Abstraction

This past week in painting we started working with abstraction. The entirety of the course previous to this we have worked on observational painting, so I loved painting more freely. We looked at the art of Jackson Pollock and Gerhard Richter, and the goal was to try and use layers of color and texture to create the illusion of space. 

My full piece of paper 22" x 30", which I taped off into 8 sections

The painting studio. It is in a random building on campus not associated with art. But the new art building is supposed to open next semester, so it will be in there along with most other art courses!

Nude model painted using temperature over one class period

Painting class

This semester at school has been very busy with classes and my work study in the art department, but I have been having some great experiences. In my Painting 1 class we have been working with temperature a lot, as well as trying different painting styles and brush strokes.

First assignment: White paper and object still life with only black and white paint. 

Monochromatic still life, Split-complement close-up of one object

Complementary still life, Analogous painting of one object 

Two one hour still lifes using temperature: kitchen utensils, and spoon in glass vase

One hour still life of boots and hose using temperature

One hour still life of dinosaur toys using temperature

Model, using temperature

Model, using temperature

Stargazing

This summer I did a painting for my friend Maya's birthday. While at UMaine she often disappears, and sometimes it will be because she runs off to stargaze. The first time I ever saw Maya she was wearing a silly kid-looking fleece with monkeys on it :-), and I have always known she loves them. This summer she participated in a field research group in Rwanda! She had to opportunity to work with, study, and learn about primates! I used a cool oval canvas I bought at the Blick store in Boston last winter, and painted a girl gazing up at a starry night sky, smiling at a constellation of a monkey (a constellation I made up). She loved it when I gave it to her once we returned to school, and it's now hung up in her dorm room!

Capturing beauty on the glaciers

Tomorrow I leave for my 4th field season with the North Cascade Glacier Climate Project! This year I will be doing some of my own measurements - of crevasses! - as a research project for credit at UMaine. I put an image of my project hypothesis below. Also, I can't wait to use my little field sketchbook again - I am bringing up both watercolors and colored pencils and will alternate packing one or the other in at different glaciers. I look forward to posting pictures and sketches when I return on August 17th : >

Crevasse areas I will be measuring on the Easton Glacier on Mt. Baker

Various members of the team!

Probing for snow depth

Camp!

Seracs!

Mt. Baker <3

QUANTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS OF CREVASSES:

Ice Spidey

Storm's prowess over the elements + Batman's genius

Sometimes people have a strong preference for Marvel or DC, but I honestly love characters and stories from both. When I was home at the beginning of the summer I created these three superheroes by pairing a character from DC with one from Marvel. I chose them based on the people I did them for. Above is a Storm - Batman combo I drew for my sister, and I also did a Spiderman - Ice girl for myself, and a Green Lantern - Wolverine combination for Jackson. I'm sure it is a blast coming up with your own superheroes as well!

Spiderman's web + Ice's control over the snow and ice

Green lantern's marvelous ring + Wolvering fearsome claws

 Megan brought home mini- canvases (about 2 by 3 inches) and these are 2 of the 5 that I painted.

Funny- looking fella (the smile..?)

I have done these funny guys - faceless, with fiery hair - for years. Who are they, though?

What matters it how far we go?

My other art gift to Jackson for his 20th birthday this summer was a water color/ colored pencil drawing of the two of us. I used a picture we had taken at school for reference, and I didn't go for exactness in our features or in shading, I kept it more light. The glowy colors at the top and across our faces are Christmas lights I had strung up in my room :-)  

Initial sketch - trying to give our features some resemblance!

Started out with some colored pencil, I thought the watercolor going over it might create a neat effect

A little off-kilter if you compare the real picture, but I love it !

Kitty Comic

For Jackson's 20th birthday on June 20th I stayed at his house for the week. I sat down to make his birthday card beforehand, and it ended up becoming a whole comic book. My roommate, Robyn, makes really cute sock cats, and she made one for both me and Jackson during the school year! I decided to do a little comic-card using the two cats as the characters :-)

I used water color paper and water color paints to fill in the comic I had drawn and inked. I then lined up holes to hole-punch and tied them with some string to make the book!! It was super fun to do, and Jackson loved it! The book is around 5 by 6 inches I believe.

Longboarding! Jackon taught me to do this at school and gave me one for my 19th birthday in April! This is on of the extended panels with a fold so it fits in the book.

This was a joke because one of the clues in the scavenger hunt I mention in my previous past said something along these lines, and Jackson didn't get it at all.

I made this as a thank-you card for letting me stay the week! We went paddle boarding at my family's place on Long Lake in Maine, and we went camping when I stayed at Jackson's, at a little island in front of his house on Webber Pond.

My favorite scene in this

Thank you Jackson!