Concentration #12

Concentration #11
This is a work based on a picture I took in Spoleto, Italy. I remember beng fascinated by the huge night sky, the city lights, and the highlights on the big tower. I would like to make the city lights stand out more but am a little uncertain of where to go from here. I am happy with the base of the tower but think that I could work on the top of the some more. Basically, it just looks unfinished to me, but I don't know specifically what could fix it. However, if I continue to work on I do think that it will fit into my concentration well. I think there is risk-taking in that there is really only the solid structure of the tower while the rest of the work is flowing colors and abstracted. I do think this provides good contrast though.

Concentration #10
This work is based on a picture I took in Austria of a train very high up on a mountain. I used the suggestions of grounding the train more and added some shadowing. I also tried to make sure that the mountains in the background seemed far away and did not compete with my foreground. I think there's rhythm created through my cut pieces of paper and contrast between the geometric and organic shapes. I do think this work fits into my concentration as it is a memory that has stayed with me. I think I took risks by using such bright, shiny paper on the train. I wasn't sure if I would like the result but looking back I do like it and am happy that I took that risk.

Concentration #9
This piece is obviously of New York. It is based on a few photographs I took while I was there. I wanted to make sure that I gave the city life while still maintaining some abstraction. I also chose to reflect the many colors of the city in the sky. I think I took risks in the abstraction I used with the people and cars. I also wanted to make the buildings huge so it would appear that the viewer was right there in the city. If I were to work back into this piece I think there would be some more thing I could do to really make the foreground stand out more..perhaps working with the cars some more? I do think this work follows along the idea of my concentration though.

Concentration Statement-Redo
The idea for my concentration stemmed from my experience growing up as a bilingual child, in which I constantly moved between the European and American cultures. I have grown accustomed to both the similarities and differences of the rest of the world to America and hope to highlight the beauty of both, in a concentration of landscapes. I began my concentration wanting to study contrasts of color, subjects, and environments in order to define what makes an American landscape. Ultimately, I decided that what I was truly capturing was my different memories of these places through painting, photographs, and mixed media.

Concentration #8

This work is based on a memory of Vienna. I remember the street performers who gave the city life and energy. It was suggested that I push the sky back by developing the foreground. I tried to bolden the colors or the tiles in order to do so. It was also suggested that I make the meeting point of the sky with the buildings more distinct so I outlined with marker. I took risks by not filling everything perfectly in. I hope that doing this will emphasize how it is suppossed to illustrate a memory. There are elements of repitition visible in the repitition of the buildings and the tiles. There is also movement by how the bodies of the dancers are placed. I do think this piece fits in with my concentration (although I need to change my statement-I will do that in my next entry). I really tried to create a more complex piece by adding the people in the front but hope that it doesn't vary too much from my other landscapes.

Concentration #7

This work is based on a picture I took in Costa Rica. I loved all the different colored boats in the water and how they seemed to portray the livelihood of the people who owned them. It inspired me to try and create a piece that symbolized the happiness that I saw. I tried to use Mrs. Danahy's suggestion to use paper to make the foreground more bold and to stand out more than the sky. I did this, but I think I may need to do that more. I feel like the boats seem sort of un-grounded or somethign and that the sky may still be competing. I like the repitition of the boats but may want to add more of them?? I do think that this work fits in with the rest of my concentration and embodies the scene that I wanted to create. I took risks by not finishing all parts of the work. I chose to do that in order to convey how not all parts of a memory of a place are always clear. Also, it is much smaller than my other concentration pieces so it forced me to work with a smaller scale. I do like this piece but I still feel like it needs something in order for it to be complete but am not sure of what.

Concentration #6

This image I did not take but it is of an American lighthouse. In this work I really tried to make values which were more varied as well as rhythm (perhaps the same shapes of the rocks as the clouds?). I used the suggestion of working on the waves breaking, making the man fishing stand out more, and working on my foreground. I went back over the man with more black but I'm not sure if I still need to be more bold. I referred to one of Mrs. D's paintings for the waves..I think it looks better than it was but it's still not exactly how I want it. I really tried to re-create how her colors varies in the water. With the foreground...I worked on it some more...but I'm still sort of unsure of how to make it better. I do think this piece works with the rest of the concentration. However, I'm wondering if I really am going to be able to do a comparison between the US and the rest of the world like it says in my statement...or if I should change it to be more about just memories of places around the world. I took a risk by doing a citra-solve of the lighthouse and house and keeping it black and white. I think I will continue with the citra-solve technique in my next works...I really like how it fits into my concentration.

