Thursday, May 26, 2011

AP Art : Breadth Part 1

The following works are all pieces that I created either my junior or senior year in high school and submitted in the Breadth section of the AP Studio Art Exam!

Columbia's Future
After my first visit to the North Cascades, I painted a view of Columbia Glacier from its mouth. This year, after my second visit, I decided it would be an interesting challenge to paint the mountain once the glacier is gone. In the future, two small lakes fill the basins, and the uppermost lake feeds the lower lake. The rocky bed which was previously covered in snow is beginning to host plant life.

Crampon
I drew this observational view of a crampon after my second season in the North Cascades as well. A crampon is an object that people are often either familiar with because they use them, or it is a complete mystery. You basically strap it onto your hiking boot for climbing on ice!

Deception
The calligraphy assignment in Advanced Art my junior year was one I loved. We were able to combine any type of calligraphy with an image. I actually had a song and concept in mind, but ended up changing the song to better fit the image. Both the words and the scene imply that the character is deceptive.

Deserted
This piece was my first experience using oil paints. The only specified instruction was to use indoor lighting, and I decided to try to create a story with my scene. I included different elements, such as the abandoned tabled and fallen chair, as well as the person in the background. I like how the blue in the background gives the impression of sky.

Introducing Marble Boy
I created this for AP Art during the summer. Our assignments were marble-themed, but with one we were allowed to illustrate whatever we chose. I created a superboy, who has the strength to lift this super-marble.

Measuring Marbles
This was the second marble piece, with the instruction of "marbles in a container." I chose to try a more interesting composition by arranging the marbles in measuring spoons.

Mary-Kate
I created this piece after my art class ended junior year. I worked in whatever free time I had for months on her face. I worked directly from a photograph, which I had chosen because I loved the composition and lighting. Because I love to draw faces, I wanted to challenge myself to drawing this face, before continuing to create my own faces, or drawing them from observation.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Welcome to the real world...

My last day of high school is this Friday! I'm done with classes because I don't have to take any finals, so now I just go in for graduation rehearsal. Our class song is John Mayer's "No Such Thing"
"'Welcome to the real world,' she said to me
Condescendingly
Take a seat
Take your life
Plot it out in black and white...."


I also finished my final two track meets this week. I had leagues on Monday, and there were some moments of downpour... thankfully it was just misting during my two hurdle races. Today, we had a meet against the best team in our league, Ayer, so we didn't stand a chance! I'll post some more track pictures soon, as well as my AP Studio Art concentration!






Friday, May 13, 2011

Positive Mass Balance and Pirates of Mars

Field sketch of Michael's Sword on Daniel Mountain
In the North Cascades
I did this field sketch last season with the NCGCP, it is the first piece in my concentration section I submitted for the AP Studio Art Exam. Some exciting news about the video, besides the promo that came out a while back, there is now a 19 minute clip of the film, which you can view here! Don't forget to type in the password "hotdocs" which it does let you know on the page. I can't wait till it's complete!


The above painting is titled, "Positive Mass Balance", and it was the last piece I created in art this year. It was originally going to be the last piece in my concentration, but when I arranged my 12 artworks before the exam, I ended up moving it back a bit. This painting comes after a series in which Mt. Baker's glaciers all gradually melt. I wanted to resolve what had happened to Mt. Baker. A girl is saving the mountain by literally painting the glaciers back on it. This represents my motivation to be involved with the glaciers and to stop their retreat. I'll post my whole concentration and breadth sections soon!


The first volume of Veronica Fish's and JJ Kahrs Pirates of Mars is out! Support Veronica by going to PiratesofMars.com to read the comic, and purchase it on Lulu!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

So close...

I'm finally done with the school year (for the most part). I had my AB AP Calculus Exam on the 4th, and I submitted my AP Studio Art Drawing Portfolio on the 6th. These classes have been my life this year, particularly second semester, so it's weird to not have endless work to do anymore! After today, I have 13 days of school left, but many of them I won't actually have classes, they'll be centered around preparing for graduation. The track season has been decent for me. Today I am heading out to Murdock for a meet, and after that I have two more regular meets and Leagues. I'm already starting to think about what art I might want to create over the summer!
Running the 400 lows, this picture was in the local paper