Throughout those two years, I was able to experiment to my hearts content with art medias, concepts, and dimensions. I was able to venture from 2-D to 3-D and learn about many art movements, artists, and even

techniques. Through the practice of creating all of those artworks, in addition to the trial experimentation works, I was able to develop my skills

in many areas. It all started off with oil paints on canvas as I already had some minor

experience working with them previously. I did several pieces and experimented with many techniques including the use of palette knives and fan brushes. I then went into trying out wood burning as I was truly

fascinated with the outcomes I had seen by other artists online. After that, I wanted to be the first student at our school to experiment with mosaics, and I ended up with a wonderful, and now well known due to the several

art exhibitions it had been displayed at, geometrical design. Next came trying out charcoals followed closely with watercolor ; I had, in fact,

decided to merge them due to their contrasting textures in one of my studio works. Following that, I decided to go back to oil paint, although I

painted on a wooden block this time in order to broaden my knowledge on that. Digital art came next as I wanted to have some experience in that

area due to my career aspirations of becoming an architectural engineer. As for the 3-D aspect of things, I decided to end my two years of heavy

experimentation and skill building with a wire sculpture, made from scratch, and an installation, made with various things ranging from clay to a

Chinese lantern.

Art SL portfolio

A part of my studio work

A part of my studio work

My unfinished studio work

A part of my studio work

My work which will not be submitted for

marking

My work which will not be submitted for marking

My unfinished studio work

My work which will not be submitted for marking

My work which will not be submitted for

marking

My work which will not be submitted for marking

Communication of ideas and intentionsI wanted this still life to be unique and different than the classical oil still lifes. In order to do that, I assembled

some of the things in my household, which told my story in a way, and positioned them in a position that reflected my hectic, messy personality, then I shot a picture of them in the angle that I desired. By painting this picture I was able to capture all of that’s me, in a painting. This allowed me to express myself on a whole new

level. Refining and Reflecting

Seeing this painting post being completed, I see that it is not perfect artistically. In fact, I should have used less titanium white and paynes gray on the jacket so that its real colour (Ivory Black) would have been dominant;

instead, it appeared a bit dull-colored. Another thing I would change would be to add more detail on the sword so that its cultural meaning would be clear. I could've also emphasized its metallic texture by using different techniques such as painting the darkest areas of the object in diluted Ivory black and then diluted titanium

white along the brush strokes to blend. Also adding some pure titanium white strokes in order to highlight the reflections. Some other minor details could have been emphasized in the painting as well.

Skills, Techniques, and mediaIn my practice piece, I used a range of techniques and skills in order to achieve the quality of work I

aimed for. In my painting I used the technique of using cool colours such as blues and grays with some warm colours such as yellow ochre, yellow med, and flesh tint in order to give the painting a sense of

counterpoint. I also used the method of pointillism, while painting the floor in order to achieve a continuous texture and make it look more real and interesting.

I also created the soft texture of the scarf that’s draped on the chair using blurredand irregular brush strokes in addition to creating the transparency effect of parts of it by adding

contrast around the edges of already painted background.Moreover, I used the media oils since I wanted my artwork to appear bold and to standout, which I

was able to do due to the intensity and pigmentation of this media.

Why I chose certain objectsI wanted to show that I was a knowledgeable person who’s keen on reading by painting those

three books.I chose to paint the books that were my all-time favorites, since in each book, I saw myself in the main

character and this empowered me in a way and made the painting even more special

This is my studio work; it will not besubmitted for marking

Reference picture taken by me.

For this painting, I was inspired by the art movement of Impressionism; I didn’t paint the picture exactly as it was. In fact, I tried to play a little with colour and techniques. For example, I changed the

colour of the tree trunks and leaves using Titanium White, Violet, and hues of Pink. These colours were used to help me express my confidence and bold personality and to add to the “magic” and

beauty of the leaves. I also used Yellows and oranges to emphasize the light captured in the painting, which is what many impressionists did. In addition to oils, I used Gold and Silver poster paint on the boat and several parts of the painting such as the sparkles on the body of water

and trees in order to further make it stand out and catch eyes; classifying it as a

multimedia painting.All of this indicates my use of the impressionism movement.

‘Instead of trying to reproduce exactly what I see before my eyes, I use color more arbitrarily to express myself forcibly.’ quote by Van Gogh, who was a post-impressionist..

Critical Investigation.

Impressionism, which is a 19th century art movement, started with a group of

artists from Paris. Impressionist paintings often look like snapshots that are part of

a bigger reality. Impressionism can be considered as a reaction by artists to the

challenge presented by photography; the artists wanted to alter the reality

presented by photographs in order to show their perception of what they were

painting, instead of mere replication. Its also about capturing the light essence in a

way that makes the painting stand out.

http://www.theartstory.org/movement-impressionism.htm

http://www.artmovements.co.uk/impressionism.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cassatt_Mary_At_the_Theater_1879.jpg

Example of impressionism

Experimenting with Impressionism using oil

Note that this is my studio work and it will not be submitted for marking

Why impressionism?

I was attracted to the impressionism movement for a while now since I loved the idea of self expression by the alteration of colour and the challenge

presented by painting real life objects as we feel them and not as we see them. I instantly felt compelled to try creating an art work of my own inspired by

this movement.

Reviewing, Refining, and Reflecting.

I could've created more contrast between the background and the grass by painting the grass in a bolder, darker colour. For example, Hues of dark blues.

This would've given the painting a more Raw, abstract feel making it more interesting to the eye.

I also could’ve used the wet-on-wet painting technique, which is applying layers of wet paint upon layers of wet paint. This would be accomplished using

linseed oil; It would give the water a more realistic, glossy feeling which would improve how it looked.

http://www.theartstory.org/movement-impressionism.htmhttp://www.artmovements.co.uk/impressionism.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cassatt_Mary_At_the_Theater_1879.jpg

Critical Investigation on Leonid AfremovLeonid Afremov, who is a Russian-Israeli artist, creates mainly impressionistic art pieces using oils and palette knives. He is

known as a self-representing artist who sells his work exclusively via the internet and usually avoids exhibitions and

involvement of dealers and galleries. Before he became successful, Afremov was a struggling artist. That was until he

became successful through selling his paintings through E-bay.

