Fjord Features

This image was done for our "mapping assignment". I like finding similarities between people and our environment, so I was inspired by the beauty of fjords (an aerial view), steep glacial carved valleys, and the permanence of these features, which are akin to the way our lives are carved by events and forever changed, or scarred. 

I decided to try polyester plate lithography in printmaking last semester. I have always loved the look of many litho prints, the way you can get carefully rendered images, like those of M.C. Escher.  Polyester plate is a newer technique, where you can "simply" just draw onto the plate with litho crayons, light and water fast markers (like micron, sharpie) and then put the polyester plate onto a hot plate to fuse the crayon or maker to it.  

The trickiest part is printing this plate. It works based on the opposing relationship of oil and water. Whatever you drew attracts the oil in the litho inks, so you sponge the plate withwater (and some gum arabic, won't go into) and then roll out your ink, and it should only stick where you drew! It should also  stick more or less depending on how dark you drew, so shading should come out. I had a ton of trouble with my light shading being removed, and had to re-draw the plate with the face on it (I had 3 plates, one for each color) 5 times, and the gradation still did not come out nearly as nicely as I would have liked!

Had to make a bunch!

Two color layers: some light brown and light blue

My drawing with litho crayon on the polyester plate

The result... Not quite what I drew

Result after re-drawing many times, about as good as I could get

Yay, kinda decent prints finally!

Ghost print of the face plate

Figure drawing 3 - Portrait journal

The outside assignment for figure drawing was to complete a sketchbook full of portraits throughout the semester. I absolutely loved this because I have always faces have always been one of my favorite things to draw. Over the semester I improved so much!

My first 5 sketches, each about 10-20 minutes. I took too much time outlining and trying to focus on likeness at first.

Trying a less exact side hatch style that I find relaxing and fun

People often have a certain, serious/ concentrated look while watching TV

Morgan is super focused in Walking Dead. She didn't notice me drawing her until Jackson decided to spill the beans

Adding some conte to add interest to a somewhat boring self portrait

Cute smile

Trying to work from the inside out: starting somewhere like the eyes or the nose and working towards the edge. Can be difficult but also helps improve skills and create less contoured drawings.

Working from the middle of the face out is trick, so sometimes features get skewed, especially when using pen.

I love playing with different pens. Pen is challenging and bold, I love using it because with it you want every mark to be worth the while

Capturing features in a more subtle, less detailed way, is fun

I like this somewhat illustrative /slightly dark and spooky portrait of Jackson

Working with a stick of graphite

Getting bored of shading and trying different techniques such as contour

Continuous line drawings

Jackson (far left) and his 3 roommates, Nick, Tyler, and Andrew. As seen above I draw Jackson all the time, so I decided to mix it up and draw Nick while he did homework. Then Tyler and Andrew wanted a portrait too! It was a lot of fun.

I really like this page, melding the faces into one

Trying new things

The effect of slightly dried out markers is interesting

My roommate and good friend Robyn!! Finally drew her as my last portrait, I'd been wanting to for a while.

Swinging with the Old Stars

Over spring break I decided to draw something on my free time that would just be for fun, something I could keep, whatever I felt like. I thought that it would be great to do a series of portraits showing me and some of my closest friends at home and at UMaine! I chose pictures of the online, then drew them out in pencil, inked them with pen, and added some color! I had a lot of fun doing this, and it was cool to show it to all of them once I finished. On the left are my friends Maya and Joe from Maine, then my friend and roommate Robyn, my boyfriend Jackson, me, my sister Megan, and my friends from home, Andrea and Magda! 

Good portraiture practice! A few of these I got the face down on try one, but some - especially my own - took a bit of erasing and re-drawing!

Me n Jackson

Done with inking, fun, but you don't want to over do it

Finished after a week or two!

Me and Jackson after a formal for his fraternity, ATO

Starting out spring break at Jackson's! We had barely had any snow on winter, but as soon as we left, on the drive home, there was a little snow storm! We made this that night in the dark.

At the end of spring break I flew down and stayed with Megan in her dorm at Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia! It was awesome, the weather was really nice, the city is really pretty, and I got to meet all her friends and her boyfriend, Zach.

Wachusett and Breadth Part 2

The route

I ran in the Mt. Wachusett race last Saturday on the 28th. Last year I was participating in Art All State and I wasn't able to run it, so it wasn't until just before the race I found out that the course was different now. The old course was entirely on the road, 4.3 miles up to the summit. It was a tough race, all uphill - some especially tough climbs - and on pavement. I've always been a trail runner, and I certainly wouldn't call it a fun race, it was about the challenge. Now, the route covers 4.7 miles and the majority of it is on trails. Some areas were tricky because the trails were narrow, and it was hard to pass/ be passed. The steep uphill section about halfway through was the worst. It's very narrow with a lot of rocks and roots, the type of trail I often run on, but a lot of people decided it wasn't worth putting in the effort. I got stuck behind a large group of walkers, and I barely had the breath or strength to pass them. I managed to pass at least 20 people on that section. Many of them were obviously better runners than me - but they didn't even try to keep running, which confuses me. Sure, it's really tough, but it's a race, and you have to endure it and do your best to keep running!

Portrait of Inspiration
I created this for the assignment "create a self-portrait without your face." I chose to represent myself through challenges, and the "swirl" of inspiration I get from these challenges.

Salmon Boy
I created this illustration originally as part of my concentration when I was considering veering into the negative effects of glaciers' recession. People around the world depend on the melt-water from glaciers. A Chinese boy is watching, saddened by what he sees. The stream he depends on has retreated, leaving dry stream-bed exposed. The salmon that he also relies on are struggling with the lower waters, and some have died where the stream once was. 

Transforming
I created this piece in Studio Art, under the instruction to create a "self-warped-trait." I chose to illustrate my face mid-transformation into a creature. I actually went back to add more tentacles on the right later on, and I definitely like how it looks better than before.

Vases
I created this in Studio Art from observation. I chose a cropped view of a still-life my art teacher, Mrs. Tetler, set up. The floral background is actually a larger Chinese-flower print vase.

Violet Baudelaire
I created this portrait of Violet Baudelaire based off of the third book in A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Wide Window. Growing up, these were some of my absolute favorite books, I read and re-read them!