Week: 1/30-2/3/17
So far I have completed some of the background and I colored/shaded the scales on its back. You can see a preview of what the fur will look like here (see cheek area). I made a mistake and painted the whiskers yellow, this was due to my original idea having the yellow and the belly yellow too. I've decided against that thought and they will most likely be black or white (they might even stay yellow, I want to finish the piece first then decide the detail). This has been a very fun project to work on and I think I am really progressing in shading. Sorry, you can't see the shading on the dragon from this view, but I will post close ups next week!
Week: 1/23-1/27/17
This is my final sketch for the dragon I am painting. Not giving it any scales makes it easier to paint and shade and won't consume as much time as the first one. I am going to fully color and shade this piece. The horn, toes, and spikes will be black and the dragon itself will be white. The furry patches are going to be shades of pink, purple, and blue. The belly scales will also resemble the colors of the fur. And lastly the eye will be a yellow to emphasize the small piece. I'm only making the background shades of gray and it will contain a few red "bricks". In this new dragon sketch, the feet aren't as good as the prev
Week: 1/16-1/20/17
This week, I am working on some more dragon paintings. This is my first one where I'm drawing scales, I thought now was the time to get in some practice. Although I like the detail, this is not something I am going to be able to paint. The detail is just too small for my skill level, instead, I will just shade it in with a pencil. So, I created another version of this dragon, without any body scales that I am going to paint.
The dragons I have drawn are oriental dragons, or Chinese dragons. They include both scales and fur-like patches. These patches occur on the cheeks and in between each plate on the back. The feet are definitely the biggest challenge for me. I have never been good at drawing feet on anything, but I am fairly proud of the feet on the dragon with body scales.
Week: 1/9-1/13/17
This week we were studying watercolor. Our teacher put up a picture from Disney, and we had to paint it in watercolor paint. I first started with the light colors, then layered some more on. I didn't get to finish this piece. I didn't finish because I don't really like water color and it's not a painting skill I'm too concerned about improving, although it can be fun every now and then. After I finished this piece, I began sketching my next project, as shown in next weeks blog above.
Still Life
Description: I've never done still life before, and I thought fruit would be something simple to try out. I didn't have the fruit in front pf me, I referenced pictures offline. In this painting the fruit is all sitting next to a barn. a few are peeled or cut too. You will find pears, grapes, strawberries, and a banana in this piece. I used water color instead of acrylic with this still life.
Analysis: With a variety of colors, each fruit is colored just like the real ones you find in stores or at home. I shaded as though the sun was near the upper right corner. The grapes were the most fun to shade for me and along with the leaves. There is a bit of texture on the barn in the background with all the randomized brush strokes going up and down.
Interpretation: The background of this piece was never intentionally meant to be a barn. I just wanted a wall the had a wooden plank look and in the end, a barn was what I called it after painting it red. The ground on which the fruit sits is not grass, the barn sits on concrete instead. I chose concrete as a floor because otherwise the fruit would blend in with the grass too much. Also, I love and eat all the fruit pictured except for the pears. To keep it interesting, I made it so that some of the fruit was cut or peeled, in a sense that someone or something is going to eat it or already has taken a bite.
Judgment: For my first time doing still life, I think it turned out pretty good. I am most satisfied with the shading, although it could still use some work. The vibrant colors really make the fruit pop out. Peeling the fruit was a fun additive for this piece and makes it somewhat more interesting.
Animal Portrait
Description: Here I have my animal portrait painting. I didn't want to do something real, I wanted fantasy, so I drew a dragon. It's not just a front facing image, I gave the dragon a snarky smile and took a 3/4 view point. The background is a galaxy theme with a moon right behind the dragons head. I am currently still working on this piece.
Analysis: Color, value, balance, and shape are all taken into consideration. The painting couldn't get much more colorful. I am shading this piece and it's going pretty well. The mouth took me awhile but I like the slight detail I put in (it's more noticeable in person instead of on camera).
Interpretation: I've been wanting to practice painting a galaxy for awhile and I think this turned out pretty well. I am happy with how the stars turned out too, I just splattered some white paint on the board and it turned out amazing. I don't know what the meaning would be behind this piece. I just really wanted to paint a galaxy and a dragon together, my next goal is the whole body.
Judgment: I am really liking this piece so far. It took me awhile to finish it, even though it's not super detailed. Shading and the background are my favorite parts so far.