Leonid usually keeps his art politically neutral, where it doesn’t offend anyone or send hidden messages; they are

usually inspired by certain personal memories or emotions instead. His artistic aim is to draw the viewer to have a

certain feeling rather than tell a story through his work, or allow the viewer to see the world how he sees it. He also

doesn’t use the true colours of what he intends to paint and instead uses bright colours in order to send positive vibes

through his paintings.https://afremov.com/Leonid-Afremov-bio.html

Intentions of what I painted…For the first studio work, I decided to paint a moment very dear

to me, which was my first time dancing our traditional, Circassian cultural dance since I could reminisce about my

people’s glory and culture before the war of 1800 that drove us out of our country and into the Arab world. I wanted to be able

to capture the exact feelings I felt then in my artwork and therefore chose to paint it using Leonid Afremov’s style of

painting, which consists of the use of palette knives and oil, capturing the movement beautifully. Instead of using bright

colours only for my painting like Afremov does, I decided to use the realistic colours of the picture and apply Afremov’s

technique alone. I believe this would help achieve the purpose of capturing the moment’s feelings better since his artwork’s aim is

to draw the viewer to have a certain feeling ,rather than tell a story through his work, or allow the viewer to see the world how

he sees it.

Step 1:Step 2: Step 3: Step 4: Step 5:

As the first step after doing a basic sketch of the girl and boy, to secure their positions, I painted their surrounding background black in order to apply layering on it later. While

applying the black as a background, I used linseed oil to smoothen the paint and make its application easier and overused it. I later learned that the use of too much linseed oil

would create cracks to form in the future so in order to preserve this precious painting I researched ways of preventing the formation of cracks in my painting and applied it throughout painting the rest of my painting. I I also started mixing the appropriate

colours for each dress garment and these were Ivory black, paynes grey, and titanium white for most of the suit, and paynes grey in addition to titanium white for the most

part of the dress. I also mixed in various other colours into both mixtures in order to be able to paint the shadows of both dress and suit. I solely used palette knives on both

garments in the same technique used by my inspiration Leonid Afremov.

Secondly, I continued adding all basic colour onto the dress and suit in order to add textured layers of paint showing creases and shades later. I also added basic shading and started to get the garments ready for detail addition. I also started adding colour to the skin of the arm of the female

and hand of the male. Throughout this step I also continued the use of palette knives and technique of Afremov with the use of realistic colours of

the reference picture.

Thirdly, I added the second and final layer of pthalo blue, ultramarine blue, violet, and titanium white paints onto the ivory black background creating a texture that once dry, would create a sort of cocoon to the two figures creating emphasis on them which would interest and turn

heads of audiences. Before adding the background to my canvas I practiced the effect and colours beforehand on a separate paper as seen on the picture in the bottom left of this page. I also added the base layer

of colour on the ground, which I had planned to later transform into a dance floor by adding the contrasting colours of white and grey to the

base layer of colours I had already painted. I used the eye catching colours of the rainbow which some are bright yellow, permanent green light, orange, violet, ultramarine blue, and pthalo blue. The technique I used to apply these colours is applying each streak of colour separately using a palette knife while taking care not to allow the colours to blend

together since some would create unpleasant colours when mixed.

Fourthly, I worked on the portrait parts of this painting by adding the base layer of paint with the skin colour consisting of flesh tint, yellow ochre, and titanium white on the

faces. Once the base layer dried, I started focusing on the facial features of the girl and boy where I started adding the eyes and mouth and completing the detail and shadows

on the nose and face in general to make it that the faces can be recognized from a distance clearly. In order to achieve the miniature details I spoke of, I had to use a 10/0

brush which I had to purchase specifically for this task. Before officially painting the faces onto the canvas, I practiced drawing them in oil on a separate piece of paper to

achieve the best, most quality result as shown on the bottom right of this page.

Finally, the last thing that remained was to complete painting the ground in order for it to be clearly distinguished from the background as a dance floor. In order to do that, I used palette knives to draw tiles on top of the base layer of

rainbow colours I previously painted by using titanium white and grey. I applied those two colours in a way of unclear and abstract streaks that don’t completely cover the colours beneath. This created the effect of light beneath glass which

showed the ground as a beautiful dance floor. This is not my finished studio work, I went back and fixed some facial features of the boy’s face.

Practice of background colour and technique

Critical investigation on crack prevention on an oil painting

It is known and has been seen before that some oil paintings meet the fate of getting cracked

over time because of certain things done during the painting process. In order to prevent this

cracking, some things such as the fat over lean method could be applied. This method might

mean to paint thin layers then fat which would work fine, or it could mean to have each layer

have more fatty oils than the one before allowing each layer to dry on it’s own accord and time. This would allow the top layer to be more flexible and prevent cracking. Another way to

preserve a painting would be preventing its exposure to sunlight or ultraviolet lights since this kind of exposure might result in change in

brilliance, hue, and balance of colours. http://www.peterdiianni.com/writings/preservin

g-artwork.htmlhttp://www.sanders-

studios.com/instruction/tutorials/writings/sanders/fatoverlean/avoidcracks.html

Exampleof Afrimov’s work

http://leonidafremov.deviantart.com/art/Kiss-Under-Umbrella-by-Leonid-Afremov-595994067

This studio work is not my final one.

My practice on the faces

https://afremov.com/Leonid-Afremov-bio.htmlhttp://www.peterdiianni.com/writings/preserving-artwork.htmlhttp://www.sanders-studios.com/instruction/tutorials/writings/sanders/fatoverlean/avoidcracks.htmlhttp://leonidafremov.deviantart.com/art/Kiss-Under-Umbrella-by-Leonid-Afremov-595994067

Critical Investigation on oil painting textures.

