End to a great year

Dear Future AP studio artist,
 I would like to give you a little of advice that I failed to grasp even though I was in the class for two years: Don't get behind.

Stick to a schedule, and try to make use of your class time. Even though staying up till four in the morning watching netflix movies and finishing your artwork the night before is SO MUCH FUN, you should really give your mind a break by starting things sooner rather than later (your quality can suffer too). This year I liked the idea of my concentration more than last year, though I feel like I didn't handle my time as well. Could it be the fact that my pieces were more detailed than the previous year? Probably, but I also got stuck behind on the first month and was playing catch up the rest of the year.


Make sure you have a concentration idea you enjoy so that you have lots of ideas!

But finally, have fun, because otherwise AP art will feel like an AP class and you won't get to enjoy it like everyone else.


~Charlie

2 Questions

1.
My concentration consists of portraits that explore the graphic nature of the face and its features.

2.
In many of my portraits I split the face into shapes so that each tiny piece is like an individual work, and when put together they create something whole (Britney Spears Portrait, Self Portrait, John Boehner Portrait). I also like playing with graphic nature of high contrast images through textured markings (Blue/Pink Lady) as well as the idea of minimally detailed, vague portraits offset by more detailed ones (Dictators).

My Concentration: Portraits

http://pinterest.com/karboojeh/screen-printing/

I think silk screen printing can give really cool looking results. I would love to try incorporating it into my concentration (whatever that might turn out to be). You can also use it on a variety of surfaces.

David Geiser - http://www.buttersgallery.com/Artist-Detail.cfm?ArtistsID=371

Geiser's artwork appears to be very abstracted objects that all have emotive aspects. I think the artist was trying to make them still somewhat recognizable, but make all the pieces have a sort of signature look to them.

David Geiser uses this really cool technique (I don't know how he does it) that makes his artwork look like it has little splotches of milk in it. Like, if you added a few drops of milk to a cup of coffee, the first second you see this contrast between the milk and the coffee around it because it hasn't quite mixed in yet.

Almost all of the artwork produced by Geiser on the website has this 'milky' technique. He masters space as well as contrast really well in order to apply this to his artwork.

Martha Pfanschmidt - http://www.waterstonegallery.com/index.php/57/martha-pfanschmidt/

This artist doesn't appear to have any specific subjects or objects within her artwork other than the occasional bird, Pfanschmidt excellently masters the encaustic medium to tie her pieces together in beautiful ways.

The use of geometric shapes, mainly rectangles, and the combination of muted and vibrant colors is a technique used in many of the pieces. Another interesting aspect of her work is that she brings tea bags into some of her encaustic pieces which adds odd blotchy textures.

Martha masterfully combines pattern, texture, shape, and line throughout all of her artwork. I think encaustic is a great way to experiment with different techniques to achieve new textures (though I've never actually tried it).

Royal Nebeker - http://www.augengallery.com/Artists/nebeker.html

Many of the art pieces produced by Nebeker grasp the important shapes and motions of the objects depicted within them. Although some of the pieces seem to be simple still-life's (many flowers and vases), there are other paintings that make you think about what the imagery is saying.

Nebeker uses a variety of mediums including watercolor and oil paints, but still manages to make many of the pieces look visually similar. Nebeker uses contrast and space really well in his/her pieces, also adding a bit of interesting texture.

Royal Nebeker uses vibrant colors contrasted with more subtle colors or sometimes even black silhouettes. In addition to contrast, Nebeker uses line quite well with many of her pieces, specifically the ones of flowers. The loose contour-ish lines add interesting details to an otherwise plain flower.