Concentration #5
This work based off photographs I took while I was visiting Boston. I made the photo-copied pictures bigger and then layered on top of them with water color, paper, texture through sponges, oil pastel, and marker. I used Mrs. Danahy's suggestion about reversing the tree and part of the left side of the picture in order to create a perspective effect which I'm really glad that I did. Also, I worked on new techniques to use in my sky such as using rubber cement. I used repitition through the repeating buildings. I do think that this work demonstrates my idea of the landscapes. I think this shows a typical American city...especially the brownstone houses. The car is also not complete in order to show how it is dream or memory-like. Risk-taking shows through how I have chosen to leave a lot in black and white as well as not have everything perfectly drawn out. I tried to put myself in the work with the student, emphasizing how I will be going to Boston in the fall for school as well as putting a girl taking a picture which symbolizes myself.

Concentration #4

This work is based on a photograph I took while passing by a local area while in the Dominican Republic. The bright colors and the people is what I remember the most. I used the suggestions to work back into the trees and develop more layering. It was also suggested that I spraypaint over it or do something to induce a more dreamlike quality. I agreed with this idea but decided to finish my concentrations and then see if the spraypainting would work with the other pieces. I tried to create a more engaging design through layering over photo-copied pictures. I do feel that my work demonstrates my concept through focusing on movement and texture. I took risks by continuing with my exploration of photo-copies. I also used marker and oil pastels in this project which I had not tried before. It is also a really different landscape from my previous ones. I hope this work shows my personal vision of highlighting the beautiful differences of landscapes around the world.

Concentration #3
This piece is set in Italy from my memories of being in Sienna this past summer. I remember the crumbling towers, different colored houses, and beautiful,rolling hills around it. It was suggested that I push these hills back more, which I tried to do by adding white paper over them. I definitely tried to create a more engaging design through movement and rhythm. I focused on this through texture and composition. I do think that this work follows along with my concentration statement. I really tried to capture the essence of the Italian landscape as it is in my mind to demonstrate its unique qualities and beauty. I took risks by adding layers of paper and creating texture. Furthermore, for the first time I implemented black and white photo-copies of buildings from Sienna and colored and pasted over them. This was a really interested experience that I think I will continue further in my pieces. It helped me get my darks and forced me to experiment in ways I had no before. I think that my personality came through in this work through many of the warm and soft colors I used. It would be almost impossible for me to show how much I love travel, and how especially, the life and colors of Sienna struck me while I was there. I really hope to show how the world is so beautiful and that every place exhibits this quality in an unique way.

Concentration # 2

The basis of this work is trying to capture the beauty of an American farming landscape. Mrs. Danahy also introduced me to the art of Gerald Brommer, so he was a huge influence on me while I was creating this artwork. Mrs. Danahy and my classmates suggested that I should push the background back and bring the foreground farther forward. Consequently, I added strips of white paper of the background and layered the foreground with various materials such as cloth, paper, and marker. I think I did achieve a better sense of space as a result of these changes. It was also suggested that I find a picture of a farmhouse. I agreed with this suggestion but I could not find one that I really liked. However, I will keep searching and will place one in my work before the AP Exam. To create a more engaging design, I focused on movement, unity, balance, and figure-ground relationship. I do feel like this work demonstrates my concentration idea. There was definitely a lot of risk-taking in this project. Layering and experimenting with so many different types of materials was difficult but rewarding. I tried to put myself in this project by showing my love for the American landscape through the bold colors, hopefully portraying an inviting atmosphere.

Concentration #1

Critique:

1) I played around with the sky some more to develop greater contrast between it and the house.

2) I think I can use movement in the clouds and the waves of the ocean as well as balance between the blues of the sky and water and the browns of the house to create a more engaging design.

3) Yes, there is a focus on the principles of art to create a successful piece. It also follows along the idea of my concentration of creating landscapes. This landscape is of Croatia and will eventually be shown in contrast to American landscapes.

4) To take risks, I used mixed media and did a lot of layering. I really like the way this created texture.

5) I tried to show my personal vision by expressing what interested me so much in this landscape when I saw it and why it is still such a strong memory. I really like the architecture of the house and how the water came right up to it. I also liked how the sky and water seemed to meet in the distance.

Concentration Statement

The idea for my concentration stemmed from my experience growing up as a bilingual child, in which I constantly moved between the European and American cultures. I have grown accustomed to both the similarities and differences of the rest of the world to America and hope to highlight the beauty of both, in a concentration of landscapes. I will take photographs, paint, and used mixed media to study contrasts of color, subjects, and environments. Ultimately, I will be able to define what makes an American landscape.