In order to create a good oil painting, composition should be taken into

consideration next to the topic of the painting, but what really makes a painting good and makes it standout next to colour schemes, is use of texture. Some textures

that can be used in oil to enhance a painting are Impasto, which is a technique

where large quantities of paint are applied with a paint brush or a palette knife, and this gives a 3-D aspect to the

surface of the canvas, and this makes the painting stand out and creates diversity. Another texture technique is scumbling, and that is when a thick layer of paint is

applied and then removed with an absorbent textured object like a sponge or dry brush. Basically, it’s the process where paint is blurred or blended on the surface

with a rag, and the more textured the object used is, the more interesting the effect created would be. The Ala Prima

technique on the other hand, is completing a painting in one sitting,

where the outcome would be application of colour that is quick and full of expression, and layers that are

manipulated to create texture. The downside of this technique is possibility of

cracking and dull areas due to no application of “Fat over Lean”, and therefore, use of mediums is not

encouraged.http://garybolyer.com/thank-you-for-

subscribing/

Critical Investigation on Wilson Lau.Wilson Lau is a Chinese artist who is known for his textured oil paintings. He started

drawing and painting fairly young and that shows in his current techniques.He usually works with palette knives and the impasto technique and that helps him

with the attractiveness of his painting and in showing the material and strokes of the objects he paints. In the example picture I added on

this page, the impasto technique was used in each individual flower, where it’s to show different colours in each petal and with

the addition of palette knife use emphasizes the softness of the Petals which adds more to the artwork. The technique was also used

In the background, although I would advise against it and would advise To keep the background smooth in order to achieve balance in the work.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/202597393/floral-canvas-modern-flower-oil-painting?ref=pr_shop

An example of his work

Reviewing, refining, and reflecting on my paintingIn my painting shown above, I used the impasto technique in painting the snow, where I

used copious amounts of titanium white paint with hints of blue , Payne's gray, Ivory black, and green hues. I used a palette knife to add texture to it in addition to the

smooth and flat background causing balance and making my painting more interesting.

This is a part of my artwork; it will not be submitted for markingAlthough it was exhibited multiple times

Reviewing, refining, and reflecting on my paintingIn this painting, I decided to texture the house in

order to deepen the perspective and add interest to the painting. I also wanted to create a sense of balance as the surrounding background of the

house in this part of the painting is all smooth, and this balance would make the painting more

appealing to the human eye.

http://garybolyer.com/thank-you-for-subscribing/https://www.etsy.com/listing/202597393/floral-canvas-modern-flower-oil-painting?ref=pr_shop

Critical investigation on the basic colour theoryThe colour theory is made up of several definitions, concepts, and design applications. However, there are three basic categories of

colour theory that are useful; the colour wheel, colour harmony, and the context of how colours are used. The colour wheel is a colour

circle based on red, yellow, and blue (the primary colours). It was first created by Sir Isaac Newton in 1666 and since then both scientists and artists have studied different variations of this concept. In a colour wheel, there are primary, secondary and tertiary colours;

Primary Colors: Red, yellow and blueSecondary Colors: Green, orange and purple

These are the colors formed by mixing the primary colors.Tertiary Colors: Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple,

blue-green & yellow-greenThese are the colors formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color. That's why the hue is a two word name, such as blue-green,

red-violet, and yellow-orange.http://www.colormatters.com/color-and-design/basic-color-theory

The use of colours can make or break an artwork since depending on the colour choices, a message is conveyed; The message portrayed by different colours is crucial for an artwork. If a painting for example is

supposed to be a happy painting, the use of certain colours is important. Every colour also has a positive or negative feeling. These

are include on the right.

Critical investigation on colour psychology; each colour has positive and negative emotions linked with them thus offering the chance to utilize this effect.

GREEN. BalancePositive: Harmony, balance, refreshment, universal love, rest,

restoration, reassurance, environmental awareness, equilibrium, peace.

Negative: Boredom, stagnation, blandness, enervation.Green does not require the human eye to adjust in any way

and therefore can be considered restful. It is also in the center of the spectrum making it a colour of balance. Green also

creates reassurance because of what is green in our world.

ORANGE.Positive: Physical comfort, food, warmth, security, sensuality,

passion, abundance, fun.Negative: Deprivation, frustration, frivolity, immaturity.

Orange is the combination of red and yellow, and is considered a secondary colour. It also includes all

characteristics of both colours creating a mesh of physical and emotional.

PINK.Positive: Physical tranquility, nurture, warmth, femininity, love,

sexuality, survival of the species.Negative: Inhibition, emotional claustrophobia, emasculation,

physical weakness.Pink is derived from red which is also a physical colour,

although pink soothes rather than stimulates. It also represents femininity but on the other hand, too much pink would exhaust

the human eye.

VIOLET. SpiritualPositive: Spiritual awareness, containment, vision, luxury,

authenticity, truth, quality.Negative: Introversion, decadence, suppression, inferiority.

Violet has the shortest wavelength and has spiritual values. It encourages deep understanding or meditation and has links

with royalty and luxury. It’s also related to the ultra-violet ray wavelength which makes an association with time and space.

BLUE. Intellectual.Positive: Intelligence, communication, trust, efficiency, serenity,

duty, logic, coolness, reflection, calm.Negative: Coldness, aloofness, lack of emotion, unfriendliness.

Blue is the colour of meditation and calm and therefore is soothing, affecting people mentally. Dark and dominant blues

would stimulate clear thought, while lighter blues will calm peoples’ mind's and help with concentration. On the other hand, with certain uses and techniques, blue has the capability of being

seen as cold, and unfriendly.

RED. PhysicalPositive: Physical courage, strength, warmth, energy, basic survival, 'fight or flight', stimulation, masculinity,

excitement.Negative: Defiance, aggression, visual impact, strain.Red has the longest wavelength allowing it to attract eyes and signify importance. It also appears nearer

than it is hence, the use of it on traffic lights all over the world.

YELLOW. EmotionalPositive: Optimism, confidence, self-esteem, extraversion,

emotional strength, friendliness, creativity.Negative: Irrationality, fear, emotional fragility,

depression, anxiety, suicide.Yellow has a fairly long wavelength and is quite an

emotional colour and is the strongest colour psychologically. With the right hue of yellow, a painting

can lift people’s spirits and self-esteem.

