- landscape sketch
- landscape/skyline watercolour
- wildlife watercolour
- self portrait sketch
- abstract acrylic of a person
- coloured pencil wildlife
I wanted to use one of these ideas because I pencils and watercolours are my preferred medium, and I enjoy a simple portrayal of a subject that is either human or animal. However, I included the idea of a self portrait to stretch myself, and the ideas including landscapes were to potentially try something new.
1. Rationale
For my ISU I decided I want to do a watercolour similar to a picture I found of an owl when I was searching online. I often prefer to attempt to create something by basing on an already existent piece, because I like to have guidelines to work with, especially when doing an animal or person (for anatomical correctness). I think this is an important and worthwhile task to take on because watercolour is one of my favourite mediums to work with; it blends so nicely and allows for a lot of freedom in creation. Also, I have never really attempted an animal in watercolour (or anything that looks life-like), so it is something different to try. I am not creating a portfolio but this piece of work will give me a chance to combine what I know I like with new ideas.
2. Theme
Some possible subjects/themes/concepts I want to address include the idea of combining something life-like with a medium that often looks abstract and not life-like at all. I want it to look wild and powerful and have a combination of dark and light. These ideas came to me because when I think of watercolour I think of a kind of wildness in the way the paint spreads and drips and spatters, and that's what I like about it. I also like the concept of an owl because it is a powerful animal that can be portrayed in ways that are almost fantastical. The questions that prompted me to come up with this idea were "how can I put an interesting spin on something familiar and challenge myself" as well as "what animal can I use that would allow for some artistic interpretation while still looking like what it's supposed to". I like birds for his because the wings allow for that kind of artistic play. It was with these questions in mind that I began too look up watercolour portraits of owls for inspiration.
3. Subject Matter
I will explore these subjects/themes/concepts by using both dark and light colours as well as realistic and artistically abstract touches in an attempt to create something visually interesting that contains contrasting qualities. However, I want to only paint the subject without a detracting background so that the subject is clear and separate. In terms of style and technique I want to use a mix of controlled and painterly/free techniques depending on the part of the painting I am working on. I will use blending of the watercolours and use the water to allow a colour to transition from dark to light to add depth. Other than that I just want to do whatever I feel and not have a particular artist/style to serve as an inspiration other than the single picture that I found that I am trying to recreate in a sense. I really like that piece and I therefore plan to start out by trying to replicate it and then add my own touches as I go along and as I see fit.
This is my inspiration piece:
No comments:
Post a Comment