Title: Progressively Fading
Size: 12 in x 8 in Medium: Acrylic on Canvases Date of Completion: 9 - 10 - 2021 For this project I wanted to refresh the theme where things are bound to wither. With help, things will still be able to grow, but it likely won't last forever despite our best efforts. That does not mean they are worthless, though. |
Artist Inspiration
My inspiration for this project would come from Salvador Dali, primarily his piece, "The Persistence of Memory". His concept of time was an important feature of my theme of the eventual fading of life. The way he developed his backgrounds and shading would also be an important inspiration. I wanted to include a background with my projects as well as have them connect to a concept of time. I was thinking of using trees to relive this concept by using the process of withering rather than melting clocks.
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Planning Sketches
Since these projects for the most part would be replicas with changes, I wanted to focus on the most common aspects of the picture. For one thing, I wanted to design an accurate, thin tree that would serve as the primary point of the picture. The second crucial detail would be the development of the background. Each painting would have a varying background to go with it.
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The tree would likely contain standard aspects of a regular tree, while the background could either be similar or abstract to represent the deteriorating structure of the tree as time passes. First, I would practice the design of the tree itself, as well as practice marking where new shades of paint would be placed, in hopes of expanding upon my blending. A similar process would be used for the background, splitting things apart and possibly sketching extra details depending on the weather present.
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Process and Experimentation
For the first picture, I would start with a typically healthy tree, one that would be small and possibly grow as other variations are made. I started the process by forming a thin sketch along the entire canvas. I had to be sure that I was being clear with where I placed by paints, but also not be too intense, as the pencil lines would be visible relatively easily if I did. The outline of the tree, as well as the most prominent changes in tone would be sketched onto the canvas for later reference. I started painting the ground first, which would later rise towards the stump of the tree. The detail of the grass was fairly difficult to do, as replicating the shreds was difficult. After the ground was complete, I started working on the tree. I had to be wary of the proportions, otherwise parts of the background and the tree itself would become difficult to create accurately. As for the lightning that I wanted to place in the background, it was heavily over saturated. I had initial wanted to do a much lighter color, and have it much thinner, but I had struggled with the initial applications of the color. This caused me to attempt multiple times to correct it to a better color, which also led to the thickness of the bolt itself expanding substantially. This made it stood out way more than I wanted to from the background, making it look practically separate from it.
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It was at this point I was starting to reconsider the size of any leaves on the tree. Since this tree was going to be only a year or so older than a sprout, it wouldn't have a massive amount of leaves. Therefore, I wanted to make them with space in between the branches, which would be filled in with the background. When I moved onto the background, it would require significant precision to not paint over the leaves, which proved to be difficult. The blending of the stormy background however proved to be decent, with the exception of the lightning. I had left it relatively unchanged aside from outlining some of the bright areas that would surround it, which worked to a little effect. If I were to replicate the color of the background and brighten it with the use of white, I could probably perform this to a greater and more efficient extent. The entire challenge could probably have been avoided had I compared the colors I wanted to use with the background before I placed them on the canvas in the first place.
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With the first variant of the project done, the rest would prove to be a relatively similar process, albeit with some changes. The second variant of the tree would be taller and significantly larger, but with a similar amount of leaves. It would be in this variant where some issues with the tree would be visible, as though it were withering. The background, however, would be sunny in contrast with the first variation of the picture. It proved to be relatively difficult to keep the sky a clear, blending blue and creating the clouds. The challenge of this portion of the project definitely was the consistency of the leaves and background. The leaves were significantly more blended together rather than visibly separate, and the clouds had colors contrasting enough to look like layers rather than blending. The shape of the clouds had also become a challenge, as the shapes were not to my liking, seeming somewhat unnatural. I had attempted to remedy this by adding white paint over the blue, but the blue was still strong enough to overpower the white, causing a slightly bigger problem than what I had started with. Because of that, I decided to leave it as it was.
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The third variant of the picture would likely have the largest amount of difference compared to the first two. The tree would be relatively the same size as the second variant, though the appearance would be very different. The tree would be colored gray and dull, with little hints of brown. I was considering making the tree look burnt, possibly with the grass sharing a similar feature, but decided against it. The tree would have no leaves, leaving even more room for the background to appear through. The background would be the color of dusk, having an orange and yellow sky to symbolize the closure of the tree's life. The challenges with this one was definitely the color of the clouds and the tree itself. I wanted to have a primarily white color with hints of orange across it to resemble the sunlight, though the colors used were heavily mixed together when put on the paper. This resulted in a singular, light orange color that strongly contrasted with the background. The tree was too dark and too strong with the amount of black and grey that was used in the area, making it look entirely composed of that colors, which I found to be unrealistic. I had tried to remedy that by adding layers of brown over it, which had worked to a very limited extent. The background was also too intense for my liking, the colors being much too bright even for the time of day. I also struggled to maintain proper blending techniques during the process, resulting in the left side having a strong red color compared to the rest of the background.
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Reflection
If I were to do a similar project to this, I would likely want to improve on shading in the picture. Despite my efforts towards blending improving, the shade that was in the picture was very intense and stood out more than intended. It was also difficult to determine where the shading should be placed, as light was would not affect many things other than the tree itself and the grass near it. Shading leaves also proved to be very difficult. It was hard to differentiate areas of leaves and see them separately. To me, it appeared as though the leaves were just a green mass along the tree rather than actual leaves. Shading was definitely the weak point of this project, and I would hope to improve it with further practice.
