Color Theory :)

[hantothelizzy]

Here is my color research for organizing by color! I’m out of town this week and don’t have access to my usual belongings, so I decided to do this digitally :)

[artnowcolor]

Questions of the Week:

What art is most challenging for you? Why?

What makes an artwork good or bad?

[hantothelizzy]

I think the first thing that is frustrating and the most difficult about my art is that I don’t know who I am as an artist yet, so I feel like my themes and mediums have no central theme and my art is not recognizable as my own. I’m also just not very good at proportions yet or the human figure. 

2. Art is good or bad based on how it connects to the artist, not the viewer, in my opinion. If the artist and their message is seen by the viewer through the work, then it is good art, even if the technique could be improved. 

[artnowcolor]

Questions of the week

What types of art are you most drawn to? Why?

How would you describe your aesthetic?

[hantothelizzy]

1. I think I am most drawn to the Baroque art movement, especially in its later years. The sheer amount of detail and subtle use of color are two of the main reasons I am so drawn to this era of art. I also love high-contrast art that stays away from black and white; like black and bright color or white with bright colors. I’m not sure why. 

2. I think my aesthetic in my daily life is very retro, colorful and definitely nods to the 1970′s. I love anything eclectic and funky looking, also Moroccan and bohemian influences in clothing, architecture and décor. As far as my art goes, I’m not sure what my aesthetic is yet, but I think it is beginning to lean toward my everyday aesthetic with saturated, deep tones and lots of curved lines and detail. 

[artnowcolor]

Question of the week:

What makes art successful?

[hantothelizzy]

I think the best way to determine weather or not a work of art is successful or not is found in how the artist themself feels about the work. If they are not proud of it, how could anyone be? 

[hantothelizzy]

Life color posts- black

1 & 2- when I think of great uses of black, I immediately think of florals. Something about a bouquet of flowers against a black background makes me really happy and causes me to appreciate nature more.

3- intense black eyeliner- really makes you think.

4. I also love the concept of a black statement wall in a room, for the same reasons as the flowers, just architecturally.

5- when doing my research I found that most things that are black aren’t truly black, they have a lot of varying colors in them, like this satin has much grey in it

[hantothelizzy]

Life color post/color research- color of your choice

For this weeks color research and life color post I decided to focus on the rainbow. I wanted to challenge myself with this week, and I thought this could be a really interesting way to do so. I had always thoug of the rainbow as a sort of childish color scheme, and I wanted to challenge myself by changing that perspective and recognizing how the rainbow can be quite sophisticated. I found that most of the rainbows uses where they seem the most mature and sophisticated come through the use of refracted light, which was really interesting. It also can have a certain retro vibe, which I think can bring a sense of respect for age yet fun-ness and spontaneity. I feel much more prepared to use rainbow colors in my art and daily life, and much less intimidated by them because of this research!

[hantothelizzy]

Here’s my life color post from grey week!

1- i loved this painting by Rembrandt, and how the grey tones in the painting brought the golden light tones to the foreground

2- something about the contrary between the shades of grey and the few jewel tones feels very nostalgic to me

3- I’ve always thought grey makes any room very calming and cosy when decorated right!

4&5- I’ve always thought that grey skies were dark and gloomy and sad but then I realized the amount of grey that can also be found in light, happier versions of the same subject, clouds.

[hantothelizzy]

Here is my life color post from white week!

1&2- I loved noticing how white increased blacks blackness, how the contrast was intensified the whiter and more stark the light tone was

3- I also loved noticing how white increased the vibrancy and forced my eye to appreciate the colors around it like in this picture

4&5- another really cool thing I noticed is that many things can be “white” without actually being white- like in those sand dunes or piece of satin!

[artnowcolor]

Question of the Week

What is abstraction good for? Describe some of the reasons why artists might employ abstraction.

[hantothelizzy]

Abstraction can be good for a number of things, especially when attempting to change a viewer’s perspective about a topic or piece. It also frees the artist to not worry so much about realism.

[hantothelizzy]

Here is my color research from class today! I found these two flowers on campus and loved the contrast between the pinks and greens, I also loved that one painting has a lot of warm tones and the other cool tones!

[artnowcolor]

Questions of the Week:

Is art defined by particular boundaries? If so, what are they? How have they changed over time?

What are the subjects, issues and themes important to artists working today?

[hantothelizzy]

1. In my opinion, art is defined by one specific boundary: it has to have an origin story. You cant just put something somewhere and call it art; it has to have a reason for existence (Even if that reason is simply that the artist wanted to know what would happen if she created something new). This differentiates art from simple acts. 

