Artwork: Triptych
Research/Inspiration
My sources of inspiration were the impressionist movement and H. James Hoff, a more modern painter. I tried to pull the general feelings of impressionism for the backgrounds of my pieces, and the dark figures from Hoff's pieces for the foreground. I wanted to convey a feeling of mystery around the figures in my paintings, but I wanted the background to be vague shapes where the viewer is able to clearly see what it is. I also wanted this piece to be colorful, so I chose impressionism as the movement to emulate. Some notable painters in the impressionist movement were Van Gogh, Monet, and Degas. Impressionism is a borderline-abstract style that features colorful shapes and vague figures. It conveys idea more than shape. |
Planning
For my first planning sketch, I chose to do something with nature. I did not really like this idea, though, and scrapped it almost immediately. I moved on to something else.
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For this sketch, I decided to move more into a human-like figure, which is where I pulled in the works of H. James Hoff. For the background, I used a city, but I did not enjoy this idea.
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After thinking a bit more, I settled on a different idea. I decided to do the sunset, sunrise, and the night time, This idea was used to represent the way I have changed throughout my life. I enjoyed this idea more than any of the other ones I had.
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Experimentation
When it came to experimentation, there was not much that I did. I did, however, change up my painting style between canvases. In the first canvas, I was very careful with how I did my brushstrokes, and I made sure I was using even amounts of each color. Later, I started getting looser with my brush strokes, and I ended up with long, slightly blended strokes. These looked a lot better in my opinion, so I decided to keep going with them.
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Process
I first started by stretching my canvases and putting gesso on them. To start the actual piece, I redrew my final planning sketch onto the canvases, recreating them the best that I could. I started with the sunset canvas, painting the silhouette, and then moving on to the background. I used a color palette consisting of reds, oranges, and yellows mixed into the other main colors of each part. For example, I mixed all three colors with greens to get the colors of the grass. I did something similar for the other canvases, except I mixed in different colors. When I finished the sunset canvas, I went on to the sunrise canvas, since I did not have enough black at the time to do the midnight one. For the sunrise section, I used whites and pinks mixed in with other colors, and I tried to make it as peaceful as I could. Finally, for the midnight one, I primarily used dark blues, blacks, and whites to give it a darker feeling. I changed up some details as I went through, getting rid of the holes in the head and the moths around it. I felt as though that was too much for what I wanted to convey.
I first started by stretching my canvases and putting gesso on them. To start the actual piece, I redrew my final planning sketch onto the canvases, recreating them the best that I could. I started with the sunset canvas, painting the silhouette, and then moving on to the background. I used a color palette consisting of reds, oranges, and yellows mixed into the other main colors of each part. For example, I mixed all three colors with greens to get the colors of the grass. I did something similar for the other canvases, except I mixed in different colors. When I finished the sunset canvas, I went on to the sunrise canvas, since I did not have enough black at the time to do the midnight one. For the sunrise section, I used whites and pinks mixed in with other colors, and I tried to make it as peaceful as I could. Finally, for the midnight one, I primarily used dark blues, blacks, and whites to give it a darker feeling. I changed up some details as I went through, getting rid of the holes in the head and the moths around it. I felt as though that was too much for what I wanted to convey.
Reflection
I'm actually very happy with 2/3 sections of this piece. I did not like the first one, but that one was more experimental than anything. After painting all of them, I've discovered the best way for me to paint - loosely. I tried to be precise with my painting, but it did not turn out well compared to when I was painting in a more relaxed manner. Lines turned into strokes, blending happened, and the pieces came out a lot better. If I were to do this again, I think I would stick to that style, but I would use it through all of the pieces.
ACT Questions
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
I followed the basic principles of impressionism in my piece - no full blending, borderline-abstract elements, and many different colors. I also used the idea if a silhouette figure from H. James Hoff's works.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The research is most objective and only tells the reader about impressionism and H. James Hoff. There are no opinions within the research.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
While researching, I made the generalization that impressionism is a very popular art movement, especially because of painters like Monet and Van Gogh.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea of the research done was impressionism and the expression of emotions. The theme of the piece, however, was growth throughout time.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
An inference I made while reading through my research was that many people enjoy the impressionist art movement, and that impressionism is a way to express feelings through shape and color.
I followed the basic principles of impressionism in my piece - no full blending, borderline-abstract elements, and many different colors. I also used the idea if a silhouette figure from H. James Hoff's works.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The research is most objective and only tells the reader about impressionism and H. James Hoff. There are no opinions within the research.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
While researching, I made the generalization that impressionism is a very popular art movement, especially because of painters like Monet and Van Gogh.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea of the research done was impressionism and the expression of emotions. The theme of the piece, however, was growth throughout time.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
An inference I made while reading through my research was that many people enjoy the impressionist art movement, and that impressionism is a way to express feelings through shape and color.
Bibliography
“Impressionism.” Art Movements, www.artmovements.co.uk/impressionism.htm.
“Impressionism: Art and Modernity.” Metmuseum.org, The Met, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/imml/hd_imml.htm.
“Impressionism: Art and Modernity.” Metmuseum.org, The Met, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/imml/hd_imml.htm.