Artwork: Project 3
Title: Mysterious Size: 61cm x 61cm Medium: Acrylic on canvas Completion: October 2019 Exhibition Text The piece, Mysterious was created based on my experience. I think life is a mystery in which we have to keep going in order to find out what is going on. In the past, I have been blinded by hardships which made me hopeless and discouraged sometimes. However, I stood tall and strong despite all those challenges. I was inspired by The Lover II, 1928 by Rene Magritte and The Kiss by Edvard Munch. Acrylic paints were used to produce this artwork. |
Planning
Inspiration
Magritte, Rene. The Lover II. Oil on canvas. Web. 20 Oct. 2019.
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My first inspiration was The Lover II painted by Rene Magritte in 1928. This piece shows two individuals locking in an embrace and kissing one another through veils creating a mysterious scene. When I first saw this painting, the first thing that came to my mind was "why are they covering their faces with a fabric?" I later learned that Rene Magritte was known for his hallucinatory and disturbing juxtapositions. For instance, he used a very familiar everyday object and people in disturbing such as placing objects in an unexpected area to startles the audience. I wanted to apply this idea in my piece to create a mysterious scene. Just like The Lover II, I wanted to cover my face with some kind of cloth with my hands against my face to portrays how hardships in my life are making me blind and hopeless.
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Munch, Edvard. The Kiss. Oil on canvas. Web. 20 Oct. 2019.
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My second inspiration was The Kiss created by an Expressionism artist, Edvard Munch in 1989. He uses a painting style that attempts to express emotional experience rather than the external world or reality. He used thick outlines and blended figures that have no details with darker colors to express emotional experience. I wanted to apply his painting style such as thick outlines with a blended figure in my piece to achieve a mixture of feelings and emotions. Unlike Edvard Munch, I will combine a mixture of brighter and darker colors because I wanted to portray both the hardships and straight. Another thing that I noticed in The Kiss was the blended figure gives a sense of deeper connection or a greater bond between the lovers. So, blending could be used to emphasizes certain emotions in the artwork. |
Planning Sketches
I was inspired by The Lovers II painted by Rene Magritte. I took a few pictures of me with different posts for inference. These posts were meant to capture a mysterious scene and to startles the audience. In addition to that, I thought having pictures as an inference for my sketches is a good technique because I cannot paint something from a memory. I used Samsung Galaxy J7 Crown to take these pictures.
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This image was my first sketch that captured the mysterious feelings and scene. The image portrays a human figure covered in cloth and her hands supporting her face. I applied a dark red color for the hands to show that she is not giving up despite all the hardships in her life. The color red is also a symbol of bravery.
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This image was my second sketch that also captured the mysterious feelings and scene. However, the image portrays a human-like figure covering in a cloth. The tick outlines of the figure in a dark black color are to show them all the struggles in life that wrapped around us and making us blind. I think this post was a great way to display how blinded we are by all our struggles in life or there is something that makes us blind.
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This image was my third sketch that also captured the mysterious feelings and scene just like the other two sketches. I applied a dark red for the cloth that covered the face to show death. Sometimes, when life gets really hard it is difficult to stay strong and to seek help because of all the factors involved. So, we are eventually blinded by some type of things which eventually leads to death or hopelessness.
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Experimentation & Techniques
I noticed that Edvard Munch paintings have thick outlines and small brushstrokes of lines. So, I experimented to achieve that small brush stroke of lines. First, I applied layers of paints on the canvas and let it dry, but not completely. Then, I used a palette knife to draw lines to make it seems like brush strokes. I am not sure if Edvard Munch uses a palette knife or a painting brush to achieve those lines. I also noticed in his paintings, he usually mixed a variety of darker colors to achieve a mysterious or some kind of depressing scene.
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Process
First, I went to edit image, crop, and square to make the image square since the canvas is square. Then, I saved the image, went to edit the image again and the grid automatically popped out creating squares. After that, I screenshot it and use this image as an inference.
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Second, I created a canvas. To do this, I used the wooden stretchers to create the frame. I used a manual staple gun to staple the corners and used the hammer to secure them. Then, I added the canvas and stapled the edges and corners using the manual gun. I cut the extra edges with a scissor. After that, I applied multiple layers of gesso to the canvas and let it dry. Then, I drew the grid, five by five squares lightly on the canvas just like the reference image using a pencil.
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Third, I drew the image on the canvas very lightly with a pencil. It is important to draw the image lightly because I do not want the pencil marks to be visible when the paint is applied. It was difficult for me to draw square by square, so I was all over the place. Then, I applied white as the based color for the cloth that covered the face.
