Experimenting with Abstraction In my abstract piece on the upper left I decided to use the mono-printing techniques our teacher demoed for us last week. She told us in order to create a successful mono-print we should build up several layers in the process. I began by printing a ground of soft blue. My next layer I used a rust color to create the reddish shapes and then in my final layer I added some blue and brown shapes. Overall I feel the piece was successful but I still had not captured the feeling I got from Twombly’s work. I decided to approach the process of making abstract art differently, instead of using the mono-printing process I decided to use mix media to create an abstract piece. First I put down a ground of light using yellow acrylic paint, over the ground I painted using colors of tan and faded pink similar to Twombly’s palette. The only place the ground is still somewhat evident is in the canoe shape on the right. I also used writing with graphite as a way to create line and to interest my viewer. On top of the layers of acrylic paint I used charcoal to create some interesting forms and to introduce a new texture. I am very pleased with my second abstract experiment and hope to translate this way of working into a actual artwork I will be using in my exhibit. At this point I am still trying to figure out the message I would like to convey in my work. I do know that abstracting symbols and using metaphor are possibilities for introducing meaning into abstract work. For example in my investigation of Twombly I read that mythology is one of his inspirations for his work, I think I will look into that further. I have always been a fan of abstract art so when my art teacher introduced mono-printing to the class I decided to use this technique to create an abstract composition. I had recently visited the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and discovered the artist Cy Twombly and decided to use his work to gain inspiration for the abstract piece I wanted to create. Twombly was a native of Virginia but he gained notoriety in the abstract expressionist movement in the 1950’s. What drew me to his work was the freedom in his painting style. In the piece on the bottom right of the page, Untitled, Rome, 1960 you can see solid organic forms mixed in with gestural lines. Twombly is quoted as saying "It's not described, it's happening … The line is the feeling” He also uses writing in his piece as a form of mark making and even though it is not always legible, it piques my interest as a viewer. His palette of soft greys, pinks and tans is also appealing to me. The painting has a lot of energy and the same time has the feeling of ordered chaos.

Experimenting with Chalk Pastel While looking on the website Artsy for I came across the work of the German artist Bernhard Zimmer whose work I absolutely love. He is working today in Germany and is widely collected. One critic I think summed up his work well by saying “Full of strength and fragility, Zimmer’s works reward patient viewing, revealing their rich visual nuances to those who take time to look into their layers”. The rich layers in his work are what attracted me to the piece on the left entitled “Tall”. I am interested in the way he builds up his layers and then puts final layer of white over the entire picture plane. After building up the layers he scratches through the surface to reveal what is underneath. Given the process I think the palette of earth tones works well in with idea of revealing what is underneath. Even though the work is abstract there are a lot of variations in tone which create emphasis and value. I did not find an artist statement by Zimmer. I would be very curious as to why he calls his piece “Tall” is he referring to a figure in the work. I am intrigued by the fact as a viewer you can read so much into a abstract piece. I feel like there is a figure struggling to be set free. In order achieve a rich surface like Zimmer I decided to experiment with chalk pastel. By adding gesso to the chalk pastel I was able to move the chalk pastel around the surface of the picture plane with more ease. I built up several layers of pastel and then using a scratch tool scrapped some of the previous layers off. I think my technique was more successful in the experiment on the far right. I had problems with getting the results I wanted with some of the areas I scratched into so I ended up applying yet another layer. What I found in the end was the extra layers actually added to making the surface of the pieces richer. I enjoyed the process and could see myself returning to it in future projects. When working with the color in the piece I keep going back to the blue pastel, so my palette ended up predominantly blue with grays and greens as accents. All these colors appeal to me so my plan is to use them in other media experiments. I think this way of working would also translate into acrylic paint I think I will try to experiment with paint in my next piece.

Understanding Portraiture “You could say that Ms. Peyton paints two tribes: the one formed by the people she cares about and lives among, and the one that fills her imagination” says Roberta Smith the art critic for the New York times, in her review of Peyton’s show at the New Museum Live Forever. Elizabeth Peyton is a mid-career artist who is known for her portraiture of her friends, lovers and icons in pulp culture icons such as Kurt Cobain and Liam Gallagher. I discovered this artist when looking through Art in America in our classroom resources. Her portraits give me the feeling I am looking Into the soul of her subjects. subjects souls. The focal Point is always her main Subject with very little going on In the backgrounds. She Uses thin washes of paint in all areas of the painting. she will build up the layers more in the area of the face bringing more emphasis to that area. Her pieces are usually oil on wood and many of Them are very small Studies. When I begin Painting portraits I am Going to work small to Begin with so that I can Concentrating on Mastering the technique. I have been wanting to master the art of painting portraits for a long time. As suggested by my teacher I started by studying proportion and specifically the proportions of the face. In my visual arts journal I created the line drawing above on the left of myself, using a photo I had taken. I did not use a grid but sited and measured until I was please with the likeness I had created. I scanned in the line drawing and then traced it onto some rag paper. My next step was to practice shading with graphite which I did on a value scale. I then began to shade using small circular strokes to get the smoothest surface I could. I found the process to be rather tedious. I think that I would like to paint portraits instead of render them in graphite, I think paint lends has more expressionistic qualities. Now that I feel I have the ability to correctly draw the face. I think I am ready to move on to practicing with paint. Like Elizabeth Peyton I want to capture raw emotion in my subjects. I want to create a series of portraits that tell a story. You can get a sense of who the person is by the emotion they hold in their face. Right now I am thinking I will use people of all ages. I plan on holding a photo shoot to get some images to work from next week in class.