Contour Drawings

Drawings don't always have to look like masterpieces or like finished work. Contour drawings are technical drawings with little regard to realism. They're pretty quick to draw and they make you practice with whatever media you're using. Here are two of my favorite contour drawings, both done with charcoal and on this linen type paper (which is my favorite type of paper).

The first drawing is of a strainer. We had an object in a paper bag and we had to draw what we felt rather than what we saw. Our teacher then proceeded to order us to turn the paper in a different direction or draw with our opposite hand or draw with our eraser. It was an interesting exercise. At first, I didn't like it but as I looked at it more, I saw the energy and the mark-making in it. I also liked it more because everyone seemed to have there own view of it. I usually see  the first one in the direction that I have posted here but others see it in a different direction or see the subject as a different object.

The second one is a contour drawing of vegetables with the same method as the previous drawing, drawing what we feel. My favorite part of it is the shadows that I implied although the objects weren't in any sort of lighting. Contour drawings are honestly a weird way to draw but it makes you kind of think outside the box. And it doesn't hurt that they're pretty fun.

Still Life

Still lifes are another one of my favorite things to draw, mostly because I have to draw what I see. There's also the perk of being able to arrange anything you want any way you want; it brings a lot of freedom. Here are some still lifes that I've done from earliest to latest.

Freshman year: Prismacolor colored pencils.  There's not much contrast as you can see.

Sophomore year: Prismacolor colored pencils. More contrast.
The main focus was perspective, hence the stripes (no comment on the toys).

Junior year: Acrylic paint. We focused mainly on the shapes of the shadows.

Senior year: Acrylic paint. This piece won a gold key in the Scholastics Art Exhibit.
The main focus was reflective surfaces.

You'll notice two are in colored pencil and two are in paint. What's my favorite media for still lifes you ask? Well, I like colored pencil for very detailed drawings and paint for quicker applications. I can still do small details with paint but they are more exact with colored pencils. Also, paint offers a much better underpainting and I can easily cover mistakes unlike with colored pencil. So honestly, it depends on the type of still life I'm doing.

Portrait Progress

Seeing as how the last post had more recent portraits, I thought it would be good to show you how my portraits used to be. In my view, it's a pretty dramatic change from freshman to senior year.

The order is top left, bottom left, top right, bottom right, center. They're all done with pencil except for the third one. The first one I did freshman year and it was my first "real" self-portrait. You can see that the eyes are too big, the mouth too harsh, and the nose is just odd. Ironically, I made this portrait look kind of like my mom (not that the previous descriptions describe her). The next one was part of my manga/anime phase. Everything I drew had something to do with manga, self-portraits included. The third one is in charcoal and is the largest one (about 18x24 as opposed to 8.5x11). This was done during sophomore year. And the fourth one was homework, again done in pencil. It's still one of my favorite past portraits. The last one I did end of junior year and it's one of my best. It's a less traditional portrait because of the angle and the inclusion of a hand and an object. This was done with weighted pencils (HB-8H), thus adding more contrast between light and dark. You can see a big change, an improvement, from the first one to the last one. Portraits are still my favorite subject to draw and paint and I will be doing others later on.

~Kira

AP Studio Art Concentration

So, to start off this blog, I thought I'd post my AP Studio Art Concentration. They're all self-portraits (so it's a good way to introduce myself) and they explore surface manipulation with several different types of media.

On my first one, I was just getting the hang of my concentration so it's not the best

My first palette knife portrait, and I loved it! 

My favorite out of all of them

First collage of paper with charcoal. You'll see the progress I made later in this post

My first pen and ink portrait. I love this media because of all the details you can do.

Second palette knife portrait

The "Fast-and-furious" piece, not my favorite.

This used the same reference as the previous piece but with a different take.

Colored pencil portrait. This one is not one of my favorites since I cut it, but I think it still looks nice. 

The last palette knife piece in this concentration.

Pastel over collaged newspaper.

My absolute least favorite. This was thankfully not included in my concentration to send.

Pastel on collaged charcoal paper. I tried to do something a little different this time.

A less traditional and more engaging portrait than usual. This was very fun to do.

And my last piece. I used watercolor, colored pencil, and acrylic paint (whew!)

I really loved finding new ideas for my concentration, even when I hit a wall at some points (like during the last half of my concentration). It was a great exploration for me as well. Generally, I love drawing and painting portraits and people but I didn't like exploring media as much. Because of my exploration, surface manipulation, I forced myself to used media in untraditional, unexpected ways. Even if the piece didn't come out like I wanted, I still learned about what did and didn't work. This exploration opened my eyes I guess; I'm less inclined to stay in my "comfort-zone" and more likely to branch out and do something different. It was a fun process and I would definitely do it again with another subject besides myself (I promise, I'm not vain!)

~~Kira

Hello!

Hi, I'm Kira. This is just a welcome post saying what this blog is all about. For the most part, it's blog to display my art for your viewing pleasure. I'll post sketches, finished pieces, work-in-progresses, past art, and everything in between. I hope you enjoy my art, and feel free to comment or give constructive criticism.