While perceptions of color are somewhat subjective, there are some color effects that have universal meaning. Colors in the red area of the color spectrum are known as warm colors and include red, orange and yellow.

These warm colors evoke emotions ranging from feelings of warmth and comfort to feelings of anger and hostility.Colors on the blue side of the spectrum are known as cool colors and include blue, purple and green. These colors are often described as calm, but can also call to mind feelings of sadness

or indifference.http://www.colour-affects.co.uk/psychological-properties-of-colours

Reviewing, refining, and reflecting on my paintingThrough this artwork, I focused on my colour use. I wanted to create

the feelings of calm, comfort, and warmth for the audience. In order to do that, I used the colour scheme of blues, violets, oranges, and pinks,

in addition to the purity and whiteness of the mountains. Using the critical investigation of the psychology of colours on this page, I was

able to achieve those feelings; through the blues in the sky, I was able to create the emotion of calmness, and clarity and through the violets,

the feeling of introversion and loneliness (in order to emphasize the loneliness of the hut). I also created feelings of optimism and

confidence through the use of hues of yellow and comfort and warmth through the oranges. This artwork is proof of the effects of colours on

an audience and their importance in sending a certain message through artworks.

This artwork is mine, and it will not be submitted for marking

http://www.colormatters.com/color-and-design/basic-color-theoryhttp://www.colour-affects.co.uk/psychological-properties-of-colours

As for this part, I had to do a lot of miniature art which helped me develop that skill as I haven't really done much miniature art before. I had to purchase a 0/10 brush for this and other parts of the painting. I tried to show as much detail as I could since by doing

this I would capture the attention of viewers and perhaps impress them with the amount of detail I had done. I specifically focused on this part since it was the focal

point of the painting and it was the center of this perspective. I used a variety of colours in every little part and although I was tempted, I refrained from using linseed

oil to capture tiny details because of my previous research on this and coming up with the information that linseed oil could cause crack in a painting.

This part is where I completed the tiles of the dock, which I also painted the squares and applied the dots separately where I later painted the moos and plants coming out

of the tiles, and although it took me a long time, I think it added a positive effect on the overall unity of the painting since it completed the look of the docks of my favorite

lake. As for the boat, I used different hues of blue such as ultramarine blue and primary blue in addition to white in order to achieve a 3-D look of a 2-D form and make

the texture look metallic. This was another part where I developed my miniature art skills and I was very happy about that.

Here, I wanted to paint the small shack roof as realistically as possible and I

decided to use geometric shapes since it would show my skill and give more value to the art piece. I made outlines of every

single diamond shape on the roof and then painted each one separately paying attention to shades in order to capture

the full 3-D effect.

In this part of the painting, I added the water of the lake and the reflection of the trees in

the water by the use of a brush and made sure to keep the texture of the water as smooth as possible in order to create balance by painting the trees lining the lake with a rough texture. This would make it more pleasing to the eye and it would help make the trees look more

realistic.

My intention of this artworkFor this artwork, I decided to paint a panoramic scene I captured when I last travelled to my home country since this place

especially, seated on a dangling cable chair high up on the ground near my favorite lake, is a place I hold close to my heart. Idecide to use oil paints and made a large canvas custom for it because oil paints would allow me to capture most of the details

better than other medias and because of the bold quality of oil paints and as for the large canvas, I chose this particular horizontal type of canvas in order to capture as much of the panoramic quality of the picture and I chose the large size since it

would capture the attention of viewers easily. I decided against painting any of the people that were originally in the photograph since I wanted to feel like I was alone with my favorite place whenever I viewed the painting later on.

This part of the painting especially irked me a lot throughout the process. In fact, I've done the pathway and redone it countless times since I found that my attempts at capturing the details

accurately ended up making the painting look immature. I settled eventually on capturing the resemblance by the use of texture

instead of focusing on all small details. If I had more time to work on my painting, I would try to fix it even more until I'm capable of

painting it as realistically as possible. As for the roof of the building present, which is actually a restaurant, I decide to add as much

texture as possible to make the painting hold an intriguing effect on viewers as it would stand out more especially since the parts

around it are smooth textured and capture the 3-D effect through colour and shades.

Critical investigation on panorama perspectives.Panoramic perspectives are similar to when an image is mapped out on a curved surface, where an example is projecting the map of a curved Earth on a flat paper. When creating a

panoramic effect, the image gets distorted, naturally, although each projection type tries to lessen the distortion on the account of others. I believe that it’s because of this unnatural perspective caused by the panorama effect that I found a difficulty sketching the painting at the beginning, and that it’s because of this that the painting looks unique and interesting.

{21}

Ideas and intentions‘Arabesque’ is a mosaic that was done from scratch with

reference to an image. Some details were altered in order to make the art piece more prominent and attractive such

as the black “frame” around the edges as black is a very bold color. It was an amazing and eye-opening process as

actually creating the mosaic was far more difficult and time-consuming than is expected preliminarily, although

the end results were completely worth it.I wanted to show my connection to the Islamic culture

through its Islamic design. The thick black frame symbolizes how strong my faith is.

My unfinished artwork

Zoom in of my artwork

Zoom in of my artwork

Techniques and processesTo create this artwork, I had to choose an outline of the tile formation and color, and once I did, it

was printed out in a big scale and was stuck to a moderately thick piece of wood. The outlines helped me in making as little mistakes as possible. Moreover, it made it easier for me to cut each individual tile in suitable shapes and sizes. I used a tile cutter to do that, and some white Elmer's glue to glue the pieces in place while making sure it was not visible. In the end, when everything

was put in place, I used grout to fill in the spaces between the tile; this helped in keeping the tiles in place and in giving the artwork a finished and more professional look.

