Drawing 113 Portfolio

One very important aspect of making art, in the art education realm, is being able to build a portfolio that can be shared. 

I know, I know, I promised I would share this portfolio a month ago, but alas--I am still learning how to adult, which often means I don't have time for everything I'd like to do. So please forgive me, and allow me to get started making this up to you with beauteous art!

For my drawing portfolio, there are different kinds of drawings based on different techniques we were learning during class. Below I've labeled each group of pieces by what technique we were working on at the time. You may also notice that there is a camel done in each technique: honestly, if a camel weren't involved, would I even be Kelsey?

I thoroughly enjoyed this class: learning new methods, stretching my capabilities beyond what I ever thought I was capable of, and enjoying a super rad TA were all highlights of the experience. This class has encouraged me to continue to practice drawing, and to strive to get better... No matter how good my overly confident self may think I am.

Feel free to click on the pictures below to get a closer look, and I hope you enjoy seeing what I've been up to here at Purdue, as much as I've enjoyed creating it:

LINE

For Line, we focused entirely on doing quick 1-minute sketches of objects in the still life. We only were allowed to draw rough shapes with minor details, and no shading.

MASS

For the Mass section, we used the side of charcoal pencils to get thick swatches of charcoal on the paper. This creates an emphasis on the weight of the object.

MASS-LINE

For Mass-Line, we did quick line drawings, then added mass in. The first two images were drawn in under 2 minutes, and the third image was finished in under 15 minutes--so we could learn to give the pieces a more finished look.

SCRIBBLE

Scribble drawings are one of the best forms of stress relief known to man--plus, it can look pretty neat when you do figure drawings entirely made of scribbles!

BLIND CONTOUR

Blind Contours were one of my favorites: to make a blind contour, you can't look at your paper while you draw NOR pick your pencil up off the paper while you draw. There are always such fun, unique results!

CONTINUOUS CONTOUR

Continuous contours are drawings made with only one line... Look closely and you'll see that my pen/pencil never left the paper!

CONTOUR

Contours can be done in multiple ways: most of the contours above are from still lives in the class room. One is actually of my shoes (and yes, I did hang them on my wall like that to draw them). The hand contour was my hand and a spoon ring I made. And the bottom contour is part of an observational contour--a very time-consuming contour in which all of the lines are carefully measured in order to be in perfect proportion!

POSITIVE/NEGATIVE SPACE

Positive/Negative space was all about creating a completely black, charcoal background, and then erasing away all of the positive space seen in the still life.

HATCHING/STIPPLING

As neat as Stippling is (creating a picture out of tiny dots), Hatching is much easier!

TEXTURES

 

The Texture section was probably one of my least favorites, just because I didn't like the techniques very much. The portrait was done with pen and rubbing alcohol, and the bugs were drawn on rubbings from various textures throughout the building.

VALUE

I was so excited to finally do value in the class! I absolutely love adding value in drawings... Though crumpled paper isn't nearly as exciting as most things with value.

ADDITIVE

Above are two examples of Additive graphite drawings: the first was a still life from class, and the second is a gridded portrait of yours truly ("Pufferfish Kelsey" as I keenly call it).

SUBTRACTIVE

Subtractive was also a lot of fun. For this, we shaded the entire paper with charcoal, and then we erased away the image that we wanted to create. I'd never done anything like this before, and I can't wait to do it again in the future!

AND, of course, my Final Project...

A Van Gogh-inspired portrait of yours truly.

Thanks for taking a peek at all of the nifty new things I did during my first semester of college: I hope you loved it just as much as I have!

--Kelsey

The Lighter Aspects

And here, in this beautiful place, I have found it, just as I find it in every place I ever have been, and every place I ever will be.

My own little slice of heaven.

Today, we're gonna take a look at my Drawing final (which I ironically decided to paint).

The prompt was to create a self-portrait, 18" x 24", that was inspired by another artist's style/theme/ideas/experiences/etc.

I chose van Gogh, a significant artist who I identify with in both technique and in symbolism. Created with the grid technique and acrylic paints, my piece mimics the style in which he painted. 

 His thick, heavy brushstrokes are an obvious influence. Like with divisionism—an influence on van Gogh's style—there is an emphasis on pure spots of color that become more blended and smooth the farther away you are from the piece.

 I feel a personal connection to van Gogh in message as well. His color schemes always portrayed a mood; whether of unbelievable happiness or the deepest, darkest depression imaginable, his pieces make people feel. My piece captures the essence of me, just as his capture the essence of him. 

Van Gogh also emphasized spirituality, and the connection between people and the earth in his pieces: usually pieces with landscapes and farmers. I, too, feel a deep connection between myself and the land we live on, and I hold deep appreciation for this message and the style in which van Gogh portrayed it.

 My piece's warmth of color and expression is much subtler and softer than that of van Gogh's, but I hope to make the piece my own, rather than just mimicking something of his. My goal is to reveal the appeal of the lighter aspects of life. 

It is the essence of me.

--Kelsey

The Advancement of a Selfie

Grid portraits are one of my favorite things. 

Pufferfish Kelsey.

I definitely didn't start out like this, though.

Freshman year of high school, I remember learning to grid the human eye and copy it meticulously into my own drawing. Then came my full face. It was my very first time learning what a grid portrait was, and how to grid things in order to make the lines, the values, the everything, exact.

 Sophomore year, I had to make a grid self-portrait in which there was a message and connection between myself and an artist I liked.

Senior year, I didn't really grid any portraits. Rather, I free-handed them all for my AP portfolio (check out the page about it at the top of this page), but my love of portraits still continued. However, I felt rather disappointed with my finished portfolio. As an artist, I felt like I hadn't tried my hardest and done my best work, and it was a very dissatisfying moment.

 In my Drawing 113 class, I was incredibly excited to begin the portraits section. Human faces are so neat, and they always tell such interesting stories with their features: wrinkles and freckles and caterpillar eyebrows and bunny cheeks and wonky teeth and fly-away hair. People are weird and unique and so fascinating to draw.

Things began rather well. My biggest challenge was keeping everything smooth, and pushing the values deeper. This year was the first time I'd ever really used artist pencils (specifically 4B and 6B) because I'd never really thought them important.

I mean, a pencil's just a pencil, right?

Ohhhhh Kelsey.

The finished piece is definitely me. I'm so happy with how the tones turned out, and how all of the textures flow together just right!

It really shows just how much I've grown as an artist in a matter of 4 short months here at Purdue. And I've still got many, many more months of growth ahead of me.

--Kelsey