AP Studio Art - Painting & Drawing @oliverdejonghe-blog - Tumblr Blog

South Africa Car Window Painting

This painting only took about 2 days to finish, since it was really small, and because of how quickly it was completed I did not take progress pictures. I used a reference photograph that I took last summer, and first painted the landscape that constitutes the background. I then added in more detail with acrylic paint and then later with some colored pencils. Lastly, I painted the black shadow of the car window, and added white colored pencil to make it look more like a window reflection. I managed to convey the sense of buildings in the background without actually putting much detail in them, and I think that this is a new skill that I have developed this year. By using many different colors in small amounts in the background, it creates the effect of actual buildings. I am happy with this piece, and even though the window isn’t as precise as it could be, I am not going to spend more time on it because of the limited time left. My favorite part is how I was able to blend the sky into the mountains.

#southafrica

Watercolor/Colored Pencil/Acrylic Portrait - Finished

The first image above is the completed artwork, and the second is before I added the leaves. Overall, I’m pretty satisfied with how this piece turned out, although I would have liked to create more depth with the background, I had already spent over a month on the piece and I needed to move on. I am happy with how the face looks, and I think that it really ties into the background well since I added the gold leaves throughout the background, which match the tone of the hair. The background, which is more abstract, combined with the more realistic face creates an interesting contrast that I wasn’t originally going for but it ended up working. The media I ended up using exceeded just watercolor; in addition, I used colored pencils, and metallic acrylic paint for the leaves. I experimented with gold, copper, silver, white, yellow and red until I got the right colors I need for the leaves, and I think that the repetition of the various leaves throughout the painting gives it a more cohesive and uniform approach, and furthermore it possibly even creates motion, as though the leaves are swaying in the wind, since they are all pointed in different directions. Although the sky isn’t exactly what I intended it to look like, I am not going to change it because it ties in well with the rest of the piece and provides negative space, which is needed to balance the work since the rest of the background is so detailed and intricate. Furthermore, I used the rule of thirds in this portrait, putting the face (the focal point) in the right hand third of the paper. The use of lighter and warmer colors for the face makes it stand out more, and it is a focal point that draws in the eye. I think with the background I was able to create a good balance between simplicity and intricacy. For my next piece, I am thinking of doing a painting of one of the reference images that I posted in a previous blog.

#finished #portrait

Watercolor/Colored Pencil Portrait: Progress

At this stage, I have completed the face and I was able to achieve a lot more detail by going over it in colored pencil. I was able to make the nose appear much more realistically, and using pencils helped with the shading in the face, hair, and neck. In the 2nd image above, I have started the background, with a blue/purple watercolor wash and then on top of it I am planning to incorporate grasses and leaves until I get the desired look. So far, I am very happy with how the face looks. Although it is not completely realistic, I was able to add detail and create a unique style. Once the background is done, the artwork will be finished.

#portrait #progress

Watercolor/Pencil Portrait: Beginning

For this piece, I wanted to do a portrait because I have never done one before that has turned out the way I wanted it to. I also wanted to experiment with watercolor, which I found to create an interesting effect but also very challenging to work with precisely. Over and over I am finding that my favorite media to work with is acrylic paint. I used a reference image that I had taken to of my sister, and translated it to a sketch, as seen above. I began adding in watercolor until there was sufficient color for the base. Next, I intend to use colored pencil to do the detail work, and make the face look more realistic. I definitely struggled doing the hair in watercolor, but the rest is a good base layer. For the background, I think that I will try to incorporate the plants/landscape from the reference image I used in an abstract way. Below is the reference image that I used. The face shape is less round in the painting then it should be, but I think it still captures several aspects of the photograph.

