Reflections

My expectation for this course was for it to be informative, exciting, and intriguing. That expectation was absolutely met and more! It wss informative in that I learned the elements and principles of art, various artists, various styles and techniques, and the history of art. It was exciting and intriguing because I got to create a mask, draw a self portrait, create a logo, and so much more fun stuff that I wouldn't do on a regular basis. From this course, I have also learned what art truly is. My original thought of it was that art is a from of expression. That is very true but this course has taught me so much more. It's an aesthetic experience and can be whatever you want it to be. However, all art has some elements and principles included in it. As long as it has those, it is art. I didn't have a favorite artist at the beginning of this course and I still wouldn't say I have a favorite. I've enjoyed so many of the artists I've learned about in this course that I couldn't just choose one. I do love Frank Lloyd Wrights architecture work, he stands out the most to me because of the video I watched. His buildings and house designs and whole concept was beautiful. He has stuck with me the most. Andy Warhol stands out to just because of how weird yet fascinating he was as well as his pop art and the fact that he shot celebrities. I feel the same way I did before about taking an online course. I don't take them for granted just because they are online. It wa still a lot of work and I still learned a lot. 

Self Portrait

Since I was not able to physically attend an art gallery, I used Google Art Project and virtually visited  Museo Dolores Olmedo, a museum in Mexico City.

Portrait of Dona Rosita Morillo

Frida Kahlo

1944 

oil on Canvas

76 x 60.5 cm

Portrait of Dolores Olmedo (La Tehuana)

Diego Rivera

1955

oil painting

Young man with a fountain pen

Diego Rivera

1914

Oil on canvas

79.5 x 63.5 cm

Original self-portrait 

Self-portrait 

1. When I was looking through the virtual gallery, these three images stood out to me the most. Frida Kahlos painting is so realistic and reminded me of my grandmother because she loves to knit and is of similar skin color. Both of Diego Rivera's paintings are so unique. I loved how abstract the one portrait is because it shows that a self portrait doesn't have to simply be exactly what your face looks like. I like his second one because it's a full body which was cool.

2. Personally, watercolors and charcoal is too messy for me so I stuck with colored pencils and paper.

3. Drawing my outline was the easy part, but drawing my eyes and facial features was difficult. It's especially hard when drawing the specifics like the bulge I have under my eyes, my chubby cheeks, and the defined lines and curves that appear when I smile. That was difficult to portray. 

4. It represents me not just because it's a drawing of me, but because of the smirk depicted, and the large, bright eyes. Those are characteristics  of me that I really tried to draw well and accurately. 

5. I started out with tons of lines and shapes. Then as I erased and redrew, I tried to add the symmetry found in the original potrait. I knew that my colored pencils weren't going to show the colors that well, so the portrait turned out a little dull with not many hues, and not that intense. I made sure to add the space around my face so that the portrait is emphasized. 

6. I really enjoyed drawing myself. I normally don't just sit down, look at pictures of me, and then try to draw them. I usually draw other things, so this was really enjoyable. 

7. I think my final portrait looks similar to the original, but not an exact replica. I don't know if people would realize this was me by looking at it, but overall, I'm happy with it and I gave my best.