Reviewing and refiningIn creating this artwork, I made countless mistakes where I placed wrong colored tiles in

place of the others, and if I’d noticed it too late I had to alter my design to accommodate the change that happened since removing the tiles by force ruined the wood it’s put on. This

made creating the mosaic a very creative and challenging process. I also had to cut the tiles individually which was a long process. Overall, I think that the mosaic looked better before grouting it since some tiles were uneven and the grout, therefore, covered some tiles and lessened their shine. I would ensure that all tiles are even the next time I create a mosaic.

Future impactsFuture wise, I definitely gained a lot of

experience in wood burning techniques and in handling the wood burning tool in general. I

believe that wood burning is a marvelous albeit unusual way of creating bold images. It

was not only a way to finally represent my angst and feelings mentioned in my intentions,

but also a way to improve my patience and self-discipline; I am usually an impatient person, which is why it was a challenge

spending enough time on this artwork to get the best results. I had to discipline myself in

keeping the tool on the wood for an adequate amount of time as to get the desired shade of

brown.Finally, I gained knowledge and experience regarding sketching clenched fists including the proportions and shading of the fingers.

The rope texture will also be useful to me in the future if I ever decide to create an artwork

including a texture similar to that.

Ideas and intention behind this artworkRegarding this artwork, my intention was to

express my thoughts regarding feeling helpless. I get this feeling many times when I think of how

my ancestors were forced out of our country years ago. It was truly a genocide which had left

us weak and scattered around the globe. For this piece, I decided on the media of wood

burning as it links directly to the emphasis of the artwork; To me, fire is powerful and utilizing this power for good motives is vital. In my piece, the fire is there in the wings of the pigeon, and this

signifies that peace is powerful unlike how some individuals perceive it as. The inspiration of this

piece is the story of the Circassian genocide where my ancestors were brutally evacuated

from Russia in 1864. As for the hands, they signify my breaking free of

the paralyzing helpless feeling by being able to recently see the advantages of the events that happened with us. For example, our tight-knit community and our traditions, language and

dances that we still partake in.

A zoomed in part of my artwork

Reviewing and refining this artworkIn hindsight, I believe that my techniques

and skills regarding using the wood burning tool could be even further developed with

more practice. For instance, trying out different tips that would enhance the

texture of the feathers on the wings of the bird. I also think that creating this image on

a bigger sized wood piece would be a better representation since it would’ve allowed me to better incorporate the

details present in the hands and dove, in addition to that it would’ve gained more

attention from viewers. Moreover, making some parts even darker by burning the

wood longer would’ve created a deeper contrast which I think would enhance this

artwork.

A zoomed in part of my artwork

Critical Investigation on photorealismPhotorealism, which is also known as

hyperrealism, is studies and replication of images with precision and accuracy and as realistically

as possible paying attention to every detail through artwork. Photorealism is an art

movement that evolved in the late 1960s and early 1970’s in the United States of

America. Photorealism is also considered as real and unreal since it’s the process of

capturing real life events/moments from pictures which are quite real, but since they are captured not through observing real life

3-D objects and instead replicating 2-D images, they might be considered

unmoving and unreal and some considered this cheating in the early stages of the

movement.

http://www.theartstory.org/movement-photorealism.htm

Intentions of this artworkThrough this charcoal, I wanted to fake a scene where I put make-up on my sister’s face and adjusted a place where she would pose, with a

completely dark room, and one lamp directed at her left face side. I then prompted her to show facial expressions consisting of anger, frustration, and sadness, since these special feelings give distinct features on a person’s face and they inspire such strong emotions from viewers. I then took a

shot from a bird’s eye view angle, applying the rule of thirds, and the rule of odds (since there was only one person in the shot), in addition to creating stark contrast of black and white. I believe that through the use of those rules of composition, I was able to emphasize attention on the face even though it was not centralized, and I was able to achieve a strong feeling of realism in the charcoal piece. Using the bird eye view angle, I

was able to make my artwork more interesting and challenging to create since

These are the reference photos. I used the darker one as my backgrounds reference. They were both taken by me.

Photorealism in charcoal

First, after taking the shots of the fabricated situation, explained in the bottom left of this page, I created a basic sketch of the reference photo by hand using an HB pencil, without the use of transfer paper and whatnot in spite of the fact that artists who work with photorealism mostly rely on mechanical means in sketching their artwork, because I felt more comfortable and experienced that way. I then added small details that would be easy to dismiss while in the process of charcoal. I also put the shades in place faintly as guides for charcoal later.

Next, I started with the application of charcoals where I used pressed blocks of white and black, in addition to a black charcoal medium sized pencil. I started with the application of the darkest shades first such as the right size of the face and the hair since it would be easier to apply other slightly lighter shades of black in place later. I focused on the accuracy of the shades since any error might alter the facial expression and change it entirely which would ruin my whole intention for this piece. After applying all darker shades, I started to spread the charcoal evenly to create an even skin tone layer. I then used my white pressed charcoal to add emphasis on highlights of the face to show light better.

Proof of my process of work And example of materials used

My unfinished artwork

Here, I added more detail to the background, which is the fairy light line and the shadows it cast. This added more definition to the artwork, and enhanced the emotions that were intended through this artwork.

http://www.theartstory.org/movement-photorealism.htm

Rules of composition in Art

Critical investigation on rules of compositionIn order to have a successful and eye catching artwork, the rules of composition should be kept in mind. Using the rules of composition, emphasis on the mood, or purpose of the artwork can be made. Basically, a good composition is nothing more than a good arrangement of shapes, colours, and tonesSome rules of compositions consist of the golden ratio, an idea started by the ancient Greeks who believed that all things have a perfect state of being defining them, is an ideal rectangle where the sides are 1:1.62 ratio, and it’s found in nature and geometry mostly. Another rule is the rule of thirds, where the key elements of an artwork would be placed in three boxes of a canvas or whatnot is divided into thirds, vertically and horizontally . This rule creates the feel of space and emphasizes focus on what’s important. There’s also the rule of odds where it states that its more interesting to see an odd rather an even number of items grouped together and that the human eye tends to gravitate towards looking at the center of a grouping. In addition to that, if the rule of simplification, which is decreasing complex content so that the viewer is more likely to focus on the main object in the artwork is used, then it would add meaning and professionalism to an artwork.There are many other ways where one can improve the composition of one’s artwork such as playing with perspective, contrasts, etc… as well

http://www.creativebloq.com/digital-art/tips-composition-31514496http://painting.about.com/od/paintingforbeginners/fl/Composition-Rule-of-Thirds-and-Rule-of-Odds.htm