#portrait

Canal/Venice Drawing: Completed

I added in the water, reflections, and the colors on the gondola, and I think that adding the water completed the drawing. To be honest, this is not my favorite piece, but as it was out of my comfort zone using a completely different media, colored pencils, and doing perspective and buildings rather than nature and landscapes, I think that it turned out well. The water is probably my favorite part, and the buildings could have been a lot better, but at the same time the simplistic manner in which they were drawn combined with the other aspects of the piece creates a different style than any of my previous artworks. Instead of realism, I feel this drawing is more like a fantasy landscape. I’ve found that colored pencil is very difficult to achieve precision and detail with, and I constantly had to keep sharpening the pencils I was using. However, I think they could be used better when applied to pieces of other mediums. All in all, I’m happy with how it turned out considering that I was using colored pencils, and it was also the first piece that I completely created without any true reference; although I used some inspiration from images online, the drawing is completely unique.

#canal #venice #finished #gondola

Canal/Venice Drawing - Progress

I have started adding in a lot of the color, and finished most of the buildings. The sky was actually very difficult to do, because it would only lighten to a certain point so I spent a lot of time going over it with white colored pencil. The mountains weren’t too difficult, but the small windows and precision with the distant buildings were pretty tedious to do. They don’t look quite as well as I would have liked, and if I think that if I used acrylic to do them then they would have been more precise and aesthetically pleasing. I still need to do the canal and the water, and I am planning to create the effect of reflecting the buildings in the water. The canal with be red, black, and gold. I am hoping to finish in the next day.

Canals/Buildings Drawing: Beginning

This piece is intended to be one that I finish relatively quickly, and the main inspiration behind it is different parts of Italy being combined into one scene. I wanted to incorporate perspective, with the gondola being in the foreground and the canal leading out into the ocean, surrounded by hills and buildings. I decided to use pencil to sketch out the drawing on a textured board. So far the gondola is turning out well, and once I add colored pencil, it will look a lot more complete. My goal is to finish this piece in the next two days. Below is the initial sketch.

#canal gondola drawing

Foxtail Agave Painting: Finished

I have finally finished this piece, and it took longer than I wanted it to but I am extremely satisfied with the end result. I think that this is my best attempt at realism, and I managed to paint the middle part of the plant accurately. There is a lot of complex shading in the painting, but I overcame this challenge by doing many layers until the color and lighting matched each other part of the painting. The hardest part, as I predicted, was undoubtedly the middle. I think to some extent I got lucky with how well it turned out, but by adding blue to it and continuously mixing colors, it looks almost multi-dimensional. The contrast between the highlights and the black shadows between leaves is one of the best attributes to the painting, and I think that this helps create the impression that there are different leaves on top of each other, just like the real plant. The last thing I decided to do was put water droplets on some of the leaves. I started out with one droplet, but got carried away and ended up adding about 13 more on several of the leaves. The water droplets are not perfect, but to be honest, I am happy with how they look. Overall, I am very proud of this painting and I achieved what I set out to do with color, light, and realism.

#agave #finished

Foxtail Agave Painting: Progress

Since my last post, I have added in two more leaves, and refined a lot of the edges of lines so that they are smoother. I also added some black in between the leaves to create shadows and more depth, and it is beginning to look more realistic which is good. Overall, the shading and tone have also gotten smoother since the last post. I have still been avoiding the middle part, but I will do this next. I still plan to add highlights on the edges of the leaves, and make the color/shading more uniform throughout.

#agave

Foxtail Agave Painting: Beginning

For my next painting, I am planning to a do realistic painting of an agave plant up close. This painting will be a study of capturing light and color and shadows as well as I can using acrylic paint. My initial trial run for this work was using watercolor, and some colored pencil, pictured below. I originally intended to do this piece in watercolor, but after experimenting, I found it was very difficult to control shading and obtain good color/light contrast, so I decided to go with acrylic. I have found that watercolor is a more difficult medium to capture realism with.

I did not take a picture at the beginning stages of my final piece, but the image below is a progress picture of the agave in acrylic, on canvas. I was able to get most of the plant done relatively quickly, and I have only used 2 colors (plus white) in the entire piece so far. The lines in the piece aren’t as smooth as I would like them to be yet, so I plan to go over them again. I still need to finish the last two leaves, and then the center part of the plant, which is going to be the hardest because it needs to look three-dimensional. However, I’m happy with my progress thus far.

