FA Portfolio: Continuing

 This week I really focused on making progress to the Pretty Thing painting. It is slow because of all of the intricate petals, but I am satisfied with how it is progressing, and my vision is taking form. I have to be careful to maintain a sense of holistic form to the body of the leopard.  I could lose sight of this working on all the different small shadows and highlights, but I try to remedy it by stepping back and assessing regularly, more often than I normally would.

 when I first began I had trouble achieving the level of liveliness that I wanted in the roses, but as they are developing, I am not at a point where I am satisfied with how they look, the liveliness and the style. Therefore, going forward the entire rest of the body will look this way.

I had to carefully consult my initial sketch to refocus the head and face. I wanted to capture a more nuanced expression rather than just simple anger that there seemed to be before. I readjusted the brow, the eye shape, the location of the pupil, and the lighting to do this. I want to evoke a wariness, exasperation, surprise, as well as some anger.

This week I also worked on a small block print, to be printed on fabric for wear. I am not sure that this will be included in my portfolio, but it is among some art that I was excited to make recently.

I was originally going to hand write the letters onto some tracing paper and then flip and transfer onto the block, but I decided it was too thin, and I wanted more control, so I created it on the computer. It is still hand drawn, I used the touch screen on my computer and wrote this using the paintbrush on illustrator- and then I reversed them and chose the best from my options. I then printed it out and transferred to my block with graphite paper.

Concerning the story panels, I want to sort of put them to the side for a while so that I can think about them more, and feel more driven in creating them. At the moment the painting, the toilet, and my prints are getting most of my attention. I may also start another oil painting soon. That being said, I did rework and totally write out the story line for the panels, so that when I return to them, I have a more clear route through which to proceed.

This week I am inspired by French photographer Andria Darius Pancrazi. I love the pale pink almost monochrome palette,  and how this together with the minimalist structure and tight compositions create an otherworldly feeling. Since my water color panels are working to make an outrageous story that is based off dreams and metaphors, I may think to try some of these methods to make them seem more ethereal. I am working with some of these ideas in the Pretty Thing painting, dreamy palette, and minimal composition.