n a m e o f a r t p i e c e : i n t e r l u d e
Title: Eat My Shorts! Size: 38 x 24in Medium: Digital Painting/Illustration on Procreate Completion: January 2020 Exhibition Text:As a revised version of an earlier watercolor painting I produced in the year, "Interlude," "Eat My Shorts" took inspiration from the infamous design and patterns of early 1980's architecture organization, The Memphis Group. My liking to 80's homage in modern day art became relevant in this piece, and I produced it through Procreate to not only show a current growth in personal art style, but to subsequently compliment the idea of discovering inner beauty through self portraiture.
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Inspirations:
NOTE: This first section includes my INITIAL inspiration with the first execution of this project...
Interlude: Piece Inspiration & Collection of Ideas
Artist In Focus: Narcisse Díaz Virgilio de la Peña
Our art class as a whole took a trip to the Milwaukee Art Museum during August to get a better look at pieces in their real forms, so I ended up getting a handful of pieces under my sleeves for future pieces. That being said, this piece by an 1800 French painter Narcisse Díaz Virgilio de la Peña to the right pegged my interest immediately. It was something in the intricately detailed uses of oil paint and hue variation, and in how these could all combine to create such a beautiful landscape, that I became interested in trying to same. I was suggested to use Gouache paint this recent summer, actually, so overall doing a paint related piece was on my artistic to do list. Playing around with different varieties of line, close and far yet related hue schemes, and texture could really make my piece pop to the viewer more when viewing it. |
The piece to the left is labeled "Forest Landscape with Figures", and this piece is a nice example of how his landscape related work looks. It pegged my interest during my trip to the Milwaukee Art Museum, and I wanted to try a hand at painting a landscape piece. I wanted to use this same hue scheme in my final product.
To the left is an introduction to the other painter that caught my attention while looking for inspiration online, Malcolm Liepke, but to the right again is a closer photo I took of the painting in real time. I wanted to see the brushwork done. It's quite fascinating, honestly something incredibly beautiful in the unity that using different variations of greens (basil, mixed with lighter pear colors, and dark as seaweed) and browns (carob browns, tawny, and even dark browns such as umber) can create in a final product.
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The painting above to the left is named "Tough Girl" and the painting to the bottom right, the more relevant choice Liepke's work that inspired me, is named "Hydrangea Garden". Something about the emotion that Malcolm Liepke puts in the focus of the piece around its background just sparks in my mind immediately.
Artists In Focus: Malcolm Liepke
Malcolm Liepke's paintings were something that I accidentally came across on Twitter. This user made a thread about artists that did really fascinating figure paintings, and for said for good reason... his work is just phenomenal to me. To the right, I chose this piece of his, "Hydrangea Garden", to build off of for inspiration because I liked how small the figure looks in front of the green and white-ish purple background. She stands out while also looking like relatively fits in. I usually make my pieces personal, most of the time putting myself in illustrations like this to really emulate a sense of openness to what I'm feeling or what's in my head. |
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The Sun (Interlude) By Jukebox The Ghost
Surprisingly enough, I found inspiration in this 1:03 long piano and instrumental piece by Jukebox The Ghost. My piece, if it would have sound to it, would be a lot like the melodies from this song to the left. It's a nice listen, if anything. The way it starts to elevate around 0:13 all the way into 0:30, and then how it drifts into a whole other tone at 0:50... it all felt like I was moving along from summer into Senior year.
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Growing Pains: Piece Inspiration & Collection of Ideas
For this piece, my process and experimentation that connected into the existence of the final product was, to put it lightly, a lot. This project began as a gouache/watercolor paint mixed landscape with a self portrait base to it, but actually turned into a digital self portrait done through brushes that simulate painting in real life. I wanted to practice portraiture.
Artists In Focus: The Memphis Group & 80's Magazines
As what will be later shown below, I began by drawing some digital self portraits of myself based off of real images I had of myself. These familiarized me with the human form; acknowledging the space between elements of the face like the eyes from the mouth region, and by even using the variation of thin from thickness of line to amplify certain features in the face without having to fully draw them. You can see the image I actually chose as being the model for |
this digital self portrait below in Experimentation. Experimenting with myself and how I looked, I took the photo in a state without makeup and without any other implementation on my being. I wanted this piece to not only redeem the painted self portrait I produced junior year, but to catch myself in a vulnerable state to try and enhance the features I found most interesting about myself. This piece would turn itself into something like an 80’s magazine cover, an example of that can be shown above to the left. I also wanted to relate portions my work to an interest I have in 80’s related design and manipulation of shape. Quite frankly the aesthetic of it all, chose of hue variation to make a fresh, unified come-together when put side by side, and the style in which, for example, The Memphis Pattern has to the top right. This would be considered heavily during my execution of the piece, as I kept reflecting back to these inspirations, so the look of it would compliment.