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Fourth, I started painting the hands using bright red color as the base. Then, I mixed red and black to create a darker red which I applied on top to represent strength and bravery. I used a clean brush to blend the colors to create shadows and depth to emphasize the reflection of the light. After that, I applied dark blue and yellow to create thick outlines just like how Edvard Munch uses his painting. These thick lines emphasize the shape of the figure.
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Fifth, I started adding more colors such as red, more white and yellow to create shadows and details. I used white, yellow, red, blue and black to create this entire piece because they are primary colors representing things that I face in life as I get older are somewhat new to me. Not everything that I went through is not all bad, they are a combination of both good and bad. I think this is why we have some kind of hope or strength to get through whatever we have to go through.
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Sixth, I started with blue and white for the base color for the background. Instead of mixing the color on a mixing plate, I mixed them on the canvas to create uneven base. Then, I applied yellow and white on top and let it dry for a bit. After that, I used a pallet knife to create strokes before the paint is completely dry.
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Reflection
Critique
I am happy with the final result of my artwork. There are many challenges during this process. One example was painting the cloth that covered the face because It was difficult to create the shadows and highlights. So, I ended up applying a mixture of bright and dark colors to emphasize the facial shape. Another challenge was focusing on one square at a time. I had a hard time staying in one place, so I ended up working on everywhere. I think this was okay as long as I finish my piece. On the other hand, there are many successes during the process as well. One example was achieving the strokes or scratches just like Edvard Munch's painting. My experiment helped me to achieve this method. Another success would be the grid method since I am familiar with this method. If I could redo this project, I would get more brushes and create more swatches to experiment with more colors and different brush techniques.
Compare and Contrast
"The Lover II" by Rene Magritte
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Similarities
- They both create a mysterious and disturbing scene by covering their faces with a cloth which also startles the audience. - Both images seem like the figures are embracing themselves and using brighter colors creates bright and warm feelings and emotions. -They both are somewhat symmetrical. Differences - The painting style is different because Rene Magritte's painting is more realistic, smoother, and well blended. Mysterious has more textures that are created by a layer of paints and strokes. - There is only one figure present on Mysterious. |
"Mysterious" by Jacinta Tial
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"The Kiss" by Edvard Munch
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Similarities
- They both are using the same technique such as creating small strokes or scratches, perhaps the result of brushes or some type of tools. - They both create a mysterious and disturbing scene by using darker colors or the well-blended organic shape of the figures. Differences - The Kiss emphasizes a more embracing scene by using darker colors and the composition of the figures. - Mysterious include just one figure with brighter colors created a lifting and more joyful emotions. |
Mysterious" by Jacinta Tial
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ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
The painting, The Lover II created by Rene Magritte and The Kiss painted by Edvard Munch both have a theme of mysterious which is also the theme of my piece. I also applied Edvard Munch and Rene Magritte painting styles in my piece.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author of my research talks about Rene Magritte's life and how his works are thought-provoking and disturbing the viewer. This portrayed an overview of who Rene was and how he challenged the people to view art from a different perspective. Also, Edvard Munch was an artist that capture emotional experiences rather than the external world.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
While researching my inspiration, I discovered that surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s and the two main branches are improvised art and hallucinatory scenes. Also, expressionists made paintings that were non-representational, representational through emotions.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme of my inspirational research is capturing an emotional experience and a disturbing scene.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
While reading my research, I inferred Rene Magritte's paintings are very mysterious and give the unsettling thoughts and feelings. Also, I inferred Edvard Munch might be dealing with some kind of tragic experiences in his life.
The painting, The Lover II created by Rene Magritte and The Kiss painted by Edvard Munch both have a theme of mysterious which is also the theme of my piece. I also applied Edvard Munch and Rene Magritte painting styles in my piece.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author of my research talks about Rene Magritte's life and how his works are thought-provoking and disturbing the viewer. This portrayed an overview of who Rene was and how he challenged the people to view art from a different perspective. Also, Edvard Munch was an artist that capture emotional experiences rather than the external world.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
While researching my inspiration, I discovered that surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s and the two main branches are improvised art and hallucinatory scenes. Also, expressionists made paintings that were non-representational, representational through emotions.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme of my inspirational research is capturing an emotional experience and a disturbing scene.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
While reading my research, I inferred Rene Magritte's paintings are very mysterious and give the unsettling thoughts and feelings. Also, I inferred Edvard Munch might be dealing with some kind of tragic experiences in his life.
Bibliography
“The Lovers II, 1928 by Rene Magritte.” Henri Matisse, 20 Oct. 2019, https://www.renemagritte.org/the-lovers-2.jsp.
“The Kiss, 1897 by Edvard Munch.” Diego Rivera, 20 Oct. 2019, https://www.edvardmunch.org/the-kiss.jsp.
“The Kiss, 1897 by Edvard Munch.” Diego Rivera, 20 Oct. 2019, https://www.edvardmunch.org/the-kiss.jsp.