Painterly Abstract Style
Description: I tend to paint dragons a lot because they are my favorite creatures. So, when asked to paint something, my first thought is, "oh, how about a dragon?" So for our style project, that's what I did. I took on a painterly abstract style. I did use a reference photo, however, I lost it. I used the same pose and idea, but changed the dragon up a little bit. No real background is used, just a gradient.
Analysis: I did not use value in this painting, except for in the claws, because I have no idea how I would do that in a painterly style. Line and shape are used to form the dragon. It appears like there is texture because of the art style, but I didn't paint in any scales or definite textures. Contrast is definitely used because the background is so dark and the dragon so light.
Interpretation: I have no true meaning or symbols behind this piece. It was just something I painted, no real reason.
Judgment: I am satisfied with this painting for the most part. Although, I do wish I hadn't used a reference photo for it because I would rather come up with things myself instead of taking an already created idea and just alter it. My favorite part is the claws because I love the value I put in them.
The Moon Painting
Description: This was a random piece my teacher selected to do as some shading practice in class. I really liked working on this piece, it's actually one of my favorites. This is the link to the video tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyluZDFRfhU , it's very interesting. The waves around the moon can be made into any color and they appear as though the moon is moving back into space.
Analysis: Value is used in the swirls an d on the moon. I used color and shape too.
Judgment: This is definitely one that I will keep, even though it's from a tutorial. I love the contrast in the colors and the shape of the swirls.
Cultural Painting
Description: This is my Cultural project I did for art class. I chose the American Indian culture and drew one of their horses. It wears a common "saddle" that the Indians used which is typically like a blanket and then some rope for reins. The painted circle around the eye and feathers in the horses hair all symbolize something.
Analysis: Value is not used much in this painting. It may look as though I put value in the horses main, but actually, that's just the color of it's hair (black to white). I did use proportion, but also a bit of abstract because my work is typically tony. Color and texture is used too, all through out the painting and in the horses hair.
Interpretation: The horse is one ridden by an American Indian long ago. The circle around it's eye and the feathers are symbols. They can represent strength, honor, or a brave duty that the horse carried out, and considered sacred to some. The horse is portrayed without a rider, to show freedom, but still has a "saddle" and rein to show that freedom still comes with rules.
Judgment: Overall, I am not entirely satisfied nor dissatisfied with this piece. I don't quite like the background, backgrounds are not me forte. The horse came out alright, the legs still need some anatomy work. But, I do like the colors and this piece was really fun to paint.
Reference Photo
These are the images I used as a reference.
My master artist is Vincent Van Gogh. He has always been an inspiration to me. He puts so much meaning into his paintings. I love the mixture of bright and dull colors he always uses.Current Artist
My current artist is Martin Wittfooth. His paintings are mysterious and dark, but bright and bold at the same time. Each piece has a meaning of it's own, yet you can still see the similarities in every artwork he does. 
Watercolor Dragon
Description: My current art paint project is working with watercolor. I have painted a red and black dragon (posted above). The picture on the left is my WIP photo and the picture on the right is my finished piece. I painted on watercolor paper. The background is the night sky and the red dragon is sitting in a grassy field. I really wanted the background to be much darker, but it was my first time working with water color, so I am still learning.
Analysis: In this piece I used value in an attempt to make the dragon pop out more by giving it a bold figure. I used many lines to form the body of the dragon as well. Texture doesn't appear much here, mainly on the spikes on it's back. To achieve this effect, I did a wash with the watercolor. The dragon may not look completely to proportion, as in it's wings appear to be a bit smaller, but this is because the dragon is actually a baby. It's wings would grow as it gets larger.
Interpretation: The image I painted is of a baby red dragon. It is shown as being shy, trying to cover it's face. If you look closely, to dragon is actually looking at something...you. It stares directly out at you in the painting. The dragon is scared and alone in a grassy field on a dark starry night.
Judgment: My opinion on this piece is neutral. I love the dragon, but the background needs some help. I mainly draw cartoons, so detailed backgrounds aren't really my think. If I could change anything about this piece it would be definitely be the background. I'd change the color to make it darker, a lot darker.
Reference Photo
This is the image I used as a reference.
My master artist is Vincent Van Gogh. He has always been an inspiration to me. He puts so much meaning into his paintings. I love the mixture of bright and dull colors he always uses.Current Artist
My current artist is Martin Wittfooth. His paintings are mysterious and dark, but bright and bold at the same time. Each piece has a meaning of it's own, yet you can still see the similarities in every artwork he does.
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