The painting above to the left is named "Tough Girl" and the painting to the bottom right, the more relevant choice Liepke's work that inspired me, is named "Hydrangea Garden". Something about the emotion that Malcolm Liepke puts in the focus of the piece around its background just sparks in my mind immediately.
Planning for the Final Product:
Knowing that my style of tackling this project would be in gouache paint as a major, I began with looking into techniques of using said paint. It is a new medium after all. I found out the following...
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Journal/Planning Page 3
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This page of my notes is where I brought in a lot more final product sketching. I took a bunch of reference photos (different outfits, poses, etc) as shown below in the Experimentation, but I ended up following through with the larger image of me breathing in with my sweater over my face. It sets the tone of me taking a sudden deep breath, eyes closed and mind to myself, as the things around me (visions of my surroundings and so forth) continue on as is. It's me reflecting that I have just come out of the summer following my Junior year, and that I'm not getting ready to be a Senior.
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Again, per usual, I explore my planning also in Experimentation. This is all shown below, and can be seen reflected above.
Experimentation:
This first batch of information is in relation to my first run for the project, "Interlude". Lots went into experimentation for this project.
Posing and taking references for my final product was important. I studied of how a certain pattern of clothing, a style of posing for the camera, and the way my eyes communicate emotion by what they do to see of which communicated the feeling of "Interlude". Listening to that instrumental piece by Jukebox The Ghost from my inspiration, and reflecting to how style of figure form affects the model in focus from Liepke's work, I sorted out which felt wrong for the setting from what felt closer to what I was trying to emulate.
Perhaps for more of a personal and "easter egg" like touch to my work and the ideas it is trying to get to, I looked Nature related representation and symbolism. This comes in things such as the meaning behind water or streams, green representation (creeks, undisturbed forests, etc), and the meaning behind my figure would be a reconnection to such a thing-throwing it back to nature.
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This next batch of information is in relation to my actual project turnout, "Eat My Shorts!" The following will include an explanation of my change in medium...
“Interlude” was a watercolor and gouache based illustration that expressed my processing disconnect with my past three years of high school beside entering my senior year. Although showing good experimentation with unity in nature forms and use of hue variation, harmony they can bring when layered correctly, the piece never really felt completed to me. This links more into the process of an artist; “Interlude” was an extensive try at creating a self portrait, but, as I worked through it, I didn’t feel like it was something I wanted to follow through with. Then, airing out from this piece at the beginning of Senior Year, I reflected and produced “Growing Pains”.
To the right I position myself in a vulnerable place, an overall vulnerable position, because this piece would try to expose |
Experimentation with Medium: Gouache & Watercolor Paints Gouache was relatively new to me, while Watercolor paints weren't as ill experienced. These can be shown to the right below, as I pick out colors I want to use and sort them as is.
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Process:
My first approach to creating my final product was in testing out paints on a separate board. By doing this, I could test out opaque and clear coats of certain colors onto the cold press board (even as I redrew myself on the board to test). In this, I found out the perfect shade of skin color, how the hair texture goes on depending on how much water I soak it in, and how cool I can make the sweater over my face look if I contrast white with grey all over it, especially in the curves and fabric folds of the clothing item and how I twist it over my nose. I even went on with watercolors a bit for touchups (skin wise for blush and so forth), and then I tested out how flowers could look depending again on opaqueness. |
Finally getting to some sort of start, I, using Carbon Copy Paper, re-sketched out the drawing I did from my process journal onto the board. I had to redraw the model again separately so I could easily reprint it back onto the board with ease. This is shown to the right. I centered myself a lot like Liepke's piece "Hydrangea Garden", and I'll be doing a lot of landscape related scenery behind myself to show that mode of taking in my surroundings and reconnecting. Later on, I'd decidedly switch to watercolor paper for this figure as well (my realization with cold press not being able to take watercolor and gouache on it without meshing approached).
