Final Stages

The final due date is coming soon, and I will work on my Powerpoint in class this week. The final project is in its final stages and I like how it is turning out. I will be reviewing my presentation and preparing for the final 20 Time presentation.

Working on the Final

I drew the outline of the final piece last week (as mentioned in my previous post, which you can read HERE). I lightly sketched the outline using a #2 pencil. I spent time doing some abstract shapes and lines and I have started using acrylic paint to color in the piece. I decided to do very filling and full-coverage colors, instead of a watered-down shade. This week I also started on my Powerpoint. I will continue working on both the final project and the Powerpoint in the upcoming days, and I should be finished with both soon.

Materials

I purchased my materials earlier this week and I have started my final project. I drew the outline of my piece. I did abstract shapes and lines. Even though my piece is going to be abstract, I did want to incorporate straight lines and edges. This piece is similar in concept, however, I plan to use different shapes of different sizes. I thought these were very inspirational. They seem to be simple (with the color scheme and overall shape/lines) but at the same time, intricate due to the detailed lines.

Saturation and Paints

I spent the last 2 weeks learning more about my topic and visualizing examples of my final project. I plan to start my final product soon, and I will get the materials within this week. I plan to use paint for my final piece. I really liked the look of this piece and I thought the end result was really pretty. I would like my final piece to have similar shapes and colors. This one was also another favorite of mine. I liked the deep intensity of the colors (they were very saturated and bold) and the depth in the work makes the piece look 3 dimensional. Looking at the online image, it looks like the artist used acrylic paint. I don’t know if I want to use very saturated colors. So for a softer paint look, I looked at this piece for inspiration. The artist used watercolor paints and mixed water with the colors for a lighter, more watered-down effect.

Video Inspiration

This week, I looked up examples and techniques on Youtube for my topic. I find Youtube to be very useful because, sometimes, only reading about a topic can get quite overwhelming and confusing, especially when it’s all in “art language”. This can be confusing for a non-experienced artist like myself. Youtube shows the actual process and most of the videos I watched were helpful towards my topic. I like Youtube because it’s very visual, which I find helpful when I am studying techniques and examples. I found this video to be very interesting watch here. Even though my final project is not going to be as big (physically), I thought the techniques used in the video were helpful to my understanding of my topic. I particularly liked the shading that was done, making the colors and shapes look a little more 3-D. Here's another video that I found to be helpful. I really liked the colors in the painting and I think my final product will be something like this. I really liked how the colors faded into each other. I thought the colors used were very complementary and overall, the final product was nice.

Getting More Information

I did my sources and resources page. I linked all the articles I used for my research and included some information about my mentor as said in the blog planning sheet. I will be updating the sources and resources page throughout my project. I was planning to start my final product for this project, but I’ve decided that I want to learn some more about my topic before I fully start. I plan to increase my research and talk to my mentor some more. I will be updating my blog with some more information about my topic, and after about 1-2 more weeks of research, I will begin my final project.

Sources and Static Page

My mentor is my cousin. She has been interested in art since she was a little girl. She regularly does new pieces and likes to experiment with different types of art. One of her favorites is abstract art. She knows a lot more about art than I do, so I thought it would be a good idea to have her as my mentor for my 20 Time project on abstract art.

Here are some internet websites I used for research:

http://www.abstract-art-framed.com/wassily-kandinsky.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassily_Kandinsky

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/abstract-painters.htm

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/abstract%20art?s=t

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/abstract-art.htm#history

http://www.ducksters.com/history/art/abstract_art.php

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/abstract-painters.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx-VQuOw18c

February Vacation Update

I have been working on my 20 time project over the continuous snow days and  February vacation. I have gathered all the materials needed for my final project and have looked at other examples of abstract art for inspiration. I have started my final piece and will probably finish it soon

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Wassily Kandinsky was a Russian born artist born in 1866. He once said that he was envious of civil servants who could “after work, may, can relax completely”. He said this because he had an inability to “switch off” from the world and relaxation was not easy for him. From a young age, he was sensitive to the world and events around him and often felt overpowered by the sensations and emotions he had in response to it. Though painting, he used this unusual trait to make a remarkable contribution to the world of art. Relating to my topic, abstract art, he is credited to be the first person to create a purely abstract piece.

Snow Days Update & Useful Sources

Over the snow days I have been working on my 20 Time project at home. I did more research to better my knowledge on my topic. Since my goal for this project is to create my own piece of abstract art, I watched some videos on tips and techniques. This is one of the videos that I found to be very useful for a beginner like me. In addition, I found this article to be very useful. The information was easy to understand, the general idea wasn't too long, and there were helpful tutorials right on the page. After my research, I will be drafting my final piece.

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The Abstract Art movement took place in the United States. It is also known as abstract expressionism. Abstract expressionism began in the 1940s in New York after World War ll. It was an American art movement. Abstract expressionism was the first American movement to achieve international influence. This movement’s influence put New York City at the center of the western art world. Previously, the role had been filled by Paris. In the United States, Alfred Barr was the first to use this term in 1929 in relation to the works of Wassily Kandinsky. A new generation of American artists began to emerge and they were called Abstract Expressionists.

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Abstract art is a general term known by many artists for art that is not representational. Abstract art, however, may also be based on reality. There are 3 basic categories of abstraction: non-naturalist geometric forms, shapes from reality (but not recognized as such), heavily disguised representational works. Synonyms for abstract art include: concrete art, non-representational art, non-object art, and non-figurative work. Abstract art is meant to create emotion and feeling without having familiar, recognizable objects in clear sight.

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This week I mainly did research on the definition of abstract art. I wanted a solid definition that would be easily understandable for a non-artist like myself so that I could draw some sort of "conclusion", or meaning behind abstract art. The definition on Dictionary.com is "A trend in painting and sculpture in the twentieth-century. Abstract art seeks to break away from traditional representation of physical objects. It explores the relationships of forms and colors, whereas more traditional art represents the world in recognizable images". It is also defined as "art that does not attempt to represent external reality, but seeks to achieve its effect using shapes, forms, colors, and textures". From those definitions, I believe that abstract art's meaning is cause the viewer to feel something. The piece of artwork does not have to be traditional and have recognizable objects and features, but rather "explores the relationships of forms and colors."

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