More Than Words

The postmodern principle that I chose was text in art. The text I used to make this piece was lyrics from love songs and also messages between my boyfriend, Cole, and I. My two best friends just moved away, and he has been so helpful to me and my grieving in this time of loneliness that I'm experiencing. It feels like Cole came into my life at the exact right time. Without him to lean on recently, I don't know how I would stay sane, so this piece was inspired by/dedicated to him. Affection is my "love language," and just the touch of a hand can make me feel 100 times better. My boyfriend has offered me so much emotional support and always been there when I needed a hug. I think that the image I depicted shows a lot of emotion and creating it and seeing it now gives me the same kind of feeling I get from being with Cole. I think it turned out really well; I'm really proud of it. 

Post-Modern Principles

I think that having a background knowledge of the principles of art is important to achieve and execute what the artist is trying to create. If an artist didn't know the concept of lights and darks or how to use a palate knife, it would be hard to create an art piece efficiently. I agree that there could be easier ways to communicate these principles into artwork, but I also think that putting meaning into art comes with time. In my opinion and from my experience, an artist should understand the skill set and know the material and medium they're working with so that all they have to focus on is what they are expressing through their art. It would be like asking me to write my life story in Spanish. I know how to say hello and goodbye and a few phrases in between, but I wouldn't be able to get my messages across without a prior knowledge of the language. Once I have that understanding, I could express myself through it.

Essential Question

I started this project after both of my closest friends moved out of state. Being a senior, this upset me a lot; I wanted to have the experience of senior year with my two best friends. To pick a word, I wrote down trust. That made me think of abandonment and I got pretty upset thinking about all of these emotions inside. I felt very alone for a while, but I made some new relationships that helped me get through this hard time. For my project, I'm using a pallet knife and acrylic paint to depict a person sitting alone. I want to make a series so that I can show another person sitting down to join and comfort the first person painted.

Is Art Without Meaning Decoration?

Does every piece of art have to have a deep, personal meaning? I think that every piece of art that is created is very personal to the artist. For example, places like Wine and Design give the artist a rubric and examples, but every painting turns out different. Every artist has different shades and strokes of their brush creating original paintings. I think that these subconscious actions provide meaning. This meaning may not convey the artist deep emotions and troubles or the pure joy they are feeling, but the fact that every single piece of art is specifically different and unique from any other piece of art created gives it meaning. I also think that meaning can come from the pride one would feel in the art they made. Like the mural in the article, the person who painted that was probably really proud of it. Even though it is a decoration, it has meaning because someone put their time, effort, and a little piece of their heart. So I think that art is art. Decoration is also art because there is always the personal touch that every different person has to add. The picture attached is a piece I painted. I didn't have any specific reason to paint this, other than I like sunsets. But I'm very proud of it and it makes me happy that I could make something this beautiful. It is hanging in my living room as decoration, but every time I see it, I feel proud, so I think every piece of art has some meaning.

Elements of Art

I chose to use value as my element. At first, I wanted to use charcoal, but after exploring more options, I found it easier to get the values I wanted from colored pencils. I wanted to use colored pencils because I like to have the paper saturated with color instead of using the paper to show values. Using colored pencils allowed me to use different colors to show values. It started with the hair. The colors I used, black, purple, blue, and pink, made me think of a galaxy. That idea of space gave me the inspiration for an alien. Also, I really liked the colors and values I could get from the green.