya next week!