#agave

Feedback Session

10 ideas that describe/refer to ideas that I am currently thinking about in my studio/work:

-mixed media -different textures to evoke certain feelings -impressionistic -abstract landscapes -realism -depth -powerful use of color -recreating photos -portraying new and creative ideas -accurate representations of light and shadows

Below are some of the many visual images that are currently inspiring me; some are more abstract and some are sharper photographs. I have taken all of these:

Below are several images from artists that relate to my work/will serve as future inspirations for me. The artists include Vincent van Gogh, Alejandro Quincoces, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

and finally, below are two examples of experimentation I have done recently. In my sketchbook, I experimented with watercolor shading and blending colors as a rough draft for my agave plant painting, and in the picture below, I practiced with colored pencils on textured paper, and experimented with blending colors, and how to draw perspective buildings.

#feedbacksession

First Thoughts, Future Thoughts

January 24th, 2018

The first semester went very well overall, and I think that I have had a lot of growth, both with the quality of my work and my expansion of creativity and being more open to unconventional ideas. I probably could have worked faster, but this may have affected the quality of the pieces, so I don’t regret taking my time. However, this semester I will definitely have to work more efficiently to complete the remaining 16+ pieces so I have enough to submit. I have finished eight pieces for the breadth section, and am about halfway done with my ninth. Although I predominately used acrylic paint as the main material in many of these artworks, I also used drawing/charcoal pencils, watercolor, colored pencils, and pastel. This semester, I would like to expand my use of materials, and create more works that are mixed-media, as opposed to just one material per piece.

Materials I would like to work with more are oil/chalk pastels, (maybe) oil paint, watercolor, pen and inks, and charcoal pencils. Additionally, I want to incorporate the use of acrylic paint in a different way than I had been doing last semester. I focused a lot on realism, and while I still want this idea to be reflected in my artwork, one of my goals for this semester is to take a different approach to the concept. I also am thinking about experimenting with collage— for example, combining a background with a cut-out subject. In terms of learning new skills in order to make the work that I want to make, I’m not sure exactly what skills/concepts I will need to learn yet. I think that this will come about as I am in the creative process and coming up with/executing new ideas. Creating depth and interesting perspectives are two things that I want to improve upon. For my concentration, I have not decided on one idea yet, and I am still uncertain as to what direction I want to go. Realism is a broad direction that I could narrow down, and emotion is another broad theme that I could delve into further. I could incorporate words or social criticisms into my pieces, or stick with strictly images…it is challenging for me to constrain the focus of my next 12 pieces into just one theme. I still have a lot of searching and brainstorming to do until I find exactly the approach I want. However, I have been inspired by other students’ portfolios I have seen online, photographs I have taken, and also by artists such as van Gogh and many lesser-known artists and works that I have seen on the internet. To be honest, I’m at somewhat of a creative roadblock with the concentration, because while I’m drawn to realism and particularly realist landscapes, they are very time-consuming and not out of my comfort zone. I still have a lot of thinking and working to do, but I am proud of what I have achieved so far this year.

#reflection

Letter to a Young Artist - Response

Dear Thomas Nozkowski,

I found your statement really interesting about the importance of young and new artists receiving guidance from older, more experienced artists. I also agree that it is important to integrate the communities, cultures, and ideas of different generations of artists, as you said. This allows not for a limitation of today’s art culture, but rather an expansion of ideas. Also, when you addressed the common misconception about needing to live in a large city such as New York to have a successful career as an artist, you described how an artist can really be successful anywhere: “the only important location is the studio.” I agree with this as well, because great work can be produced anywhere in the world, and it is. If all art were done in New York City and L.A., I think that the world would miss out on a variety of different styles and pieces that are more rural-inspired, just to name one example. Furthermore, you explained how an artists’ success must be earned, over time and experiences, and how important their integrity is. This is meaningful for me, because it relieves pressure for immediate success and shows that one can build up success over time and continuously improve. The last concern you addressed in the letter is the loneliness that comes from spending countless hours in the studio, and what I took away is that you must learn to sustain yourself and focus on only your own opinions rather than being weighed down by the criticisms of others. In your work, the expressive-ness really intrigued me, and your pieces are unique and abstract ideas. I hope to bring this creativity to my work as well.