Reviewing, refining, and reflecting my artwork

In my artwork on the right, I used numerous rules of composition in order to make my artwork stand out and look more professional. For instance, I used the rule of thirds, where the main part of the artwork, which is the face, is placed upon three squares as shown. This helped put focus on the face as the main idea of the artwork. I also sketched the work in a bird’s eye view perspective angle which made the artwork more interesting and challenging for the human eye. In addition to that, I created high contrast in the picture where the dark shades of the face on the right side clashed with the brightness of the left side and the background. This helped me convey the darkness meant from this work and added focus on the bold features of the face and facial expression.

This is my unfinished artwork

This is also an unfinished artwork of mine

Reviewing, refining, and reflecting my artwork .

As to this artwork, I also created a contrast between dark and light using charcoal to

emphasize focus on certain features. I also attempted to create an unfinished

background, which would leave space for the imagination of the audience, in addition to show professionalism in art. I also used circular strokes in the background to show the movement of the two dancers to add even more focus on them as the central

idea of the artwork

http://www.creativebloq.com/digital-art/tips-composition-31514496http://painting.about.com/od/paintingforbeginners/fl/Composition-Rule-of-Thirds-and-Rule-of-Odds.htm

Critical investigation on improving sketching skills.

In pencil sketching, one of the most important techniques to use is using different pencil types since each pencil has a different “job” depending on it’s hardness or softness. As I’m fairly experienced in pencil sketching, I decided to improve myself and use different approaches to some techniques I used formerly and try something new. For example, sampling different shading techniques like cross-hatching, dot-work, or blending with my fingertips.Another approach to improve myself is trying to draw in a different environment such as at the beach or the park, etc…I also brushed up on my skills since now I’m trying to care less about the end result and more on the process since now, it’s becoming important for me to know Why shadows go where they go, and Why sizes are the way they are, etc… http://drawsketch.about.com/od/materials/fl/All-About-Pencil-Sketching-amp-Drawing-Types-of-Pencils-to-Use.htm

Intentions and reflection on this artworkThis studio work is one of the most personal and creative artworks I’d done. I wanted to

create an artwork that would act as a reminder of the wonderful memories I’d spent with my best friends in high school. I wanted it to have a strong concept, which is why I

incorporated some concepts of color psychology when I assigned hair colors to each of us. Green signified peace and selflessness, red signified anger and strength, orange and blue represented my colorful personality as I was energetic (yellow) and fierce (red) while the blue showed my calmness. As for my third friend, I decided that she was all colors due to her complex personality although there was a strong hint of black due to some hardships

she faced in her life which left a mark on her being. I also decided to represent our personalities according to the seasons where I created different season background for

each portrait using watercolors, and I merged them by making a river run through the four pictures.

Reviewing and refiningI think that for my first time using watercolors, the outcome was better than I expected. I learned

many techniques while creating this artwork including using the white background to my advantage by leaving some spaces empty, and using different objects to create certain effects

such as using a fork to create the fine hairs. I also found out that with watercolors, less is more; I tried out an impressionistic approach where I avoided painting small details and instead used my

brush strokes to create the illusion of detail.

These five shots are closeups of my artwork

Critical investigation on Leonardo Da Vinci’s sketches .

Leonardo Da Vinci in his lifetime filled more than 13,000 pages worth of notes and drawings, and from those, some conclusions on his skills can be made. Some of those are that Leonardo Da Vinci used to sketch his ideas multiple times from different perspectives or stages of development. For example, he sketched flowers with leaves and then without, and where some were budding, and others mature. In addition to that, we get that quantity means quality. Another thing I deduced from Da Vinci’s sketches is that he used to keep annotations about the object’s he sketched, and they were used to clarify the object being studied through the sketch. An example is ‘the study of Arms and Shoulders’ which is an anatomy study for him to understand brushstroke use to aid him in The Last Supper, and it was of four different views of the shoulder.I did this with my artwork where I used to spend time sketching my friends’ features from different angles in order to be familiar with their features while creating the actual artworks.https://uxmag.com/articles/5-sketching-secrets-of-leonardo-da-vinci

Practice on watercolor hair (my sketches), Will not be submitted for marking

One of my practice sketches

http://drawsketch.about.com/od/materials/fl/All-About-Pencil-Sketching-amp-Drawing-Types-of-Pencils-to-Use.htmhttps://uxmag.com/articles/5-sketching-secrets-of-leonardo-da-vinci

Critical investigation on liberty leading the people.This marvelous artwork depicts the Paris uprising of July 1830. Delacroix used

romanticism to portray his ideas, and seeing as to how the Romantic movement enabled artists to concentrate on sense and emotions rather than focus on reason and order, this

helped Delacroix to put his feelings and patriotism on canvas. According to the Louvre museum in Paris, “The allegory of Liberty is personified by a young woman of the people wearing the Phrygian cap, her curls escaping onto her neck. ” His use of metaphor here

spoke volumes about his personality and thoughts where the fact that he saw liberty as a personification of a woman shows his respect to the opposite gender for example.

