Happy Birthday Mom!

Last Friday was my mom's birthday, and for one of her presents, I gave her a sketch drawing that I did in class. The scratch board works, is there is a layer of metallic gold underneath a thin layer of black...uh... paper. Anyway, you scratch away the black to get to the gold. This drawing was inspired by our Africa trip that our family is going to take in 2013. The texture caused by scratching help make the African trees and plants look very realistic. I hope that the large tree to the right catches the eye because it was the first one I made and I believe the texture is unrepeatable.
My mom is always telling me how she wishes she could be there and I hope this gives he a little bit Africa. Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you! 

Ha, ha, did you notice my reflection in the shimmer of the gold? ;)

Print

Before computers and copiers, there was the print; it's basically a really big stamp. Our assignment was to carve out a design and use the print to make lots of different copies. In class, we were given lots of different colored paper and loads of different colored ink. Inspired by an ad in a magazine, I chose a design that was challenging to carve.I feel that this piece is very different from what I have done and probably what I will do. Although I enjoyed creating this, the fashion theme and skinny model character are foreign to me. I am very happy with how my design turned out but I don't believe I will be doing anything like this again.

Book Pages- Clashing Tides

Book Pages- Dream Tree

Book Pages- Bloody Rose

Several weeks ago, I was assigned in class to paint on,or use mix-media on book pages. I am going to show you three out of my four pages. 

The first page is of a rose, the shading and realism of the rose is spot on, if I do say so myself, and to add texture I placed finger prints on the background to add substance and give the piece a more murderous feeling. The words I selected to stand out set the theme of my painting. Some of the words consist of "gun...shot... bullet holes... a deep wound... dead... knife". These dark words stood out to me and I believed that a bloody-red rose would fit well with the goriness of the language.

The next one I did was very different. I chose one line on this page and it says, "the sun allowed a little coolness to lie under the trees". My first reaction was a palm tree and beach and sunset, but as I continually read the line over, I realized that it could fit with almost any setting. I have had this image in my mind for a long time and although it is an original idea, I have to admit that the image is familiar. I focused on the shading, notice how the sun is a light yellow before it turns white and merges into the blue sky. The tree and hill, however are in shadow because of their placement in front of the sunset. I find the piece relaxing and childish, but I think it appeals to everyone with its light and happy theme.

The last one I'm going to show you is one of my favorites. With five little words, this design allows the viewer to imagine their own story, "Ahoy, Tough Visitors! Come aboard". As the viewer reads this, I hope they use their imagination to climb aboard the Tough (name of the ship). This piece has an odd sense of symmetry, with a plain sky, the focus is more concentrated on the ocean, and the waves that toss the boat. Using different textures of blue from magazines, the ocean looks diverse and unique. The sail boat contrasts the rest of the the blue page with its purple base and white sails, giving it the main point of attention. The ocean is a big part of me and I hope this piece will help you see the same beauty and power, that I see.