Peer Review!

1. Hyperlink the Blogs you reviewed into your Blog
http://bojasc72.blogspot.com/
http://williacv01.blogspot.com

2. Were there any images in the Peer Blogs the same as your own? If yes, what were they? Were the reasons the image was selected the same or different as your own?
In Christine's blog, she also chose 'The Yellow Christ' painting. We both said we chose it because we felt a connection with it. My connection was simply because it is such a prominent painting in art history, seen in books. She felt a connection with it simply because it was a representation of Jesus Christ and his followers, as she is a follower of Jesus.

3. Were there any images that your Peers selected that pique your interest now? If yes, what are they and what is your connection with them? What would you want to know about them?
There was one which I considered choosing for my own post, for similar reasons. Christine chose the Still Life #2 by Tom Wesselman, which I also enjoy, but don't fully understand. The connection of the sink, cabinet, food, and the fact that their is one of Mondrian's paintings thrown in there is confusing to me, and to Christine as well. Why incorporate another artists painting? Why the different elements, different rooms?

4. What do you think about the process of reading your peers reflection? Do you find this to be a valuable in your learning?
I like the process of peer review. I think it is helpful to hear other people's feedback. If they agree it is assurance that I am looking at it objectively and getting a good idea of the artwork, and if they disagree it is an opportunity to tell me what they see, or how they perceive it.

5. Check your Blog and read comments posted by your peers. Do you find their comments helpful?
I don't think it is helpful as much as it is just reassuring. The comments I received so far just state that I did well on my value scale and color wheel, which I appreciate hearing, and that I had good reasoning behind my choices from the art gallery. One comment stated that they had questioned the meaning behind the Numbers in Color painting as well. It is good to hear that other people are on the same page!

Value Scale and Color Wheel!

1. Discuss what you thought about creating the Value Scale and Color Wheel.

Well... I started my value scale at about eleven thirty at night, thinking it would take me less than half an hour. When I finished my scale, it was almost one o'clock. I was unsatisfied with two attempts, so the photo on here was my third attempt at creating a value scale! The color wheel was much more fun and playful, took me back to feeling like a kid again.

2. Which media did you enjoy working with the best and why?

I definitely had a preference towards the watercolors over the charcoal by the time I was done. I usually enjoy charcoal, and I have a few portraits at home I have created using charcoal, but a blend of a few different kinds of charcoal. For the scale I was trying to stick with one, compressed charcoal, and drawing on a separate sheet and transferring it using a blending stump for the lighter values. The water colors were simple to mix and I was pleased with the result.

3. What was the most important discovery in the creation of these studies?

While I was creating my color wheel, I was messing around with colors on other sheets of paper too. I was trying the techniques from the 'How to Mix Colors' video. I like the Wet-in-Wet mixing, and tried using it, mixing several pairs of colors. Each pair of colors reminded me of something, red and blue reminded me of the sky, as well as cotton candy, blue and green reminded me of water, and the earth, and yellow and green brings a grassy field type of feeling. I discovered that I really like the use of watercolors, and the bright playfulness of them!

4. What is the most important information you learned from watching the videos for this project? What is your opinion of the videos?

I liked the end of the watercolor video, where he explained how he mixed the blacks, and how you could add other colors and gray them out. I think I would use that, its good information to know. Both of the videos were very helpful. Unfortunately, I didn't watch the value step scales video until after I had started my value scale. After watching the video, I'm convinced I would have liked the results better if I had used pencil as opposed to charcoal.

Art Gallery Visit #1

1. While walking around, there were several pieces that caught my eye and made me look closer, but a few of them really made an impact. Jackson Pollock's oil painting, 'Convergence' (1952, 93x155in) had an impact on me because of its scale. It is abstract, but you can look at each paint drip and the layering and it is amazing. The second piece that really pulled me in was William Harnett's, 'Music and Literature' (1878, 24x32in, oil on canvas). Everything about it was so realistic, and for being of such a smaller scale, he paid close attention to detail, texture, and the preciseness and repetition of the triangular shapes that unify the piece. The third piece was Agnes Martin's, 'The Tree' (1965). It is so simplistic yet inspiring. From afar it appears as a plain canvas, but up close it has a precise grid lightly drawn in. A simple grid on a canvas got her recognition and a spot in the Albright Knox Art Gallery. It impacts me because I know that there are people who look at that and think "I could do that", and don't have appreciation for it. Yet, I know it is recognized because she was the first person to do it, and that's where creativity plays a big part in art. Open-mindedness and being the first to do something could take you places.


