Still Life
Title: Fish
Medium: White paper, Compressed charcoal, Vine charcoal, and White pencil. Completion: August 20, 2021 Exhibition Text
The piece that I created was to highlight the details in the object. Nothing really influenced the piece expected the object itself that I was recreating. The object was provided as well as the mediums. The overall idea for the piece was to capture the way the object would look if a light were to shine on it.
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Process
To start, the first thing I did before sketching the object was taking the charcoal and using it to shade the white paper. After I shaded the entire paper I blended it out with my hand to create a smooth,gray background.I then took the charcoal to sketch the proportion and shape of the fish to see how large I wanted it to be.I then added minor details to the fish such as the eyes,teeth,tail,and fins.
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After the adding the details, I went in with the compressed charcoal and added lines to emphasize the detail in the fish. Along with value to darken those lines. Using my fingers I shaded in the lines so that they would give a shadow effect. After I was satisfied with the outcome of my fish, I proceeded to sketch the stand that the fish was on. After that I used the compressed charcoal to add value to the piece. Once I completed that I took a white pencil and added highlights to both the fish and the stand.
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Reflection
In this piece there is a fish on a stand. The piece itself is realistic and was horizontal. The artist intention was to portray the piece as best as she could. Adding as much detail, and making it seem like there was a light hitting it from the front. This piece had strong and dominant lines that were dark with a smooth texture. The piece can be portrayed as 2D, however the shadows allow for the viewer to perceive it as 3D. There is repetition in the work, where the lines are to add a effect. The mood and the feeling of the artwork is dark, night like. With the background being shaded it gives the effect that the object is in a dark room, with light being shone on it. The strengths in the work are that you can tell what it is. Also the use of space and recreation. A weakness could be not highlighting enough where its needed. An advantage of working with charcoal is that you are able to cover your mistakes or erase them if you use it lightly, however a disadvantage would have to be not being able to erase if you are pressing hard. Overall, from the process I learned how to use compressed and vine charcoal because this was my first time using it. I now know what to expect if I every decide to use the any of the two again.