Reflection Essay of Art 3

Over the course of this year in Art 3, I have further developed my understanding of anatomy, confidence in color usage, knowledge of how to make sculpture, and how to place subjects and shapes in a piece. I am very proud of what I have learned and how I have grown, but I am still aware that I need improvement.

In the beginning of the school year, I loved learning about gesture drawing and how to understand anatomy from real life to on paper. Even though I already had experience drawing people, my proportions were not the best. I learned how to see the human figure and draw a line of balance. The line of balance is when the foot is, fully on the ground, in relation to the rest of the figure, specifically the back. I learned how to draw the figure in a 3D sense as well, drawing limbs and the main body using circular motions to make it appear curved. This deepened self-understanding of the physical figure. For my first “home project,” I gained confidence in drawing with ink and brush, as I was used to drawing with graphite accompanied by an eraser. I also updated my line after learning about my inspiration Rembrandt. I now use more action-based line work with more character. In my art skill inventory’s colored still life, I notice that my colors seem thrown on and that I attempted value and depth, but It wasn’t visible enough. After doing my still life oil painting, I understand how to show value and depth more, using contrasting colors to dull colors.

After learning figure drawing, I felt a lot more confident in drawing gesture drawings and bodies. This is evident in my graphite drawing of a man in my art skill inventory. Even though I had basic knowledge in drawing the body in graphite, my anatomy was still slightly off, the figure was very stiff, and my facial anatomy was wrong. This is also visible in my self portrait in my art skill inventory, as it is very sketchy and the facial anatomy is also wrong. During the painting units in quarter 4, I also gained more confidence, more than just using color. I started to paint quicker, emphasising darks and lights and contrast between objects. Even though I painted a colorful, surrealist painting back in Art 2, the colors looked rushed and random. In my Abstract-Expressionist painting at the very end of the year, I had more unique shapes and objects that contrasted each other.

I do still need to improve on my anatomy and figure drawing, despite how much I have developed. I especially emphasize the face, like lips and noses. I notice this with my personal drawings that I do at home. Making a scene that involves movement is also a goal and wanted improvement. I can involve my knowledge of abstract shapes and colors that contrast a subject such as a surrealist creature, human, animal, or plant.

I can use my new confidence of drawing with ink and charcoal to both further my growth in using different materials, and to make my future works overall more interesting by using multiple different mediums! I may not start using paints on canvases using the painting techniques that I have learned this year! These techniques include using a pallet knife as a painting material, or using big brushes to make big, dramatic marks. I can also utilize zooming into objects to make an interesting shape.