On this page I will post my blog entries for my Painting II class. I will be talking about different artists that I have been looking at to help me with my work in this class. I will also document the process and progress of my work.

Week 18: May 7th

 

Overall, I am very happy with the end result of my final project. Even though it wasn’t exactly what I had initially envisioned, it still followed the basic guidelines of an abstract landscape created through the combination of painting and collage. There are definitely aspects that I would like to develop more, but in the time frame I feel that I produced a completed work that stays true to my own aesthetic. I have never done a painting like this before and it has definitely helped me open up to new creative ideas and ways of thinking.

Week 17: April 29th & May 1st

May 1st Progess

April 29th Progess

I started using oil paint as the top layer to try and integrate the acrylic base layer with the collaged paper. This was most successful in the mountains and rock formations. I was able to (almost) seamlessly combine these two mediums. I used images of tree bark to make them look more rock-like and less flat. 

 

 

I took a chance and decided to collage these highly saturated strips of images in the skyline. I didn’t have a concept behind it other than I wanted it to have a more whimsical feel through the addition of a more graphic element. Some people I have talked to think it looks like some sort of crazy rain, but I don’t see it that way.

Week 16: April 22 & 24th

This week I struggled with decided how I was going to collage on my painting. I no longer felt that the figures of my grandparents and Biloxi felt relevant to this painting. It didn’t make sense to me and it wasn’t too out there to work. I struggled for several days trying to find the solution to this problem.

After talking to several different people about what they thought I should do (collage or just keep painting). I decided to stick with the basis of my original proposal and collage. I was thinking too much about it, I just needed to trust my instincts and do it.

I decided that I wanted to use some of my own photographs for the collaging. I chose images of nature and tinted them in photoshop.

Week 15: April 15th & 17th

Once I got the sky and the mountains painted I moved onto the bottom. I moved away from my initial idea completely. I wanted the bottom part to look more like rolling hills rather than water. Some of the shapes were more effective than others. Some of them were too fluid to actually appear to be hills.

 

 

I tried to use the shapes and layering used in this painting to inspire the bottom half of my painting. I am still working on making them appear to be in the foreground.

 

This image was very inspirational to my painting in regards to color. I love using vibrant colors, but have struggled with my use of color being too eratic. While this painting is by no means perfect (or very aesthetically pleasing) I really love the use of the saturated, blue, green, purple, and pinks (I chose to omit the red).

Week 13: April 8 & 10th

Once I started painting the oceanic landscape, I was not pleased with how the canvas looked. I decided to experiment and move away from the ocean/sand landscape. I ended up with mountains and a streaky sky. This was not my original plan, but I was really happy with how the dark mountains looked against the background. Suddenly, I realized that I was unknowingly channeling Robert Josiah Bingaman’s painting style.

 

 

 

 

I love the look of the streaky, light background and the harsh, black shapes.

Week 12: April 1st & 3rd

The first two pictures are of Biloxi, Mississippi, where my mom is from. I wanted to use these images as a basis for my landscape background since all of the photos I will be using were all taken there. I spent a great deal of time in Biloxi as a young child and have very vivid memories of the city. I want to paint the skyline/water and add the light house on the right.

My great grandmother’s house. 

My grandfather looking spiffy.

 

My grandmother (on the left) and her two friends.

Week 11: March 25th & 27th

My proposal for my final project is a combination of painting and collaging. I want to incorporate old family photos and an abstracted, surrealistic landscape. These are some of the images that have inspired my idea and aesthetic direction.

 

 

Katherine Smith-Schaad

Week 10: March 18th & 20th

This week I was working on wrapping up/redoing my non objective series as well as brain storming for my final project. I know that I want to combine the last two projects that we were supposed to do into one. I want to combine a large scale work with a combination of two mediums. I’d really like to explore working with both collage and paint on the same canvas.

Week 9: March 11th & 13th (spring break)

I am still trying to get all of my non objective paintings done. It is a challenge for me to let go, stop thinking, and just paint. It feels like my brain is going 100 mph and I tend to over think. I worked on attempting to make my non objective paintings cohesive, but in the end I ended up with 15 paintings and two different series (or sub series). While all of them explored color and texture there was a definite difference in methods.