Skin was next on the agenda for executing the final piece. I started by mixing watercolors & did the following per layer to darken the skin more....
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Coloring out most of my figure in the center was my main first goal, so I worked on matching hair color to my reference image next. I have an odd hair color, this being an effect of redyeing it quite often, so, at the moment, it's a brunette like sienna shade.
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Moving on from this aspect of my piece, I grabbed blue masking tape, and taped down watercolor paper (my new realized base for this project) safely onto newspaper, so I could begin creating the landscape background. I began with sketching out a very light landscape background from the top of my head. I wanted to add a stream of water, again a reference back to the symbolism I wished to have in my overall piece from up above, so I made sure there was a visible distinguishable value in both the body of water and outer greens. I covered the paper with a coat of water; this made the paper open to accepting watercolors into its base so I could both avoid overusing paint while also avoiding the quick drying of paint. A lot of this was just me playing around with what I envisioned as I did it, so my process here really opens up the viewer to where I chose to incorporate blue hues (dark and light) in the water and contrast them with greenish/yellow tones (again, dark or light) to start making this landscape forest illusion behind myself. |
With these lighter layers of color placed on, my next mode of attack was in layering (this being, with the layers before drying a bit) with darker colors, and creating unity in the paints making areas in my piece stand out from one another. I started by mixing my white with brown watercolors to create a type of tortilla/wheat hued brown, and applied it around the edges of the stream while also getting some on the grass to work off of. With this, I moved into creating greens like shamrock green or emerald. All of these colors were much darker than the colors I used beforehand, so the contrast would really capture more forest-like features on my paper when put in this order. I then moved in lightly with my paint brush, the bristles being less wet by wiping it on newspaper, and touched up the piece with a more basil-like green. Adding darker hues on top of light ones again made areas in my piece shape out more, thus my piece looking more forest orientated. |
I used a blow dryer to make my piece less wet, and then moved in with a rougher bristled brush to add detail. With this newfound texture added to now a, slightly, drier piece, the texture would create a realistic like illusion to the viewer.
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Letting my larger landscape piece dry, I moved back onto my mini self that I created initially and outlined it in black. I wanted to use graze blacks and whites and mix it to see what colors I can get and how adding water can affect this. Turns out the more water I added the more translucent and thin it would show up on paper, and if I just used the clear color and brush it on it would make colors more opaque it hard. I tested this out on the sleeves and even showed the fabricating fold and throb of it towards the middle since it's over my face, and it is a kind of created this contrast in shadowing in the look to the sweater. I was more prepared to this part then the other parts in this because I practice a lot so this part didn’t turn out as bad is it could of. |
When I felt that my piece was dry enough, even after blow drying it with a hand dryer myself a few times, I went back in to add certain details to create more layering effects of realism. I wanted to use graze blacks and whites and mix it to see what colors I can get and how adding water can affect this. Turns out the more water I added the more translucent and thin it would show up on paper, and if I just used. With this, I moved into creating greens like shamrock green or emerald. All of these colors were much darker than the colors I used beforehand, so the contrast would really capture more forest-like features on my paper when put in this order. I then moved in lightly with my paint brush, the bristles being less wet by wiping it on newspaper, and touched up the piece with a more basil-like green. |
Finally, I removed the blue tape from the landscape and carefully glued myself where I felt it looked nicest being over. I wanted to use graze blacks and whites and mix it to see what colors I can get and how adding water can affect this. Turns out the more water I added the more translucent. With this, I moved into creating greens like shamrock green or emerald. All of these colors were much darker than the colors I used beforehand, so the contrast would really capture more forest-like features on my paper when put in this order. I then moved in lightly with my paint brush, the bristles being less wet by wiping it on newspaper, and touched up the piece with a more basil-like green. |
Critique:
This next area will be comparing my piece to its original inspirations: "Hydrangea Garden" by Malcolm Liepke and "Forest Landscape with Figures" by Narcisse Diaz Virgillo. These pieces are shown side by side below for comparison and contrasting with my final.
To the left, we have Malcolm Liepke's painting named "Hydrangea Garden" and then, to the left, Narcisse Diaz Virgilio de la Pena's painting "Forest Landscape with Figures"
Similarities May Include:
- We're both putting emphasis on our centered, female figure. This falls more to the piece to the top left by artist Malcolm Liepke, named "Hydrangea Garden". Both of us relate on putting a female figure in the center of all the surrounding greens, and, in a way, both pieces create this sense of hushed tranquility.