2. I found that the works I felt most connected with were works that I've seen before in textbooks, and in general society. It's cool to be able to go to a local gallery and see world famous paintings that you've learned about and researched. I chose "Peaceable Kingdom", "100 Cans", and "Yellow Christ". Edward Hicks painted 'Peaceable Kingdom' in 1848(24x32in). From reading about him, I know that he was known as an outsider artist, or naive artist, meaning he had no formal art training. From knowing that, I am fascinated by the detail and the thought behind his work. '100 Cans' is Andy Warhol's famous Campbell's Soup oil painting (1962, 72x52). I felt a connection with this piece simply because of how well known it is, and it was a common reference in art classes in my childhood. The third painting that I felt a connection with was Gauguin's 'Yellow Christ' oil painting (1889, 36x28). Again, it is in several art history textbooks, and its quality appears child-like. It doesn't have a whole lot of detail, and I like when I feel like I could re-create a painting done by a famous artist.



3. I chose three pieces that I either didn't understand, or became curious about. The first piece was Jasper Johns' "Numbers in Colors" (1959, 169x125cm). It was done with encaustic paint, and layered on very thickly, but I wanted to know if the numbers had any meaning? I looked it up online afterwards and found out that he used symbols in alot of his works, without a real explanation, but I still think it is interesting. The second oil painting I chose was 'Elegy to the Spanish Republic #34' by Robert Motherwell (80x100in). Looking at it, I knew it was an abstract painting and was trying to interpret it myself, but after reading the title I knew there had to be some story behind it. The third piece was "Child's Blue Wall" by Jim Dine in 1962 (60x72in). I was curious as to where he got this idea. I think it would be very interesting if this is actually what his sons room looked like, with that same lamp.

Color Theory and Emotional Effects

Color is everywhere, and it has more of an effect on peoples lives than they think. It fascinates me that simply being in a room that is bright colored could boost your mood, where a dark, dull room could make you feel depressed. People choose artwork for rooms based on the color scheme and the feeling they want to bring to the room. Color is used frequently to portray an emotion. Red is a strong color which usually displays strength, heroism, fierceness, or anger. A more cool color like blue could portray happiness, calm and relaxation. A few colors placed together could be used to illustrate anything from harmony to conflict.

My favorite part of the Color movie is towards the end when June is talking about her painting and says while she is painting she has to keep reminding herself of the feeling she had while she was in Venice and saw that scene. I think its critical that you are thinking about how it made you feel, and not letting your current mood be reflected in the painting, if that's not what you want. If you are working on the painting one day while you're really upset, and another day while you're really happy, you can usually tell the difference, unless you stay in that same state of mind that you once had.

I think the Feelings; Emotions and Art video had an impact on me when it was talking about Goya and his change in painting style after his illness. He went from painting colorful scenes of picnics and happy places, to painting darkness and negativity. His change of mind came after eras of war and loss of political hopes. He wanted to paint the life he felt, the oppressive heaviness he felt in the world. The feelings that he had at this point in his life, after all he had been through.

First Blog!

1. MY Buffalo State user name was not available when I tried to create my account, so I added another zero, but other than that, it was pretty simple. The hardest part was coming up with a title for my blog, and a URL.

2. I expect this course to be more broad of an art history class than any I've taken before, because it focuses on the fundamentals, and not a specific period. After browsing through the book, most of the material looks familiar to me, but I'm interested to learn about the rest.


3. I enjoy the thought of an online course. I like working at my own pace, and at any time. I am slightly nervous though, as far as forgetting about an assignment, or thinking I missed something somewhere on Angel, since I'm unfamiliar with it.