Sincerely,

Oliver De Jonghe

Close Up Eye Drawing: Completed Artwork

I added in the ear, hair, and a background since the last post, but I am not certain that I am finished with this work as is. However, at this point, I am considering it finished, although I may later change the background. The ear was very difficult to do, and I ended up using a reference image for how to convey the shadows correctly. I wasn’t quite happy with how it looked, so I added many strands of dark hair over it and this layered effect made it look much better. I also shaded the top of the hair lighter than the bottom, which I think makes it more interesting/realistic. For the background, I struggled initially with what exactly to make it look like, but I decided that I wanted it to be relatively simplistic. I decided on an outdoor scene of his and two trees. Finally, I added details to the hair, and touched up details and highlights around the eye. For the line where the face ends, I decided to make it lighter to create a sense of depth by virtue of shadow and contrast. With the final piece, I am really happy with parts, such as the eye itself, but not as happy with the background. All the same, this might be because I’ve stared at it for way too long. I think I accomplished my intention of creativity with this work.

Close Up Eye Drawing: Progress

At this point, I had mostly finished the eye, added in some white highlights using a white charcoal pencil, and finished the majority of the face’s shadows, but I realized they were too dark and am going to lighten them. I also began sketching out an ear, but had trouble with the proportions and how exactly to approach drawing an ear. I also knew I wanted to add hair and a background, but wasn’t sure exactly how yet. With the face’s shading, my intention was to portray light shining on the iris and illuminating part of the eye, but I did not achieve the right lighting contrast and balance yet. Also, the drawing felt heavily skewed towards the right side of the paper and was out of balance; therefore, I needed to add more weight and depth to the left side. With blending techniques, I think that over the course of this process I have improved my shading and one thing I am happy about is how I was able to make a clear pupil circle that is definitely the focal point of the eye because it contrasts. The next steps will be to finish the face, add hair, and a background.

Close Up Eye Drawing: Beginning

For my next piece, I kept in mind a lot personal creativity and trying to come up with my own ideas. My goal with this was to expand on an eye drawing I had done earlier in the year, and add in the rest of a face, and maybe a background. I started out by sketching the outline of the eye on the right side of the paper in charcoal pencil. I then began shading the eye, and I used clay erasers, blending tools, and different varieties of charcoal pencils based on darkness. Besides the actual eye, I didn’t really know what the rest of the drawing was going to look like at this point, except vaguely. I shaded the left corner of the eye dark to create shadows, but later decided to lighten it. One difficulty I had was knowing how dark to make the shadows, and blending rough lines into smooth transitions was also difficult and it took a lot of effort at first.

Milky Way Painting

I started and finished this painting in one relatively short sitting, so I don’t have images of the beginning and middle, but below is the final artwork. This painting was inspire by a video I watched of a painting tutorial on a night sky, but with different colors, shapes, and mountains. Initially I just had the sky without stars and without the red area, and I used a technique for the stars where I splattered white paint on the paper with a wide brush. I then added red to the sky and lastly, the mountains in the foreground and snow on them. I used acrylic paint for this artwork, and my intentions were to use bright colors in the sky and portray stars, the night sky, and the milky way and a sunset over snowy mountains. Honestly, I am not completely happy with this piece, but it was a pretty fast one to complete and I am not sure yet if I will submit it. I think that the composition could have been better, and that there could be more happening in the foreground. In the future, to improve on this work, I would make sure that I blended the sky better and maybe added more layers of mountains or even trees to make the foreground more interesting and realistic-looking. I like the sky, but I think that I went a little overboard with the stars: if I added less of them it would have looked better. For next time, I want to become a little bit more creative with my art, and stop relying as heavily on other artists for inspiration.

#reflection

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