Sleeeep

So I was so proud of myself for almost finishing my second concentration piece over the weekend. I was just letting it dry (it is an oil painting) so that I could add the finishing touches, but my dad just informed me that it probably won't be dry enough by Wednesday. SAD. DAY.

And so, in the next two nights I will be creating ANOTHER piece. I'm planning on having it represent how solitude can create the feeling of "what's wrong with me?" Depressing, that's for sure, but you can't be alone more than making art in your room at 1 in the morning. I'll just need tea. lots of tea.

I guess this is kind of a heads up if you see me passed out in the halls. ;) You'll be one of the few that knows why.

Concentration

My concentration is the effect of solitude on people and creatures. Solitude can be a bliss that allows a person to be at peace. Other times it destroys the person, causing them to look upon themselves, others, and life in general with anger. Solitude, while it can be desired, can also be inflicted upon a person or animal until it only has its reflection to recall the pleasure of company.

I currently have only one concentration piece completed, but I'm planning on bumping that number up to two or three by the end of the weekend. This picture was taken before I finished the inside of the mirror. Like in much of my art, I tried to make Bob as realistic as possible. I'm really happy how this has turned out; I haven't used watercolors much, so I'm pleased that it actually looks like a bird. I tried to have the bars of the cage fade into the vast space in order to emphasize how small and alone Bob is. I also attempted to paint the feathers on her chest by sort of...jabbing, the brush. I think it give it a ruffled sort of look that resembles feathers. Maybe, maybe not. For me the perch and the bars of the cage not only conjoin to focus on Bob but also drags my eye into the picture.

This weekend I'm going to be starting/completing another piece. It is going to reflect the happier side of solitude; the creation of your own personal world when you're alone. Everyone's happy place is different. The one I'm going to paint won't be mine, but it might wind up reflecting someone else's.

Winter at its finest

Every year in Japan there is a snow festival in Sapporo (located on the northern island of Hokkaido), during which teams will create a ice/snow sculpture. They only have about 20 hours to complete the whole project. This sculpture -> is the royal palace of Baekje. Baekje was a kingdom in Korea. Unfortunately the palace was destroyed in a fire, but has since been rebuilt. I'm not quite sure how tall this sculpture is, but the details on the building are darn impressive.

This sculpture <- is the Iolani palace. According to the site this palace is the only royal palace in the U.S. And it's in Hawaii, so it's not like we can just drive to it on a short vacation. :( I especially like this sculpture because of the color. True, the snow one was cool, but the colored lights behind it make this one even better.

On a side note (and I mean a VERY side note) my electric teakettle is broken. Sad day. I boiled some water on the stove and tried to pour it straight from the pot into the cup. It didn't go so well; boiling water got everywhere (except in the mug). So no more tea until we get a new one. :( It's going to be an interesting week.

http://www.snowfes.com/english/place/oodori/index.html (this is the site where I found the sculpture pictures. There are a lot more on there if you want to check it out)

We Don't Make Mistakes; We Have Happy Accidents

The fuzzy-haired Bob Ross. I'll freely admit that his show is one of my favorite things to watch if i have some spare time. Anyhow, the reason I brought this up is because I am planning on doing an oil painting for one of my concentration pieces and will be using his techniques.

It's kind of ridiculous how quickly and effortlessly he can make a gorgeous painting. I absolutely failed the first time I tried his trick for making mountains. practice, practice
As for the piece. I'm in the process of covering the canvas and a practice sheet of paper in black gesso and will be working on it here at home. Fingers crossed, all goes well. I'll just add in some happy clouds ... and let's say a tree lives here.. and we're all good. :)

Here a just a few paintings that I like. These seem to be some of his earlier ones...