Writing 5(blog posts) for Crit 4

1) From the last critique, I learned a lot of information from Rhona and Emi on how I could create more realistic images using my art markers. I took outlined sketches of the birds that I want to work on next, a Eastern Meadowlark and a Red-winged blackbird.

Work in progress: Eastern Meadowlark

Work in progress: Red-winged Blackbird

I also took a sketch of the series that I would like to create for my mother. A lot of the landmarks that she grew up with in Kansas City are getting older and becoming destroyed or just don't exist anymore. My first illustration is going to be one of the six foot tall ceramic Easter bunnies that decorate the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City.

I chose "Kate" because I remember as a child always having to find this particular bunny. Kate was my grandmothers nickname and my mother's mother. With the recent passing of my grandmother, I felt that by creating this piece, it would be fond memories for my family.

Work in progress: "Kate"

Some of the other landmarks that I would like to create include the Nelson-Atkins museum's shuttlecocks, Union Station, the Dime Store on 63rd street in Brookside, the Country Club Plaza at Christmas, some of the Kansas City fountains, and etc.

While this isn't anything that I have really done before, I think that it would be interesting for my mother and a way to remember her childhood.

A piece that was critiqued was the first GIF that I had made for Editorial Illustration

"The curious student"
digital media

It was noted that the pulsing was not liked, but I feel that most bugs pulse anyway. It was also noted that the bug turned green for a second, but I am unsure how to fix that in Photoshop. I hope that future photoshop classes will help me to hone my skills, but I have not had any classes in this area to date.

I really liked the image that I used for the final piece and may work on it so that it could be used in my portfolio as well for scientific illustration.

Four of the pieces that I submitted photographs of were accepted into the Cow Creek Review, the literary magazine for Pittsburg State.

"Kansas Lepidoptera"
gouache

"Tea for Two"
plastic and brass

"Apidae"
nickel and bumblebee jasper

"Kansas Winds"
brass

Other pieces that I had submitted to the Cow Creek Review that were not accepted included:

"Giraffe Study"
brush and ink

"Color My Room"
art marker

"A Study in Marker"
art marker

"Family Traditions"
gouache

2) The fellow student artist that I am going to highlight this time is Molly McVey. One of the things that I really admire about Molly is that she stays true to herself no matter what. Molly works to make an artwork that yes, will get her a good grade, but she makes something at the same time that is going to make her happy.

I've really liked a new technique that she has been trying out this year, and those are her digital line drawings. I feel that she captures the elements of the photograph that she uses as a background, while bringing her own touch into something.

At first, I wasn't fond of these pieces, but then I realized that they were merely a different version of what I like to do.

Molly has also been taking a class in plein air painting and I think that she's definitely improved her painting skills. It's been fun to watch her light up with the different pieces that she has created and the experiences that she gained from them.

Make sure that you check out Molly's blog here!

New Vector stuff that I've done recently

Vector graphics has been an interesting class for me to take. I've learned a lot about Adobe Illustrator that has helped me in other projects. I've been given a little bit more reign in what my finished projects look like and I've been able to be a little bit more creative.

Recently, we've learned how to live trace an image. I've been playing around with the function and was fooling around with some of my photos.

I actually really like the live traces of these pieces because I think that they are fun and could easily be created in gouache or another medium.

Writing 4(blog posts)for Crit 3

 The most recent critique went fairly well. Since I did not have any new bird illustrations, I took my illustrations from Life Drawing and working with the models that have been in class. Portico Bowman was the instructor who critiqued my work and was excited to see my work. She was glad to see that I was taking the effort to create the folds take the time to do the right amount of shading needed.

In addition to working on perfecting my anatomical figures, I looked at Lauren Downing's blog and I also think that everyone should check out the work that she is up to. I really enjoy working with Lauren because she creates amazing portraits of people and has an excellent use of color and gray  scale.

Lauren always pushes me to do better in my pieces because she is just so good and always knows what she is doing.

Check out Lauren's blog!

Writing 6 (blog posts) Artist Lecture

While I have attended each lecture offered this semester, my favorite had to be The Ariel Bowman lecture that occured on April 2. I really liked each piece that she talked about and her process. When creating her pieces, she creates a solid form and then hollows it out to 1/4 of an inch thickness.

I really liked how she created the texture and design on the different animals. I feel that the way she used color helped make the pieces feel older than they actually were.

I felt that her presentation was very professional, but still allowed her to have fun and talk about what she loved and what her passions were. I did not ask any questions of her when she was done, but I listened to the questions that other people asked and found them to be very interesting.

What I took away from the talk was that no matter what, artists need to pursue what interests them and continue to create pieces that match that passion. It helps the artist get those thoughts out of their system and move on to their next project.