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In this final project of the year, we were required to paint a self-portrait or paint a portrait of someone else, showing an intangible aspect of the person.

Since this was my first-time portrait painting, so I wanted to start a self-portrait, knowing that I understand myself and my features I decided to try something completely different, by changing up my style and not painting the reoccurring images that were featured in my past projects (nature, flower, vintage). I stretched and explored by using unfamiliar subjects. I have never painted a portrait like this before or used acrylic. By using this new media, I was able to learn more techniques in achieving values of a face and different blending techniques. I have never combined the usage of chains onto any canvas. The restrictions I set for myself of not painting reoccurring subjects really allowed me to see another style emerge within me. I spent many weeks carrying paint around the school and I basically lived in the studio! (Haha, not that I’m complaining) I definitely felt artistic growth in me by stepping out of my comfort zone and using unfamiliar subjects and media.

I started with taking reference photos to paint. The brain was actually a model that I found in one of the science labs. By observing the subjects and composition of portrait artists like Cristina Troufa who plays with negative space of her subjects inspired me to also integrate ‘minimal abstract art’ into my realism piece of art. The hair drawn on canvas featuring a profile image of my face was inspired greatly by the artist’s cool colour scheme and usage of negative space. The smoothness of the pieces easily shown through the two smaller canvases was also inspired by the artist Jen Mann. The blending of the values of the face is done so smoothly, it allowed me to further develop my ideas for my subjects. The artist famous for his continuous line work called Boris Schmitz is also an inspiration for the biggest canvas in my art piece. I felt like it was so interesting on how he was able to make everyone look so unique using such a minimal composition.

I originally already envisioned all the pieces to give off a surreal vibe. By using blue tones, I was able to express the values of the face and brain. The colour blue is a representation of the ‘blues’ I felt during a period of time. I wanted to utilize a 3D aspect to my pieces to further develop the ‘intangible’ aspect of my ideas. After staring at a piece of broken jewellery at midnight, an idea sparked for me to manipulate chains to express the aspect of feeling broken and heaviness of my heart. The chains are a literal representation in the main canvas, a feeling of being chained to my bed when I fell asleep. The circle that is above the head is a metaphorical way of showing my thoughts being chained up. In the Canvas 2 featuring the brain, it was a representation of my mind being chained and not being able to take in positivity or new ideas in.

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Artist Investigation 

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Image 1: Black and White Portrait

This is my media testing for this unit! I first selected a clear picture of my face and put a black and white filter over it. I started by covering a cardboard that was the size of an A4 paper and covered a type of white paint as a base. Using the method of drawing grids and sketching the image upside down, I drew the black and white image onto the cardboard. I used oil paint to draw this portrait. This painting allowed me to experiment with oil painting and allowed me to familiarize myself with it. It also allowed me to work on values with thousands of grey tones. Something that I can improve upon is working on the blending of the paint. For the darker tones under my eye, The blending of the darker grey into the face seems quite harsh. Probably due to the problem of myself being absent for most of the media testing days due to APAC, I believe I could’ve worked more on the eyes of my piece and added a bit more detail. Something that was successful in my practice is that I had values in my piece, because sometimes painting I tend to find myself putting the tiniest values on the face.

Image 2: Coloured Portrait

This is the second media testing painting I did for our painting unit. I started by selecting a coloured photo of my face. Then using a type of liquid that was like Mod-Podge, I pasted the picture onto cardboard. Using the paint, I was able to paint over the image and match the colours of the picture to the paint colour I used. I used acrylic paint to paint this portrait. I was able to practice mixing colours to achieve different colours and using paint to achieve realism in a piece of art. I learned how to paint the human face better than before. What could you improve upon if you were to do this again?  Be explicit. I would’ve chosen a better picture of my face, since the image I chose had mostly my hair in the frame. Again, due to the fact of my many absences, I could have worked more on the eyes of the piece. What I would’ve done differently is mix the colour skin tone better, since my face seems a little bit more yellow in the painting.

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For this Spring Break assignment, I was allowed to use whatever media I wanted. As long as I spent a good hour or over an hour doing it, it was all that counted!

For my first piece, the media that I used was paper and a sharpie pen. In this assignment, I was practicing pointillism and being patient. I was also playing with patterns and repetition. 

With the final product being a photograph in the location of Lugano, Switzerland, I would say I am quite happy with my result. I feel like the calm scenery in the background has a good contrast with the quote on the paper. The leading lines of the edges of the paper and where the mountains meet the water really brings this piece unity. 

For my second piece, I used paper and a water-based pen. Since this was an observational drawing, I practiced drawing from observation and values. I also drew the roots in empty spaces around the branches of the orchid, giving the piece a funky look. 