Additionally, according to Delacroix: “I have undertaken a modern subject, a barricade, and although I may not have fought for my country, at least I shall have painted for her. It has restored my good spirits" (letter of October 28 to his brother). I connected with this quote to a very deep level where I believed that I could also gain back my good spirit by

voicing out my thoughts through my painting.http://www.theartstory.org/movement-romanticism.htm

https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/july-28-liberty-leading-people

Ideas and intentions behind this artworkThroughout thee process of creating my exhibition pieces, I came across Liberty Leading the

People by Eugene Delacroix, and was immediately reminded of the story of how my ancestors had to suffer a genocide in the 1860s. I was moved by the idea of the painting and by the

Delacroix’s will of speaking up for his country in the form of a painting. I’d been suffering of feeling helpless in regard to the atrocity and unfairness my ancestors have suffered due to

greed and stronger forces overpowering our small society in seek of more land. The Russian-Circassian war was indeed a tragedy. I, therefore, decided to forever commemorate our losses and bravery alike in a detailed and realistic painting full of melancholic colours, and I have to say that being able to finally voice out my thoughts with the help of visual means truly meant the world for me. It was able to take off some of the weight off of my shoulders and brought

me a bit of solidarity and peace with myself. After getting a taste of how it feels to add to my minority of a culture through contributing to our heritage and culture artistically, I am certain that many more artworks similar to this one

would soon be well under way.

https://www.artble.com/artists/eugene_delacroix/paintings/july_28:_liberty_leading_the_people

Closeups of my work

Ideas and intentions – painting portraits

Skills, techniques, and processesPrior to starting

After deciding on the initial idea, I decided to do a couple of pre-sketches, seen on the right, in order to better clarify my idea. I then decided that I would use oil paints as my media due to their bold characteristics as it would help me transfer my strong feelings better. In addition to that, I decided to paint this piece on wood

instead of a canvas as I wanted to try something new and challenge myself. I did some research about whether it was safe to use oil paint on wood, and I found out that I needed to prime the wood first in order for the oil not to seep into it and weaken it. I, therefore, primed my piece of wood with black acrylic gesso.

Once that was done, I began to spontaneously paint a background with a similar colour scheme to that of the background of Liberty Leading the People, making sure that it portrayed the feelings of anguish and despair.

I also started positioning my figures in an interesting way that would lead the viewers’ eye throughout the art piece, and I had to take care with the proportions of everything as I didn’t have a single reference picture that

would guide me.

My pre-sketches

Close-ups of my artwork

For this part of the painting, I couldn’t find any reference picture that was similar to the image that

was in my head, and I therefore has to ask my friend to model for me so that I could have an idea of the body proportions. I had to paint the dress

itself from imagination, and I found it difficult to properly shade it as it was

a white traditional Circassian wedding dress; with a white dress, the colours of the shade all differ

according to lighting.

For the figures in this painting, I was definitely being a risk-taker by choosing to have this many portraits to

paint, as I hadn’t painted any portraits with oil previously. It took me several tries to be able to mix the correct shades of colours for the different pigments in

the faces. I also had to use a 0/10 brush to be able to get the small details like the eyes and facial hair. It was very

challenging to paint all of the small details in this miniature manner as I hadn’t ever tried it before as well.

I was fascinated when I started noticing the countless shades of colours in the hair strands as well, especially when I had to incorporate the reflection and colours in

the sky into the hair.

As for this specific scene, I had to take care in painting the black horse since I

had to differentiate its different body parts, and it was

difficult to achieve this with shade itself.

I decided to accentuate its body features better by

using a fan brush to create a shine effect

on its mane and body.

Creating the effect of shine and leather on the

several weapons incorporated into this

work was done by using many different hues of the same colours and merging them in a way that creates

the feel of the different materials. Painting the

revolver seen below was especially time consuming

due to the small details etched into the handle.

Critical investigation on the Digital art movementA digital artwork is classified as any artistic work or practice that

uses any type of digital technology as a part of its making. Although it is not a very renowned movement, digital art had still

created a revolution where artists weren’t restricted to acrylic and brush anymore, but were instead able to paint with light,

sound, and pixels. Digital art certainly revolutionized the way art could be created, presented, and viewed; It wasn’t only a way to

create new art and artworks, but it was also a way to put artworks out there to be viewed through screens and transported through

the internet. In fact, I can’t help but relate this to the way our artworks are being viewed by examiners and marked through

computers, and in this way, digital art becomes personal to me and a part of my life.

http://www.theartstory.org/movement-digital-art.htm

Skills and techniques of this artworkIn the making of this piece, I used a Wacom tablet and pen and the painters essentials software. I had to learn several techniques in order to produce an artwork, and so I decided to digitally paint my cousin’s portrait. I had to be familiar with the several brushes I could use such as the fine detail oil brush and the wet oily blender. I also had to learn basic commands such as making the brush size smaller and zooming to the part I would be

working on. I also found the layer tool very helpful due to that it helped me sketch the reference picture on the first layer in order to toggle it on and off while

incorporating the actual colours.Moreover, I had to get myself familiar with the colourmixer tool and all of its uses in order to get the colours

to be as natural and realistic as possible on a screen.

Ideas and intentions , and reviewing and refining it.In the case of this art piece, I wanted to practice digital painting so that I could gain the skills and

knowledge required to produce an actual artwork.I chose to portray my baby cousin as he was a big

source of happiness and joy in our home seeing as to how the rest of our extended family are living in a

different country, and he’s the only family we have here.

I wanted to capture his evergreen soul and playful personality as it would have been a beautiful

experience to paint his delicate features. As for the reviewing and refining aspect, I believe

that I significantly got better at digital painting than when I initially started, although my skills could definitely improve in time the more I become

familiar with using the tablet and pen rather than a pencil and paper. I think that digital painting is an

amazing opportunity that would help me future-wise in my architectural engineering career as I would

have to use similar program in putting my designs on computer.

The start of my trial with digital painting

This is my own work but won’t be submitted for marking

A development picture of my work

Ideas and intentionsFor my 3-D artwork, I wanted to create a human

form initially. My idea then progressed to creating a human forming a dance move, with a

moon in their hand. I wanted to show the elegance of a dancer by creating this sculpture, in addition to representing their dreams in the

form of the moon. I believed that using wire and chicken wire of

different thicknesses would be ideal as they are easy to bend and shape for the most part. In

addition to that, they would have been less time consuming to work with, and it would be

possible for me as a student to use them since I don’t need any heavy or dangerous tools.

