Planning Sketches
I wanted my first sketches to include faces so that the piece would connect to my theme of relationships more. But when I was finished I decided the faces didn't come out the way I wanted them to so I moved on to drawing lines not faces. I still continued to keep the first panel the same throughout the three planning sketches but as my ideas developed I decided my middle panel would be a spiral drawing and the third one would be a line drawing. I eventually got rid of the first panel and changed it to a line drawing due to the fact that it made the piece not look cohesive.
Inspiration and Process
Experimentation
While planning, I was curious about having the background of the canvas be painted a different color to make it more colorful. I painted a section of paper and began applying my lines to it. However, when that was done I realized I preferred a plain white background as opposed to red. I figured this was because white and black is a much stronger contrast than red and black and that black was too bold of a color and distracted the viewer from the line patterns. Before I began painting, i needed to decide and a method and medium that I wanted to create the lines in. My first thought was paint but when practicing on a sheet of paper I found the paint difficult to control. The edges of it weren’t as clean as I would have liked and after a short brushstroke the paint thinned out and I found myself having to reapply paint to the brush. Therefore, I thought that thinner brushes would have a better effect but little was improved upon and this I found annoying and felt my piece would end up looking somewhat messy- so I moved on to testing out a different medium. The first thing I thought to use was a paint marker, but when applying it to my canvas the line it left was slightly too thin for my taste and didn’t apply dark to the canvas and several coats would have been needed. I then tested out a permanent marker that had a more opaque mark and I found this to be the best method. I also started drawing on my canvas but then realized I'd have to go over the lines again to make them darker. I didn't want to do this, so i reapplied a few coats of gesso so that the maker did not soak into the canvas at all.
Process
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The first thing I did was apply a thick layer of gesso to the canvasses. This was an important step because the marker tended to soak and absorb into the canvas which made the lines look not as clean. If I had not applied the multiple coats of gesso, I would have had to go over the lines for a second pass to make the lines darker which would have been a lot of extra work. I then began drawing my lines and I made sure to make them neat and evenly spaced. However, I did encounter a few errors and found myself needing to repaint and start over because I wasn't happy with the way the piece came out. This was a somewhat annoying process because I had to apply multiple layers of gesso to the piece to make the previous lines underneath not visible.
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Reflection
The overall idea behind this piece is that all the lines are formed off of one another- this can be a metaphor to actions a person takes in their life. The "actions" or lines all end up creating a bigger picture and represent how every action or decision you make in your life has an impact. I was inspired by the style of works of Carl Krull and Victor Vasarely. I found inspiration in the techniques these artists used and how they created patterns and shapes simply out of lines and how the used these lines to tell stories with in their art. I struggled while creating this piece. This struggle was mainly from the unpredictability of how the final product would look. This is because I had to paint line by line and I couldn't envision what the final piece would look like. Therefore, after finishing a panel I would realize that the lines would either be too straight and not interesting enough for me to be satisfied. So I would then have to apply a few layers of gesso over the lines and wait for that to dry and then start over. This was very time consuming. A success I encountered was that I was able to create a very visually stimulating piece and this is a different style than my work in the past and I am proud that I branched out and tried something new.
ACT Questions
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
I was inspired by the style that Victor Vasarely and Carl Krull have. I was drawn to how they manipulate lines into shapes and forms. This caused me to use the same methods they use. I also was inspired by Munch's Scream. The face of the figure has a very eerie tone to it and I wanted my piece to evoke that tone so I included a similar face in my piece.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
I was able to learn and understand the techoniques that Carl Krull uses thru watching the time lapse videos he makes of him completing his artwork.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I learned that this type of line drawing is somewhat of an illusion becuase Victor Vasarely who’s work is primarily illusion based has a very similar style to what I am doing.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I wanted the lines to abstractly represent my emotions in different goven situations.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
I learned that when using thin lines, it is easier to create forms as opposed to thicker lines because it is more difficult for detail to be accomplished.
I was inspired by the style that Victor Vasarely and Carl Krull have. I was drawn to how they manipulate lines into shapes and forms. This caused me to use the same methods they use. I also was inspired by Munch's Scream. The face of the figure has a very eerie tone to it and I wanted my piece to evoke that tone so I included a similar face in my piece.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
I was able to learn and understand the techoniques that Carl Krull uses thru watching the time lapse videos he makes of him completing his artwork.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I learned that this type of line drawing is somewhat of an illusion becuase Victor Vasarely who’s work is primarily illusion based has a very similar style to what I am doing.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I wanted the lines to abstractly represent my emotions in different goven situations.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
I learned that when using thin lines, it is easier to create forms as opposed to thicker lines because it is more difficult for detail to be accomplished.