I would say I am quite happy with the final product, for I never used this type of green colour before for my sketches and I have never drawn an orchid. I am also happy with how I incorporated almost surreal devices onto this piece. (The roots being where the branches are) 

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Single and Sassy, EXCLAMATION POINT ;) 

This card is intended for my best friend called Alana! Although we met this year, we feel like we’ve known each other for years! Since we are both single we thought Valentines day was a good chance for use to embrace on independent we are! I mean, let’s be real here, who needs a guy/girl trailing behind you? (I’m referring to people my age) I always go to her for advice and we are always on the outlook for each other! 

The images I have in this card are just examples of the hobbies we share together! I put a lot of flowers because we love photography and taking pictures of nature. She is literally the internet princess because she knows every new trend out there and loves using her sassy phone! The holographic eyeshadow in the top right hand corner represents her love for makeup, and her confidence of being bold! We both aren’t afraid to show off our ‘girly’ side, so the colour scheme of this card is very pink! 

My intention of this card is to remind her and myself how amazing we are! We don’t need a random guy and wasting tons of money on dates! (Kidding...) We gotta seriously enjoy this amazing single life! (Sorry, do I sound too weird?) 

The creative aspect of this card is the symbolism within each image I have. The pink represents our girl side, the flowers represent our love for photography, the ‘sending virtual hug’ represents how much we talk to each other online everyday! 

I would say a little bit of humour is incorporated in this design. The quote is a great example! It’s not a quote everyone will agree and use, and the font and glittery background just makes it more entertaining.

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This media testing challenge was to get used to papercutting, and trying to not disconnect anything you cut out because we used the scraps and create a reflection of our design! We had to concentrate on making sure where was equal negative and positive space in this piece. Another challenge we had to look out for was to make sure everything we cut away was still in one piece.

What I learned about papercutting is the pressure we apply onto the paper is everything. When I didn’t apply enough pressure, the paper ripped when I tried to take it away, because the cut didn’t go through the entire layer.

I feel like I certainly challenged myself, for it has been a minute since I used a knife for art! At first when drawing the designs out on the board I was confused with what was going to be the positive and negative space, but in the end, I go it through!

What I enjoy about papercutting is it could really be displayed anywhere, and people from all angles can see the design. Drawing on paper, everyone has to be facing the drawing in a certain way in order to enjoy the drawing, while you can hang a papercut piece and anyone from any angle can enjoy the work of art!

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This assignment is observing a complex object and drawing it quickly, then observing it again go draw more slowly. 

To do this exercise, you have to make sure pick a complex object. Here, I gotta bike. Now using preferably a thick brush dipped in a single watercolour colour, starting drawing the basic outline of the object. This should take a minute. During this minute try focusing on quick wide strokes. It’s almost like you’re creating symbols, and putting them together. After the watercolour is dry, take a fine-tip pen and drawing much much slower. Take as much time as you can! (I used 45 minutes)Try to everything you see in this object. 

This was a great activity for winding down, and being calm. After a hectic morning and ending it with this exercise, I felt so calm and happy going into the afternoon! This is also a great way to really notice the details in things. Look at the scratches, cracks and grooves. 

What I noticed in my quick watercolour drawing of the bike was the proportions weren’t really right and I wasn’t really able to notice many things about the bike. With the slower drawing, I noticed things I’ve never noticed before on the bike, which gave more and more character to this bike, making if different from other bikes. (Like the fact that it was rusty, and that there was some kind of funky tape inside the basket)

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The title of my piece is...Growing Identity. I chose this title because this piece mainly focuses on earthy things (there are Canadian and Chinese plants in the background. My body (the focal point) has moth wings.) I wanted the plants to be a metaphor of the 2 cultures that make up who I am. I wanted the feeling that my cultures will forever grow inside of me, and that one side of my culture will/should never die.  In this project, the story I aim to convey is...No matter which country I was in, I felt the most carefree and humble within its nature. Although coming back to China from Canada was a little of a tough transition, playing with children my age in the grass, exploring forests and taking walks was my way of getting used to communicating in Chinese and getting used to the culture, since I was born and spent 5 years in Canada.  The symbols I used to represent these cultures are... (explain why you chose them) Whenever I think of Canada, I think about family friends and endless memories of exploring forests and bear tracks etc. I decided to represent that in my picture by using the British Columbian national flower the Pacific Dogwood (this flower is located on the left side of the body). When I think of China I immediately think about family, friends and never ending memories of playing in the rivers, catching fish in the local riverbank. I decided to represent that by inserting China’s national flower, which is the Peony (this is located on the right side of the wing) I decided to put a Peony in front of my body because this is where I live now. It is also near my heart, meaning China is in my heart, this is where I lived for 9 years of my life.  This story is significant to me because...These 2 cultures make up of who I am today. It’s also important because being in nature has inspired so much of my art and music pieces in the past. 