As for the blending of the project, I felt this was completed relatively well. There were some areas that were lacking, primarily around the grass and background of the second and third variants. The sky of the very first variant was somewhat off color, but it still provided the atmosphere of a storm in the picture. Despite the shortcomings with the color of the sky and the grass, I still feel like the first variant of this project has the strongest appearance. The third variant is probably what I would consider to be the weakest part of this project, as the left side of the background was too intense with red and the tree stood out far more than I intended it to be, even in its withered state. I would likely want to continue working with my colors; primarily with how much I have and how well it fits to the artwork. I happen to notice my habit of coming unprepared, and because of that I have to create new amounts of paint. These new paints tend to be off color from what I was originally using, thus I end up with areas that appear substantially different because the colors they had used were being constantly changed. If I can get past this habit, I feel that I would work more efficiently, as well as faster, as I'm not constantly spending time making a new tone of paint.
If I were to do a similar project to this, I would likely want to improve on shading in the picture. Despite my efforts towards blending improving, the shade that was in the picture was very intense and stood out more than intended. It was also difficult to determine where the shading should be placed, as light was would not affect many things other than the tree itself and the grass near it. Shading leaves also proved to be very difficult. It was hard to differentiate areas of leaves and see them separately. To me, it appeared as though the leaves were just a green mass along the tree rather than actual leaves. Shading was definitely the weak point of this project, and I would hope to improve it with further practice.
As for the blending of the project, I felt this was completed relatively well. There were some areas that were lacking, primarily around the grass and background of the second and third variants. The sky of the very first variant was somewhat off color, but it still provided the atmosphere of a storm in the picture. Despite the shortcomings with the color of the sky and the grass, I still feel like the first variant of this project has the strongest appearance. The third variant is probably what I would consider to be the weakest part of this project, as the left side of the background was too intense with red and the tree stood out far more than I intended it to be, even in its withered state. I would likely want to continue working with my colors; primarily with how much I have and how well it fits to the artwork. I happen to notice my habit of coming unprepared, and because of that I have to create new amounts of paint. These new paints tend to be off color from what I was originally using, thus I end up with areas that appear substantially different because the colors they had used were being constantly changed. If I can get past this habit, I feel that I would work more efficiently, as well as faster, as I'm not constantly spending time making a new tone of paint.
Compare and Contrast
Compare
Both works share an attempt at having atmosphere as a relative focus. The weather of my work vs the abstract landscape of Melting Clocks.
Both artworks have a significant abstract nature to it. My work has abstract weather for the first variant, while Salvador Dali's work had a much greater abstract appearance.
Both artworks share a similar theme of time. My artwork focuses on the deteriorating nature that comes along with time, while Dali's work focuses on the complexity of time.
Contrast
Dali's work is significantly different with the amount of abstract features in his piece compared to mine. Out of all three of my variants, only 1 has a relatively abstract feature to it.
Dali's work, while having a similar concept of time, focuses on the complexity of time rather than the actual effects.
Both landscapes are relatively different, all three variants focus on a windy setting, with one being covered in storms. Dali's work focuses on a cool, smooth, but barren landscape.
Both works share an attempt at having atmosphere as a relative focus. The weather of my work vs the abstract landscape of Melting Clocks.
Both artworks have a significant abstract nature to it. My work has abstract weather for the first variant, while Salvador Dali's work had a much greater abstract appearance.
Both artworks share a similar theme of time. My artwork focuses on the deteriorating nature that comes along with time, while Dali's work focuses on the complexity of time.
Contrast
Dali's work is significantly different with the amount of abstract features in his piece compared to mine. Out of all three of my variants, only 1 has a relatively abstract feature to it.
Dali's work, while having a similar concept of time, focuses on the complexity of time rather than the actual effects.
Both landscapes are relatively different, all three variants focus on a windy setting, with one being covered in storms. Dali's work focuses on a cool, smooth, but barren landscape.
ACT Questions
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
My inspiration had influenced my design choices in this project. The withering tree as well as the development of the background had been influenced by Dali's work, and played an important part in representing my theme.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Dali's work used abstract art in order to represent his theme, which involved the concept of time. The seemingly apocalyptic appearance of his art further evidences this.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Prior to the development of this project, I had already been exploring the idea about fading concepts. Whether that be a dull empty world, or missing details that progressively regress further and further, until it becomes unrecognizable or a burden.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?.
This work ties to a similar theme of eventual fading that is found in several other projects that I have made. Other projects have had fading details or empty areas or struggles that eventually weigh down or hinder any actions that people may do. This does a similar approach, where time eventually causes the tree to fade, even faster than a regular tree could.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I had made the inference that this would be one of the better and more straightforward ways to represent my theme. Other projects have been attempting to do a similar theme, but they were difficult to connect due to their strong differences. This project and the several variations of the painting helps far more to connect to my theme than I had with my other projects.
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
My inspiration had influenced my design choices in this project. The withering tree as well as the development of the background had been influenced by Dali's work, and played an important part in representing my theme.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Dali's work used abstract art in order to represent his theme, which involved the concept of time. The seemingly apocalyptic appearance of his art further evidences this.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Prior to the development of this project, I had already been exploring the idea about fading concepts. Whether that be a dull empty world, or missing details that progressively regress further and further, until it becomes unrecognizable or a burden.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?.
This work ties to a similar theme of eventual fading that is found in several other projects that I have made. Other projects have had fading details or empty areas or struggles that eventually weigh down or hinder any actions that people may do. This does a similar approach, where time eventually causes the tree to fade, even faster than a regular tree could.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I had made the inference that this would be one of the better and more straightforward ways to represent my theme. Other projects have been attempting to do a similar theme, but they were difficult to connect due to their strong differences. This project and the several variations of the painting helps far more to connect to my theme than I had with my other projects.
Bibliography
Salvador Dalí. the persistence of Memory. 1931: MoMA. The Museum of Modern Art. (n.d.). https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79018. - Image Source
Salvador Dalí. the persistence of Memory. 1931: MoMA. The Museum of Modern Art. (n.d.). https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79018. - Image Source