- I, and both of the artists I used for inspiration, use nature as a strong asset to our overall piece. Mine involves that of a background a lot like Narcisse Diaz Virgillo de la Pena's forestry piece to the top right, "Forest Landscape with Figures", while also being alike to the green hues used in Liepke's to the top left. We all use nature to enhance the final parts of our piece.
- Narcisse Diaz Virgillo de la Pena and I both have pieces, mine more in the background, that look a lot like each other. This is in the mode of forestry type settings where both of ours involve shrubs and greenery in ways that become even more distinguishable through specfic brushstroke techniques and so forth.
- I, and both of the artists I used for inspiration, use nature as a strong asset to our overall piece. Mine involves that of a background a lot like Narcisse Diaz Virgillo de la Pena's forestry piece to the top right, "Forest Landscape with Figures", while also being alike to the green hues used in Liepke's to the top left. We all use nature to enhance the final parts of our piece.
- Narcisse Diaz Virgillo de la Pena and I both have pieces, mine more in the background, that look a lot like each other. This is in the mode of forestry type settings where both of ours involve shrubs and greenery in ways that become even more distinguishable through specfic brushstroke techniques and so forth.
Differences May Include:
- My art medium used was not the same as both of my inspirations. This difference in medium gives us an altered set of texture, hue, and overall form of things and figures in each of our pieces. I used watercolor and gouache. I know that Narcisse Diaz Virgillo de la Pena's piece was made using oil paints, alike to Malcolm Liepke's, so our mediums weren't in the same exact range.
- My piece, especially when compared to Narcisse Diaz Virgillo de la Pena's piece "Forest Landscapes with Figures", has a lot more personal meaning. In his work, above my piece to the top right, seems to just be a plain painting of a forest, something that was just done to be done rather than what I did-incorporating symbolism and all sorts of detail to draw back to my piece's name "interlude. They just differ in purpose of creating said piece.
- My piece is a self portrait, in a way, after all. My piece strays away from using characters other than myself, since my theme for all these pieces are usually in the expression of who I am and/or what I'm thinking, and, in this, differs from both of my inspirations. Mine aims to be a more personal reflection of where I am presently, and Liepke uses a model that isn't themselves while Narcisse Diaz Virgillo de la Pena has only minuscule person-related content hidden between his forestry.
- My piece, especially when compared to Narcisse Diaz Virgillo de la Pena's piece "Forest Landscapes with Figures", has a lot more personal meaning. In his work, above my piece to the top right, seems to just be a plain painting of a forest, something that was just done to be done rather than what I did-incorporating symbolism and all sorts of detail to draw back to my piece's name "interlude. They just differ in purpose of creating said piece.
- My piece is a self portrait, in a way, after all. My piece strays away from using characters other than myself, since my theme for all these pieces are usually in the expression of who I am and/or what I'm thinking, and, in this, differs from both of my inspirations. Mine aims to be a more personal reflection of where I am presently, and Liepke uses a model that isn't themselves while Narcisse Diaz Virgillo de la Pena has only minuscule person-related content hidden between his forestry.
Reflection:
For me, this gouache and watercolor painting was one of my more difficult piece executions that I’ve had in a while for all sorts of reasons. For starters, when I began the final product I was suddenly stuck in place, in a way, I lost a lot of my motivation to do the final product, so creating it was even more difficult in the long run. I also ended up getting sick around the time that I started to finalize and get more into the range of finishing it as a whole. Being sick made my mind more foggy, honestly—more trapped in it’s own metaphorical grey cloud—so a lot of my artistic creativity and inspiration from earlier on were gone. I haven't felt drained of creativity like this in such a long time. It’s quite ironic that my piece’s meaning—being named “Interlude” to represent myself needing to take a pause and regroup with everything around me became—became even more relevant.
Gouache paint isn’t as simple as I thought it would be, but I also wasn't expecting a joyride in this new medium experience, so I was kind of filled with mixed emotions at the end. I'd have to say that my favorite part of this piece ended up just being doing my personal figure in the middle, as it was something I was familiar with doing and I liked the way it looked. However, you can definitely see where I struggled a bit in thinking about all the other portions of the piece coming together as a whole. I suppose that my planning wasn't as extensive as it needed to be thus me being unable to make a piece that I was satisfied with. If anything, this is a piece that I really want to expand on in the future; as what I had started off strong and ended unfortunate. There's a high chance that I might redo this piece just because I feel like I could’ve executed better with a nicer head going into it.
