What Else Is New?

Besides the pieces I took the the AYAA competition, I have been working on a few other projects at school. These are random paintings, but still things I have completed lately.

A doe I painted for this year's church art festival, "All Things New".

A cupcake for my school's fine arts auction

A random monkey I did during our animal segment

AYAA 2012

Every year, my school travels to the AYAA competition (Arkansas Young Artists Association) to compete against other schools/students in our state. Each student is allowed to take 5 pieces of work to be judged during the day while we attend art seminars. Last year, I was in the "Baby Division" as I like to call it, where winning was a huge accomplishment but easier to do. That to say, I went into this year without expecting to place because I was up against serious talent. I was pleasantly surprised to walk away with two awards having been up against around 1,100 other kids. Below are the works I took followed by an "on site" piece I created, which is explained at the end.

2nd place in the pencil/graphite division

A fun palette knife painting

Pen and ink "scribble drawing"

Pop art fly

On site pen and ink drawing, 2nd place

For the on site competition, we were given a prompt and about an hour to complete our vision on the spot. The prompt was to "depict a portion of your favorite song and include the lyrics in the drawing." I chose this song because I liked how objective the objects were and I thought they would be relatively easy to portray. Also, I set the vantage point from above to create more interest. I was pretty pleased with myself because the thought of drawing on command makes me want to throw up! In the end, I was most proud of this award because I really was overcoming a huge fear of mine.

The Art of Progression

So back in 2007 I picked up a pencil and sat down to draw a portrait of Santa around Christmastime. Back then (sadly enough) I was very proud of my end result. Today, at 16 I am a little more critical of myself which, paired with my lessons and practice, has helped me transform from where I was back then. I am thankful I have my early work to remind myself of where I started and how much further I can go.

 

Age 11-12 
No shading or shadows and it looks like he's picking his nose!



Age 13
Moving in the right direction.

Age 16
Improvement over the last two? Still LOTS of room for improvement!



Now, I still have a long way to go and I look forward to the progression in years to come.

Merry Christmas!

Postcard/Watercolor Experiment

My art teacher is always pushing me to do new things that I am usually hesitant to try.This is no exception. I have always deliberately avoided watercolor because it requires more patience than I can usually handle. However, I agreed to do the postcards and was pleasantly surprised with the results. I just might have to do these again.

Lately

I have several random pieces to share from school, my studio, and my house. 

For fun. That's a rarity.

I won't win any awards for photography. This is supposed to depict an ornament with the reflection of a room with a tree in it.

I was commissioned to do another pair of Toms along with a pop art bird painting that I neglected to get a good picture of.

I'm Really Not a Big Sports Fan . . .

I always laugh when I get a sports commission because I am the least knowledgeable person on anything sports related. But, I do my research and try to put together the best collages based on the information I can find. Recently, I was asked to do these four paintings for a sports fanatic's media room.

Packers

Hawkeyes

Yankees

Razorbacks

The Collection

I spent many long hours with this group of paintings and was very sad to see them go. Oh, and word to the wise: never agree to do pinstripes on a painting.

Inside the "Studio London" Studio

I haven't posted in a while, but I have many updates to share! I now have the new addition of my own private art studio complete with a hand-made easel and lots of supplies. The insulated shed was a birthday gift for me that I have put to good use. I often bunk in the "Tiny House" as I call it on a blow up air mattress I set up. Even in the freezing weather my air conditioner/heater wall unit keeps me comfortable.

The Tiny House

My 90 year old neighbor just built me the amazing easel. Once I give it a coat of paint I hope to be painting more frequently.

The windows are screened so I am able to get a breeze when the weather is right.

Entrance Table

Artsy Shelves

"Studio London" finally has a real studio.

While this wasn't a showing of art, it gives an insight to the creative atmosphere I have to work in . I am very thankful to have such a beautiful place to work.