Critical investigation about 3-D wire artSculptures are mesmerizing as they are 3-D. The eyes produce depth perception so as you move around a sculpture the mind creates a 3D model and an experience which can not transmitted in drawings or photos. In order to start the foundation of the sculpture, there has to bee a skeleton

that starts with a mounting bracket. The mounting bracket is normally a solid metal rod extending from one of the limbs. Attention to detail at this stage is very important. The sculpture

has to be refined and not rough, since inaccuracies at this stage would cause issues at a later time. Lengths of the twisted wire are cut and bent to match the size of the figure. The length of

the arms and legs are left a few inches too long, so the adjustments to the hand and foot positions can be made to match the build later. Then using some loose wire the main limbs are

strapped together to form the basic shape. Using different kinds of wire is recommended as different parts of the sculpture

http://www.fantasywire.co.uk/creation/

Techniques and process of making the foundation

It was a very hard thing to start off the sculpture as I didn’t know where to start. I decided to start

with the foot since it would be the only part of the sculpture touching the wooden base. I chose

a wooden base with a thickness of about 10 cm to act as the base of the sculpture.

At first, I found it challenging to shape the wire to create the correct body proportions so I acted as the model in order for me to have a reference to work with. I posed according to the shape I had in mind, and I had a friend wrap some wire around my body to act as a foundation for the chicken

wire later to come. It was a very tiring yet interesting process since I had to guide my friend in what envisioned while holding a very complex

pose for a really long time.

Half-way through my sculpture

A different angle of my unfinished sculpture

Creating the first leg, hip, back-side, and torso.In creating the lower body in general, a lot of time was

taken to create a strong skeletal structure because of the importance of that it will be holding the rest of the body up.

Then, I started covering the skeleton with a first layer of chicken-wire, although I made sure that it was meticulously

done, and followed that with a total of approximately 4 other layers. At this point, I was noticing that it became more and more difficult to keep the sculpture upright; I,

therefore, had a friend hold it up for me until I was able to hold it up by some wire attached to the ceiling.

After that, I decided that the sculpture just wasn’t stable enough, so I tried to find a suitable object that I can hide

within the leg to help make it more stable. I finally found a sturdy carton cylinder and put it in there.

For the hips and lower back, I decided that the best way to make them was to attach a round shaped piece of chicken-

wire - which I shaped- on the already existing leg. I then stuffed it with smaller bunched up pieces of scrap chicken-

wire in order to maintain its round shape.

What have I learnt for the future?I certainly learnt so many

techniques and tricks that would definitely be useful for when I

have to create a wire sculpture next. For instance, I will definitely create a much firmer and sturdier base by attaching an object to the

wooden base then working around it with the wire, since I think that would’ve been much

better to make the sculpture stand by itself. Additionally, I think

that I will refrain from working with chicken wire as it was very difficult to shape and work with,

and instead, I would use the normal steel wire of different

thicknesses to create the whole thing.

Creating the upper body and head

Creating the arms, chest area, and back was a

daunting task since chicken wire isn’t a very easy

material to twist into shape. I had to add even more wire

to the structure, which I shaped on my body first with

the help of my friend, in order to make it easier to apply the chicken wire. I

used smaller pieces of wire with less thickness in order to secure the pieces of the

chicken wire. The chest area was done in the same way as the back-side mentioned in

the next box. In order to make the head, I

had to think really hard about a proper technique that would enable me to

create an abstract head for the sculpture. In the end, I

settled for making a structure with the normal

wire going around the head vertically. I then attached

the head to the neck I made.Connecting the neck and

head to the body was extremely challenging,

although I was finally able to do it when I stuffed some

scrunched up pieces of scrap chicken wire in the body, then attached the neck to

those pieces.

My artwork – unfinished – in various angles

Installation piece- intentions and reflection

Techniques and processesThis installation combines both things that I made, and things that I put together. One of the things that were made is the clay figures.

This part was most time consuming since I had to create human figures with certain facial features from both genders. I pulled up a

couple of people portraits online as reference (both side and front shots) in order to make

sure they were as realistic as I could make them by taking account of the body proportions as

well.First, I used a bobby pin as a basic structure

where I wrapped some aluminum foil in circular shape according to the size of the head I

wanted, then proceeded to cover it with air-dry clay. I then started carving and smoothening

the clay until I was satisfied with its shape. I did that to three different heads, although with different facial features. I then did the same process with the body where I used foil to

create a base, then covered it with clay and shaped it. I also created some accessories with

clay such as cigarettes and hair. For the hot air balloon itself, I used a paper

lantern that was lying around at my house, and covered it with a fleece scarf that was unused by us. I also used a recycled t-shirt for some

accents of the balloon. As for the basket, I used some foam to create the basic structure, then

covered it with clay and carved it out in the texture of the actual basket.

When it comes to color, I decided to use spray paints as they were most suitable to cover the

fleece, and they were a quick and time efficient option. I also used a tea light to act as the flame

and light up the inside of the lantern.

Ideas and intentionsFor this installation

piece, I put together items I found at my

house to create a work of art that translates my thoughts about smoking and smokers. The small

clay figures with the blackened lungs

represent smokers, and the hot-air balloon

represents their lives. The more they smoked, the more their lives lost color just like their lungs

did; and this is represented with the balloon that was once

red, but now losing color and becoming

white and plain.

Reviewing and refiningI think that the outcome of this artwork was relatively

good considering the narrow time frame I had of 3 days. It was my first time creating miniature figures using clay, and had to experiment a little bit in doing so. What I would improve is how realistic the hot air balloon itself is by taking more time in adding some

minor details like improving the vertical lines covering it. I would also improve the bodies of my clay figures to

make them more realistic, and I think I could’ve achieved that had I conducted more trials to be more experienced in it. The bodies could’ve been better if

more detail was added to them using clay such as clothing seams and accents.

I was very happy with the outcome of the heads since they came out much better than I’d anticipated due to my lack of previous skill, although I believe that if they were a couple of centimeters bigger, I would’ve been able to make them even more realistic since I didn't have the proper tool to create the detail I’d wanted

with a size as small as my thumb.

My unfinished artwork