Monday, June 29, 2009

Research for self portrait - Eric Kubli

http://digitalarts.bgsu.edu/portfolios/ekubli/about.html

Eric Kubil is a friend of mine that currently is a Digital Arts major here at BGSU. On his portfolio page through the school's website, he has little drawing of himself. Granted, they aren't really titled anything and they aren't really official self portraits... but they're still little drawing of himself. They are in a cartoon style, but yet they are some what realistic and actually really do look like him very much. Each drawing not only looks like him, but each one tells a little story. He doesn't use a lot of detail, or a lot of colors, but because they are more simple I think that they are stronger on a whole.

Eric manages to use just the cloths, body language, and hand gestures to show his identity. I think each one says something about himself, and the sense of humor that he has about everything.

I really enjoyed looking at these because I think they all really match him. I've known Eric for a couple of years, and each one really does say something about him. I like how he kept things simple and didn't over do them. I like how really felt that these drawings were him... every time I looked at one I really did see him. I think it was very helpful to see his drawings of himself because of this is a perfect example of doing things in your own unique way, instead of classic head shot painting, or something of the like, for a self portrait.

Research for self portrait - Norman Rockwell

http://www.auburnschools.org/carywoods/mawebb/intro-triple-self-portrait.jpg

Norman Rockwell's self portrait is another favorite of mine. He tells a story with just one painting. This painting really grabs my eye and takes it through the painting, and then back over it again and again to find little details that I didn't see the first time around. He gets the people and the things with them to look so realistic, and yet just enough of that cartoony feel so that it is playful and fun.

This work really shows Rockwell's identity because it shows how he works, and what is important to him. He very clearly shows how he works and how he views himself. The painting also shows how he does his work, and that is so much of who he is. If he saw himself as being the best fisherman ever, he would have painted his self portrait of himself in the middle of a lake, in a boat, with a fishing pole in hand. I think that a big part of identity is how we view ourselves, and even how we think other's view us. Norman Rockwell, from this self portrait anyways, seems to be very down to earth, and simply shows what he does and how he does it, and there isn't anything to hide from that.

I like this self portrait because I think it truely lets the view to see Norman Rockwell, and how he does his work. I had a friend tell me once that she thought it was really interesting to watch me make one of my ceramics project because she saw me be very comfortable and could watch the light bulbs go off in my head when I knew something to do next. I think that this self portrait is just like that. It gives a little insight of how he works, how he plans things out, how he over comes some kind of problem. I think showing that, and showing how he views himself is very interesting.

Research for self portrait - Andy Warhol

This self portrait of Andy Warhol is one of the many ones that I found while looking. I think that this one is one of my favorites because I feel like I understand more of what Andy Warhol was about. The idea of pop art, and how he invented it almost single-handedly. This self portrait, in a way, kind of sums up his work, and I think tells about himself. In this self portrait, he uses so many colors that go pretty well together. I think that some times people try to use a lot of color and it looks funny because it's all jammed into one place, but all of these colors flow together nicely. I also really like how it isn't just one print with one picture. I think that it really brings home the feel of pop art and what it's about with the use of multiple images.

I really like this piece for many reasons, one being that I have always really liked Andy Warhol's work. It isn't boring, he has a sense of humor, and he uses a lot of color. I feel like I try to make my work with that as well... I don't want it to be boring, and I like to make things funny because I think their funny. I also really like the color, and the use of so many. I think I relate to that because I never can make up my mind some times between a couple colors, and because of that I some times tend to use them all instead of picking just one. Granted, I'm not really sure that's why there are so many colors in this work, but who knows it could be.


I think that this self portrait does have a lot to do with identity because I think it sums up his work and himself pretty well. Pop art was about taking popular images and making them into art and repeating them. Andy Warhol became famous, and he did to himself what he did with others and other objects. I think that has something to say about how he thought of the world around him.

http://media2.moma.org/collection_images/resized/615/w500h420/CRI_61615.jpg

blog #1 - The First Day of Class

I am studying to be an artist because I have always really loved art. My Grandma used to have a craft shop that I always would be at with her while she painted, and I have always grown up with a lot of support to be creative. From childhood, I've always gotten in trouble for drawing on my notes in class, making little sculptures out of my crayons and markers, and what not. I really enjoying drawing and making funny little creatures and monsters and things. From a Digital Arts perspective, I really want to learn how to draw on computers, animate my ideas, and really learn how to use the computer as a working tool. I'm really excited for this class because I don't have that much computer knowledge at all, and I'm really excited to learn about it!