Title: Don´t Blink
Size: 2(10 x 15) Medium: Colored Pencil on Illustration Board Completion: April 2022 Exhibition Text:
The intention of the piece was to depict how in a moment something as simple as doing a normal life task can change in the blink of an eye. The title, Don't Blink adds to the piece because of how you feel in a calm or enjoyable situation. Where you don't want to blink because something may change or it can end quickly. The piece shows that and how it can change. The piece was inspired by Gustave Callibotte and was made using colored pencils on an illustration board. |
Inspiration
Gustave Calliebotte was a French painter that identified as an Impressionist artist, however his pieces would also be considered a part of Realism because of the realistic aspect of them. In the piece, ¨ L´Homme au balcon, boulevard Haussmann¨, there is a man that is standing on a balcony dressed in clothes traditional to the 1880s. The man on the balcony is standing looking out into a city, most likely Paris. Other aspects of the piece are the sayings, glass door, and potted plant. In my project, I plan on making one of the illustration boards similar to the inspiration. This would mean including the overall components that would link the two others. Such as adding the balcony bar, door, awing, and man. However some significant components will be different because I need to connect the piece to modern day. Instead of having the man wear clothes from the 1880s, I would have him in clothes that are worn normally today, such as a sweater and jeans. I also will make the background buildings different and make them more modern. IN my second panel, I plan on having everything from my first panel except the standing position of the man is now changed to a crouch making it look like he's ducking or covering his head. Another change will be the buildings because I will have smoke and attempt to make still chaos visible in the second piece.
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Planning
Before starting the process of this piece, I needed to plan out how I wanted the piece to look and what materials I needed to complete it. I started by sketching the different ideas that I had in mind. Once I was satisfied with one, I began to draw a grid of 60, 1 inched squares. In the squares I colored in the boxes using colored pencils and labeled each box with the designated color. I did this because I wanted to have a familiarity with the colors and know how they really looked on paper. By doing this it allowed me to be prepared to not have to test each color or mess up because I thought a color was something it wasn´t. I printed a gridded image of the inspiration so that I could begin the process of making the piece.
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Process
To begin the process of making the piece. I drew a 1 in. 10 by 15 squares on both illustration boards. I then used the printed out inspiration with a 10 by 15 square grid on it, to transfer the components in the inspiration that I wanted in my piece. These include; the awning, the door, and the balcony. After I drew the parts, I began to add the details that would make the piece original to me. These included buildings, and the attire of the man on the balcony. After I drew everything on both panels, I began the coloring process. I first started to color the awning on the first board because I planned on going from top to bottom when coloring. Looking at the grid I made for the different colored pencils really helped me speed up the choosing process of what colors would best fit. For the awning I used white,cream,sky blue, and three different shades of red. Using these colors allowed for me to successfully add movement and make the awning look like the one from the inspiration. After I did that, I went to the bars of the a\balcony and began coloring it in with black. I then started on the man in the piece, I colored in his clothes using different hues of grays, and blues to get a shadow effect. When working on the background, I used a light press on the pencils so that there would be a contrast from the foreground and background. After I finished this panel, I moved onto the other.
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For the second illustration board, I also began with coloring the awning first using the same teachings I used from the first board. After that I also then began to color the bars of the balcony because I found that to be the hardest part for both pieces since I needed to use more pressure when coloring. After I completed that, I moved on to the man and colored him using the same colors as before. The difference between the board and the first can be seen in the posture of the man where he is crouching now, trying to duck. It can also be seen in the background from the different colored sky, trees, and the obvious cloud of smoke. For this cloud I used dark gray mostly to fill it in. Another difference from the second piece and the first is in the movement in the awning. Where in this piece I drew the flaps to blow in the direction it seemed like the smoke was also blowing. I also added tears and holes to make it look like the explosion affected the awning. In the door, I attempted to make it look like the glass shattered on the top half and almost continued with the bottom. To do this I used the cloud blue and black to give it the effect of missing glass.