The 2 surreal devices I used are... (explain how you used them and where in your collage) 1. Scale-- the flowers on the left in real life would probably be the length of my arm, but in my composition, they are around the same size as me.  2. Transparency-- the Pacific dogwood is translucent, meaning I can see the other plant that's behind it, through the flower itself. You can also see the plant through the left wing.  I chose this compositional layout because...My past projects all had somewhat of a modern vibe to it, so I decided to have more of an antique vibe to this piece. This was very much inspired by Maggie Taylor’s surreal pieces (most of her pieces are inspired by old photographs). Some flowers on the left are oil paintings, something that was invented a long time ago. The painted orchids on the right are painted using the ancient Chinese technique with Chinese ink. 

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This is my apple drawing! I had to draw an apple, take a bite, and draw again! It was really fun to eat the apple and draw at the same time. Using watercolours after not using them for a long time was good practice. 

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This is a quote I drew for my best friend living all the way in Berlin, Germany. I met her in 5th grade and she sadly left to Berlin in the summer of 2015. She is the most carefree, nature-loving girl I ever met. She always had such a positive look on life and always stuck by my side. She was always the peace-maker and taught me how to de-stress, be mindful and notice tiny extraordinary things in life. This quote is to resemble the carefree attitude she has for everything in her life. 

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The two October break challenges along with my artist investigation are my favourite sketchbook assignments of the first semester!

Investigating Blu, the famous stop-motion animator, inspired me so much and I am in love with his style. It was really fun to draw 2 of his own works and kinda ‘looking through the world in his eyes’. The details and repetitive lines made the process so fun and calming! Drawing my pointe shoe for the October challenge really made me notice the tiny details in my Gaynors (this is the brand of my pointe shoe) and it was really nice to work on my cross- hatching skills. I took advantage of the challenge and practiced my own stippling skills with the last October drawing challenge. I wrote the quote “I love you, don’t you mind” by the band The1975. Their music is cool and their lyrics are sassy! 

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This is my media testing for the stop-motion unit! It’s a black dot transforming into a lil bug ;) 

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Jerry Uelsmann tutorial-hands and landscape

I started by manipulating 2 images—one of a pair of hands, and another of a sassy landscape photo I found online. In Photoshop, by desaturating both images, the colour of the images were taken out. Then using curves, darken and a lot of erasing and burning, I was able to create highlights in the images and increase or cancel out the black and white contrasts. This method creates a ‘illusionary’ feeling as if you can know a person’s story by looking into their hands.  

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Symmetrical Tree Branch Design—Ms Z’s tutorial! In this picture, I worked with a picture of the leaves I took of a Ginko tree outside the High-school entrance. I manipulated with so it was reflecting 4 ‘ways’ (meaning there are 4 repetitive images edited into 1) Since this was a testing, I simply used a little bit of every effect in Images in the Menu Bar and adjustments. But the main 2 tools I used was Hue/Saturation and Vibrance. This allowed my picture to have a colour scheme of a pop-art painting, and I also used a little bit of Lighten to take away the harshness of the colours. This is definitely helpful for changing the contrast, highlights and tones of an image.  Ps. Anyone feeling Chanel vibes? ;)

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Ashley’s sassy method! For my own method of manipulating an image to create mirroring design, I started with using a picture of a Ginko tree near High-school entrance. After copying the image into Photoshop, I started with copying the layer. Going to Image on the menu bar, I selected Canvas Size, and changed the width of the image to 200%, and left the height remaining at 100%. Then I changed the anchor to the second box to the very left counting down. This creates an extra canvas space on the right side of the photo. I then clicked the Move Tool on the toolbar and held down the Shift key as I dragged the image of the other layer onto the layer I was working on. Afterwards, I was able to get an exact copy of the image and dragged it into the extra canvas space. Flipping the image horizontally, I was able to create the mirroring image. For the image I am showing you right now, I just changed from Flip Horizontal to flip Vertical. (Let’s hope I make sense!) What is useful about this method is that the mirror image gives a dreamlike feel to the image, as if you’re looking into those ‘mirror binoculars’ you had as a cute kid.

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Veggie Face Collage 🍉

For the creation of this image, I had to cancel out the backgrounds in the images of each fruit. Using Transform in Photoshop, I am able to shrink, stretch, rotate the fruits. The main tools used for this process was transforming, and erasing the background of the images. Something useful about this media practice is that I now I know how to put images on top of each other, kind of like creating a collage but doing it using the computer. But the benefits of using Photoshop top create this collage is that I am able to shrink and stretch the objects I’m working with. 

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This is the thank you video I made with Emily and Ethan for Marty Cooper. Yippeee!