Art 3 Final Reflection Essay

In the past year, I have learned about the different techniques in which artists can create meaningful intention in their work. Artists can create intentional work by means of composition, by choosing specific objects based on their color, shape, and other factors, and purposefully arranging them to emphasize certain themes. I have learned to use these skills to, not only bring greater meaning to art, but also to guide viewers along my work. Choosing specific compositions can draw the viewer's attention to certain objects and guide them towards a specific path.

I have seen the greatest growth in my use of depth. After the artist copy project and oil painting project, I feel more comfortable with techniques to create shadows and highlights. For example, before this school year, I struggled with hatching and my go-to shading technique was just to scribble. The artist copy project helped me practice hatching and I began to enjoy it more than scribbling, especially because it was much more effective. Additionally, the oil painting still life taught me to paint shadows and figures as I saw them, helping me create more realistic forms. Further, it taught me how to paint gradual transitions in color by mixing intermediate colors and using thin layers. Looking back at my art-skills inventory, it is clear my make-shift scribbling technique wasn't very effective, specifically in that my gradients looked very abrupt. In my more recent art, gradients are much smoother and appear more natural.

An area that I feel I still need to improve on is managing my time better when it comes to deadlines for home projects. I struggle to start projects and continue working on them consistently, often finding myself rushing them at the last minute. I find that this results in my projects not being my best work and stress. I plan on working on this in Art 4 by dedicating time every weekend to working on projects or my sketchbook, since it can be tough to find time during the school week.

I can use what I learned in Art 3 moving forward with my independent work by planning out my artworks before starting them. Skills I learned in Art 3, such as composition, color theory, and form, can be implemented and harnessed effectively in my art by planning pieces out ahead of time. I can plan out the different aspects of my pieces while keeping in mind the aspects of a work that make it more thought provoking and appealing. Also, planning a piece ensures I have a roadmap of what I want my piece to look like so I don't waste time staring at a blank canvas.