Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Shapes of Shadows Portraits with Mixed Media- Student Work

These works by my 2nd level 2-D kids always turn out great and I'm thrilled to show them off.  Our model this year was junior Marison Arcilla who is a beautiful young woman with long flowing hair.  We closed the lights in the room and set Marison up under a spotlight to showcase the shapes of the shadows on her face.  Then the students sat very close and were allowed to only draw the shapes of the shadows they saw, nothing else.  This is very difficult because they are used to drawing with line not with shapes.

The spectacular piece above was done by my mega talented senior, who just recently heard she was accepted to Otis Art Institute in L.A., Michelle Lee.  Incredible work, right??   Besides the india ink, Michelle brought in watercolor, acrylic, and felt tip markers into her piece.
Once the shapes are drawn the kids all fill them in with a brush and india ink.  Then they get wiggy, and are required to bring in additional media.  This is where the fun begins.

And speaking of fun, this next stunning piece was completed by gifted senior Jessica Liu.  Because each of the students sat and drew from a different spot, we have Marison in several points of view.  We are seeing profiles, 3/4 and frontal views of her.  What I love about this piece (so many things) is how she let the birds fly outside her border edges, and how she backed them with aluminum foil, who would have thought?  She has also brought in watercolor and tissue collage.  What a treat this piece is for the senses.

Another brilliant senior artist, Michael Chen, has totally worked outside his usual comfort zone (fighting, military subjects), and done a very lovely & peaceful composition for a change  :) in the work above.  I believe Mr. Z already has dibs on this one to purchase it from Michael at Open House.  Michael has brought in a lot of paper collage.

Below is senior Crislyn Ogawa, another of my very talented art majors.  We've seen many of her works this year, and in each one she manages to convey a sense of isolation and thoughtfulness within her subjects and their locations and backgrounds.  Love the monochromatic color scheme, and the drips and splatters.

Above senior Sarah Zhang, who has improved by leaps and bounds this year, and gaining confidence with each assignment, did this cool piece above.  She brought in both watercolor and paper collage.
And junior Laura Kadi, below, who came back to me after a 4 year absence, is also making great strides in her art work.  Just look at her lovely, sensitive piece below.   

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