Many (maybe not all) artists today tend to focus much on social injustice, cultural differences and diversities, and empowerment of minorities. This is different from past artists, who many of which used to tend to celebrate more of the domestic life, creating less “loud” works that carried less of a call-to-action. 

[hantothelizzy]

Here are my pom poms from last weeks color research! I chose to do:

1) a twist on a complementary color pallete: red orange and a little bit of orange with blue green and a hint of green, with white in the middle

2) an analogous color pallete, with blue violet, violet and red violet

3) another twist on complementary colors, similar to the first, I just wanted to use some of that pink :)

4) a green Pom Pom because I liked the green.

5) a Pom Pom isabella made me out of red-violet yarn. It is chunky and kinda ugly and I love it.

[hantothelizzy]

My lifecolor post from this week all came from the day I found myself at Lowe’s looking at flowers :) (also- I found the exact shade of purple that I like!) I loved the variety of color , especially this time of year!

[artnowcolor]

Questions of the Week:

How do history and the passage of time affect the meaning of an artwork?

Can you recall the first time art had an impact on you? Please describe the experience.

[hantothelizzy]

1. I believe history can change a lot about an artwork. I think it can make it not only a beautiful piece of creativity, but add the value of becoming a window into the past. It can share an insight into how the individuals that are going through major historical events are feeling and the specifics of what they are experiencing. An example of this can actually be found in the Bible- as poetry found in scriptures can actually reflect and expand on occurrences that are documented in prose in other parts of Scripture. This happens often throughout the old testament, like how poetry in Lamentations reflects how the events of 2 Kings were affecting the writer personally. I think this is incredibly valuable and a major role in the importance of the study of historical artworks. 

2. I remember the first time an artwork impacted me. It was actually a song that my mother played for me ever since I was little. She said it was her song for me, and I remember watching her run her fingers through my hair as tears gently rolled down her face and I was finally able to understand the lyrics and why she had “gifted” them to me. I was very young when these things happened and it only continued to make more sense to me and touch me even more. I will always hold this song close to my heart and hear her speaking those lyrics into my life and into my soul. 

[hantothelizzy]

For this weeks life color post, I decided to draw from a place where I found lots of color inspiration recently, Yinka Shonibare (from Isabella’s presentation- thanks isabella!) I found his colors to be fascinating and chaotic but in the best way possible. I really admire how he uses practically every color in every piece(most often in its most vibrant form) seemingly wihour rhyme or reason, but still somehow manages to make the pieces cohesive and pleasing to the eye, not overwhelming or distracting.

[artnowcolor]

Questions of the Week:

What materials and tools do artists use to create art today?

To what extent does what you make draw on characteristics of a genre? What genre?

[hantothelizzy]

1) Now more than ever, artists are using a plethora of materials to create art- from natural substances, to household items to literal garbage. Today, it is widely understood by the artist community that art has no bounds or rules or restrictions. Traditional fine art from traditional materials is appreciated and has it’s place (i.e. painting, drawing, etc) but is not the only valid form of art, as some of the greatest forms of art were created from objects that were not originally intended to be art. 

2) For me, I feel that my art can be characterized in a number of ways. I guess one could classify me as a portrait artist, but I don’t feel like that encompasses everything I do. I don’t care what people classify my work as, I just want to be an artist. 

[hantothelizzy]

For further study, here are a few more variations of works by Betty Woodman. 

1) This work is named “Spring in Athens”. I found this to be a valuable work to add to my research because it demonstrates the variety that could be found in works similar to “The Ming Sisters”. These artworks are fairly similar in nature, in that they are vessels with the same off-shooting panels of clay that Woodman expertly decided to utilize as canvases to complete the work.

2) This work is named “The Red Window”. I chose this work for further research in that it demonstrates well Woodman’s ability to incorporate backgrounds into her works. By doing this, she lifts her work outside of the realm of pottery and begins to create these three-dimensional experiences in her works. 

3) Finally, this is an interesting variation of Woodman’s iconic “Pillow Pitchers”. I found this particular installment to be rather intriguing, as she did not begin with a white base in her painting as she does with the majority of her artworks. The contrast between the terra cotta and the white lacquer poses an interesting new take on these forms of her art. 

Here are three links to further investigate the life and works of Betty Woodman:

https://www.davidkordanskygallery.com/exhibitions/betty-woodman

https://www.denverpost.com/2018/01/04/betty-woodman-dies/

http://www.artnet.com/artists/betty-woodman/