Gouache paint isn’t as simple as I thought it would be, but I also wasn't expecting a joyride in this new medium experience, so I was kind of filled with mixed emotions at the end. I'd have to say that my favorite part of this piece ended up just being doing my personal figure in the middle, as it was something I was familiar with doing and I liked the way it looked. However, you can definitely see where I struggled a bit in thinking about all the other portions of the piece coming together as a whole. I suppose that my planning wasn't as extensive as it needed to be thus me being unable to make a piece that I was satisfied with. If anything, this is a piece that I really want to expand on in the future; as what I had started off strong and ended unfortunate. There's a high chance that I might redo this piece just because I feel like I could’ve executed better with a nicer head going into it.
Connecting to the ACT:
1.) Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
Artists Malcolm Liepke and Narcisse Diaz Virgilio de la Pena both create lush, life-like landscape pieces that use tones all over and layer paint to move a viewer in a certain emotion. I tried to do the same, except with watercolor and gouache paints, and created interesting texture around my main figure, myself, to show a moment of thought and reconnection towards my environment.
2.) What is the overall approach ( point of view ) the author ( from your research ) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
It's important to take a moment to regroup after summer before things get too intense to deal with.
3.) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Using paint touchups and small amounts, layering and putting them on in small amounts, can create a bigger picture when you look away. It can transform a messy looking piece from up close into something so much more farther away.
4.) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
No matter how old you are, regrouping with your surroundings and remembering to live in the moment is important.
5.) What kind of inferences ( conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning ) did you make while reading your research?
For this piece, paint can be used in so many forms to transform a whole piece into what it turns out to be.
Artists Malcolm Liepke and Narcisse Diaz Virgilio de la Pena both create lush, life-like landscape pieces that use tones all over and layer paint to move a viewer in a certain emotion. I tried to do the same, except with watercolor and gouache paints, and created interesting texture around my main figure, myself, to show a moment of thought and reconnection towards my environment.
2.) What is the overall approach ( point of view ) the author ( from your research ) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
It's important to take a moment to regroup after summer before things get too intense to deal with.
3.) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Using paint touchups and small amounts, layering and putting them on in small amounts, can create a bigger picture when you look away. It can transform a messy looking piece from up close into something so much more farther away.
4.) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
No matter how old you are, regrouping with your surroundings and remembering to live in the moment is important.
5.) What kind of inferences ( conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning ) did you make while reading your research?
For this piece, paint can be used in so many forms to transform a whole piece into what it turns out to be.
CITATIONS ( DONE IN MLA FORMAT )
“Narcisse Virgilio Díaz.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Aug. 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcisse_Virgilio_Díaz.
“Forest and Tree Symbolism in Folklore.” Perceptions of Forests, http://www.fao.org/3/y9882e/y9882e08.htm.
“Nature Symbols and Nature Symbol Meanings on Whats-Your-Sign.” Whats, 29 Apr. 2018, https://www.whats-your-sign.com/nature-symbols.html.
Records, Yep Roc. “Jukebox the Ghost - ‘The Sun (Interlude)" (Official Audio).” YouTube, YouTube, 9 Mar. 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOYWvPGlgB4.
Yellowtrace, Team. “Sensual Oil Painting Portraits by Malcolm Liepke.” Yellowtrace, 18 Jan. 2017, https://www.yellowtrace.com.au/malcolm-liepke-sensual-portraits/.
“Forest and Tree Symbolism in Folklore.” Perceptions of Forests, http://www.fao.org/3/y9882e/y9882e08.htm.
“Nature Symbols and Nature Symbol Meanings on Whats-Your-Sign.” Whats, 29 Apr. 2018, https://www.whats-your-sign.com/nature-symbols.html.
Records, Yep Roc. “Jukebox the Ghost - ‘The Sun (Interlude)" (Official Audio).” YouTube, YouTube, 9 Mar. 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOYWvPGlgB4.
Yellowtrace, Team. “Sensual Oil Painting Portraits by Malcolm Liepke.” Yellowtrace, 18 Jan. 2017, https://www.yellowtrace.com.au/malcolm-liepke-sensual-portraits/.