Watercolor Collage
Title: Harpist in the Woods
Size: 35.56 cm x 25.4 cm Medium: Watercolor Completion Date: 12/10/2023 Exhibition Text:
For this piece, I wanted to create a collage of watercolor of me and my harp to show the beauty of music. I wanted to show my harp in a scene with vibrant colors to show the beauty of it. I am taking inspiration from paintings by José María Eguren. I am using his use of the colors in the background fading away and getting dimmer, as well as the composition of the pieces. I also use his style of people in me. |
Inspiration:
Artist in Focus: José María Eguren
The artist that I was inspired by was José María Eguren. I am specifically inspired by his paintings [Side face of a cyclist] and [Boy with a Ball]. When looking at the pieces that he made, he is capturing this specific scene of people in an environment. He chooses to fade out the background to help put focus on the subject more. The isolation of the subject is showing his admiration for it, showing its beauty. In these pieces, you see a profile view of a person riding their bicycle next to a wall with trees beyond the wall, and a boy standing on grass next to a path holding a ball with houses and trees in the background. When I first saw the artworks, I really admired them. I loved the duller and lighter colors of the pieces overall. I liked the minimalistic style of the pieces as well. The way that the watercolor looked on everything with there being patches of darker heavier color in the light color. The area that is emphasized by the artist is the main subject of the people in the piece. He does this by having the background color get duller adn fade out as you look more and more into the background of the piece. The subject of piece being emphasized brings attention to it to help draw out the beauty of the overall scene. When you look at this artwork, your eye gets drawn to the subject which is usually in the foreground to midground area, and then it wanders off to the top of the piece.This artwork was created to show beauty in these environments by making it have a warm and gentle look. You can see simple and calm emotions in the piece from the gentle coloring of it.
The artist that I was inspired by was José María Eguren. I am specifically inspired by his paintings [Side face of a cyclist] and [Boy with a Ball]. When looking at the pieces that he made, he is capturing this specific scene of people in an environment. He chooses to fade out the background to help put focus on the subject more. The isolation of the subject is showing his admiration for it, showing its beauty. In these pieces, you see a profile view of a person riding their bicycle next to a wall with trees beyond the wall, and a boy standing on grass next to a path holding a ball with houses and trees in the background. When I first saw the artworks, I really admired them. I loved the duller and lighter colors of the pieces overall. I liked the minimalistic style of the pieces as well. The way that the watercolor looked on everything with there being patches of darker heavier color in the light color. The area that is emphasized by the artist is the main subject of the people in the piece. He does this by having the background color get duller adn fade out as you look more and more into the background of the piece. The subject of piece being emphasized brings attention to it to help draw out the beauty of the overall scene. When you look at this artwork, your eye gets drawn to the subject which is usually in the foreground to midground area, and then it wanders off to the top of the piece.This artwork was created to show beauty in these environments by making it have a warm and gentle look. You can see simple and calm emotions in the piece from the gentle coloring of it.
Planning:
To make this piece. I started off drawing the different sections of the piece that I would be splitting it up into. I would be splitting it into the background, the harp, and me. I created little sketches of each area and created swatches of what the colors in that section would be to help me be prepared and know what colors to use. This also helps me see how each individual section should look since I will be making the piece in sections. To help me be prepared for drawing on th board, I sketched out me and the harp. I had a lot of trouble figuring out the proportions of everything and had to make a lot of changes to the drawing. Even then it wasn't perfect, but I figured out the areas that I need to improve in order for it to look correct on the final product.
To show the beauty of the harp and music in general, I will try to use the more gentle colors. While they will be gentle, I will also try to make them vibrant to show beauty in the piece. I will incorporate the slight dimming of the colors as they go into the background as well in order to put focus on the harp and me. I will also draw myself in the style that Eguren uses in order to make it more gentle and beautiful looking by capturing little details.
Process:
To start making my piece, I drew out the different layers. The first layer I worked on was the background with all of the trees. I used rulers to measure out the board to get the right proportions of everything. I left the tree part sparse even though it is very full, because the other trees were thinner lines that I can just paint on later. I then drew the harp out on the watercolor paper, and cut it out using an x-acto knife. I also drew my arm that is behind the strings as well in this image but later cut it out since it did not match the proportions of myself. After cutting out the harp I cut out my main body and chair, thus finishing all of the layers of my piece.
After finishing all of the layers, I went to paint all of them individually. I started with the background again, coloring in all of the trees. I wanted to make it like my inspiration where the value of the colors diminishes as it gets further and further away. I also used my inspiration again by outlining the trees with a darker shade. When making the other trees, I made random, thin lines of brown. While letting that dry I worked on the ground by doing little brush strokes of yellows and browns to give the leaf and dead grass color. I then put a layer of green over it to blend it all together and also show the grass that is in the image. I then went back to the trees, also using brush stroke patterns of two different yellows and a green to fill up the background and leaving some spots of white that can also be seen in my inspiration. From there I started to paint my harp.
I started by painting the mahogany color on the harp. After coloring all of the parts mahogany, I went back and outlined each of the unique parts of it to define its shape more. I then did the soundboard of the harp with a light tan, then moved onto painting the yellow on top while waiting for it to dry. Once the soundboard part was finally dry, I started to paint the yellow designs on it, being careful to make it symmetrical on the other side.