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Experimentation
One idea I had for this piece came when I saw the painting, ¨The Japanese Footbridge¨ by Claude Monet. In the piece I would have one panel, with the bridge and the second panel with modern buildings, but someone would still incorporate the bridge from the inspiration and first panel somewhere. So that you would be able to develop a story.
Another idea I had for this piece was to make a cliff with a calm environment. It was inspired by ``Cliff Walk at Pourville'' also by Claude Monet. The second piece would have shown the same area except, the area becomes a tourist location and the cliff that was once green is now brown and dusty. |
Critique
Similarities
A similarity between my piece and the inspirations is that the Inspiration piece is that my first panel of the illustration piece has the same background concept as the inspirations. Meaning that the balcony, awnings, and overall building ideas are from the inspiration. This similarity can be seen to an extent in the second panel as well, where the balcony and the awning. Another similarity between the inspiration and my piece is that the man in the piece both have clothing from their time. Meaning that in the inspiration, the piece was made in the 1880s where people, specifically men dress like that. In my piece, we have someone from modern times dressed in a hoodie and jeans.
Differences
A difference between my piece and the inspiration is that the inspiration was an oil painting, while mine was made using colored pencil on illustration boards. This is a significant difference because the medium I used doesn't allow for the same look to formulate. Meaning that the colored pencil can´t blend and move as oil paint. Also there is contrast between the color because the vibrancy is also different, how the color can have depth and appear is different between the two mediums.
A similarity between my piece and the inspirations is that the Inspiration piece is that my first panel of the illustration piece has the same background concept as the inspirations. Meaning that the balcony, awnings, and overall building ideas are from the inspiration. This similarity can be seen to an extent in the second panel as well, where the balcony and the awning. Another similarity between the inspiration and my piece is that the man in the piece both have clothing from their time. Meaning that in the inspiration, the piece was made in the 1880s where people, specifically men dress like that. In my piece, we have someone from modern times dressed in a hoodie and jeans.
Differences
A difference between my piece and the inspiration is that the inspiration was an oil painting, while mine was made using colored pencil on illustration boards. This is a significant difference because the medium I used doesn't allow for the same look to formulate. Meaning that the colored pencil can´t blend and move as oil paint. Also there is contrast between the color because the vibrancy is also different, how the color can have depth and appear is different between the two mediums.
Reflection
Overall, I am content with the outcome of this piece. Even though the medium was simple to use, the meaning of the piece has an impactful effect on the viewer. A challenge I faced while making the piece was giving it the effect of smoke coming from the closest building and leaving gray dust everywhere. I didn't want that to overpower the other colors so I tried my best to blend and use lighter colors in most areas. Another challenge I faced while making the piece was drawing the proportions of the man. I found it difficult to draw him because I didn't want to make him look elongated in some parts, but then I remembered that the perspective of the piece is altered so it would look normal once I colored. My intention for this piece was to show how life can change within a second no matter the circumstances.
Connecting to the ACT
- Clearly explain and describe how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
- What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
- What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
- What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
- What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
Bibliography
Gustave Caillebotte/L'Homme au balcon, boulevard Haussman/1880/Oil on canvas/116.5 x 89.5cm/ https://visualelsewhere.wordpress.com/2020/03/26/gustave-caillebotte-private-collection-lhomme-au-balcon-boulevard-haussmann-1880/
Adfarga. “Gustave Caillebotte – Private Collection. L'Homme Au Balcon, Boulevard Haussmann (1880).” Elsewhere, 26 Mar. 2020, visualelsewhere.wordpress.com/2020/03/26/gustave-caillebotte-private-collection-lhomme-au-balcon-boulevard-haussmann-1880/.
“Gustave Caillebotte Paintings, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist/caillebotte-gustave/.
Adfarga. “Gustave Caillebotte – Private Collection. L'Homme Au Balcon, Boulevard Haussmann (1880).” Elsewhere, 26 Mar. 2020, visualelsewhere.wordpress.com/2020/03/26/gustave-caillebotte-private-collection-lhomme-au-balcon-boulevard-haussmann-1880/.
“Gustave Caillebotte Paintings, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist/caillebotte-gustave/.