Week 8: March 4th & 6th

This week I have been working on my non objective project. I originally was going to use mixed media and collage old pictures of my mom’s relatives, but it just didn’t seem right for this project. I am going to use that idea for my next project instead. I have decided to explore color, texture, and composition in my non objective paintings.

During this week I was researching texture and color. I found some particularly inspiring works on pinterest (http://www.pinterest.com/pin/313000242824639101/).  I have many on my “inspiration” page, but my favorite was definitely the one below. I think I want to explore a cool color palette, but I am not quite sure that I want to limit myself to only cool colors. I might want to transition from cool to warm colors throughout the series of 10 paintings. I love this painting below because it has such movement and vibrance while still using dark, deep hues.

Week 7: February 25th & 27th

I have been trying to decide what I want to do for my non objective project. This past weekend I was home in Dallas and found some really old photographs of my parent’s relatives and I was really interested in doing an art piece with them.  I have always been interested in mixed media, but I want to experience with it more. I did a large collage back in high school, but haven’t done much of it since. I researched photography and mixed media and photography and painting. I found the work of French artist Charlotte Caron particularly interesting. She paints animal faces on portraits of people.

Charlotte Caron, mixed media, photography, painting, contemporary

http://www.thejealouscurator.com/blog/page/8/

I also found work like this particularly inspiring. I definitely will be doing something that combines my old photos and painting and collage for my fourth project. These images were particularly inspiring.

Week 6: February 18th & 20th

I have still been working on my portrait and nude figure painting. I am not working quickly, although I have never been known to be a swift painter. I am still trying to figure out how to further incorporate Gauguin’s style into my paintings. I have gotten the correct color palette down, but I just need to figure out what I want to do with the background. I have tried several different backgrounds, but have yet to find one that I have liked. I might be thinking too much about it, but I don’t want it to look like I didn’t put any thought into it at all. I wish I had more time to just go into the studio and paint. I’ve just been swamped this semester, but hope to find some time to focus on my paintings soon.
Week 5: February 11th & 13th

Hollis suggested that I look at Paul Gauguin for inspiration for the background and style of my painting. She said it was already reminiscent of his portraits of Tahitians, but it could be pushed a little further in that direction. I took her advice and tried to emanate his work, but I believe that I could still push it even farther. I just need some time to get more work done on it. I hope to do so over Spring Break. I also am aware that the whites of her eyes are too pure white. I have painted them twice, I added some yellow ochre the second time, but I think I need to make them more of a tan shade for them to look less cartoonish. But I am very happy with the figure’s body. I just need to work on her hair, eyes, and developing the background a little more. I want to do something reminiscent of the backgrounds in Gauguin’s Tahitian series.

 

 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paul_Gauguin_135.jpg

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paul_Gauguin_-_Tahitian_Woman_with_a_Flower_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paul_Gauguin_-_Three_Tahitians_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

 

Week 4: February 4th & 6th

We started our nude paintings this week. As soon as I started my second painting and got away from my portrait I immediately felt a little more confident. I think the fact that we had more creative freedom helped me to stop thinking so much while painting. I was over analyzing my painting during my portrait.

I really enjoyed putting some purple in my figure for the dark tones. Week 3: January 28th & 30th

I went back to my portrait later and managed to make some improvements. I was more successful with the highlights and low lights. While it is not quite finished, I am definitely happier with it. It could still use some more work though. I think that maybe looking at a specific artist for inspiration might help me, but I mainly think I am struggling with the realism aspect of painting a portrait.

Week 2: January 21st & 23rd

We continued to work on our portrait paintings. I am still frustrated with my painting. I don’t feel that this painting is reflective of my true painting capabilities. I feel that I am just struggling with figurative painting, as it is an area that I have not explored before. I tried to look online for some portraiture inspiration and found a few things that caught my eye.

Inspiration

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/313000242824196280/

Week 1: January 14th & 16th

This week we started our first painting, which is a portrait of a live model. My portrait painting experience is limited to a self portrait that I did in high school, so I was anxious about this first painting. I have never painting from a live model before and I struggled with her position changing slightly with every class. The way I was able to successfully paint in my previous painting class was by identifying the shapes within an object, painting those shapes, and piecing them together to create an object or scene. I kept looking at her cheek as a cheek, not as a shape with shadows and highlights. I struggled with making her look three dimensional, my painting appeared flat and unrealistic. I was frustrated to say the least.