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I did a similar process as every other layer when it came to painting me by painting the colors and going back to do an outline. I also made sure to make my face in the style of the people in my inspiration by simplifying the eyes, making a small mark for the nose, and then adding blush to the face. From there, I redid my arm behind the string and combined all the parts together. Then, I finally added on the strings of the harp and I was finished.
Experimentation:
A large majority of my experimentation came from trying to draw me. I have not practiced drawing humans often which caused me to struggle when trying to make myself here. The biggest problem for me was the proportions. After I drew the harp, I realized that it was slightly off from what the actual image was, which did not help when I had to draw. I had to make sure that I was in proportion to the harp from this new perspective of it. I had a lot of trouble with drawing the legs too long and not shaping my body correctly. One thing I used to try and help me was a bright pad, so that I could see the harp while drawing. However this did not prove to be successful. After a bit more practice I tried to sketch it out on my board and got down something that worked.
Another bit of experimentation I did was with the combining of the parts. I knew that I wanted them all together on the piece but I was unsure of what adhesive I would use to make them all stick. I had a couple of options, but I ended up using zots, placing many on the back of the different parts, and then carefully combining them on. I started with the harp, then my body, and then my arm. I had to be sure to leave open spaces on the back of the harp so that I could slide the other parts underneath. Because of the zots not covering the entirety of the parts, the edges weren't touching the back and created a bit of a shadow. This wasn't really what I was going for, but after seeing it all done, it actually looked very nice and interesting, adding depth to the piece.
I also experimented when it came to adding in the strings. I was unsure how I would make the strings exactly but I knew that I wanted to have them on there. Without them the harp wouldn't have as much attention drawn on it, and it would feel more empty. I started off with all of the red strings, counting imaginary strings in between so that I could have the right spacing of an octave. I did a similar pattern with the black strings, but then it came to the white strings. I tried to use my white watercolor paint for the strings but it was not very prominent and just blended into the background. I couldn’t really do anything for the white strings, but I saw that the red and black were enough and gave the right idea in the end.
Critique:
There are many similarities in my piece and my inspiration. For starters, both pieces use the same kind of style on the people with the blushed cheeks and minimal face detailing. Looking at the people and objects in my inspiration, you can see that they have an outline around them to make them stand out more. The people and objects in my piece are in that style as well where you can see their outlines. There is also some similarity in the background and foreground. When looking at my inspiration you can see that as you look further into the background, the colors get lighter and lighter. In my piece you can see that the foreground is very prominent with color while the background kind of fades off into the background. It is also seen how the person and the object in the piece are the central focus of the piece in all three pieces. The background doesn't grab all of the attention. The composition of the piece is also similar to how the subject is right in the foreground.
There are also differences that can be seen in my piece. For example, the scaling of my piece is different. In my piece my subject is very big and covers most of the piece, leaving little background. In my inspiration you can see that while their subject is big, there is much more background surrounding the piece. Also, the lines of my inspiration move back further while in my piece they have less of an angle when looking at the line of the foreground to the background. While I try to dim out the colors in the background, they have more value to them compared to the values of the colors in my inspiration. My colors overall are also more vibrant to help draw out the beauty of the harp and music.
There are also differences that can be seen in my piece. For example, the scaling of my piece is different. In my piece my subject is very big and covers most of the piece, leaving little background. In my inspiration you can see that while their subject is big, there is much more background surrounding the piece. Also, the lines of my inspiration move back further while in my piece they have less of an angle when looking at the line of the foreground to the background. While I try to dim out the colors in the background, they have more value to them compared to the values of the colors in my inspiration. My colors overall are also more vibrant to help draw out the beauty of the harp and music.
Reflection:
Working on this piece helped improve my watercolor skills, techniques, and the process of making an artwork in general. Using this collage format was a unique thing to me that I found really helpful. It made the process of painting with watercolors easier and created unique aspects of depth to the piece that I would love to use again. I developed as an artist by improving on these skills and also exposing myself to these new techniques. My inspiration was José María Eguren's paintings; [Side face of a cyclist] and [Boy with a Ball]. My piece connects with these artworks by using a similar style of the people in the painting as well as the effect of some of the background looking further away by painting it lighter. You can also see that the outlining of characters and objects is similar as well. My biggest challenge with this piece was trying to figure out the proportions of everything. Iwas drawing my body with not the right proportions many times. The project ties together previously learned concepts and exercises by inspiring me to use a brush stroke like pattern for the leaves to get the cluttered but spacious look. It also uses my concept of beauty by showing off the beauty of music. My favorite part was finally seeing all of the separate parts finally come together in one big image. My least favorite part was probably trying to get all of the proportions correct as that took a while. I hope other people are able to see my piece and understand the beauty that music holds. There being the majestic angelic instrument of the harp inside of a beautiful fall environment all come together to show how beautiful music is.
Connecting to the ACT:
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Check list
ACT
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
- this is regarding your research and investigations
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
- this is regarding your research and investigations
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
- this is regarding your research and investigations
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?.
- this is regarding your research and investigations
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
- this is regarding your research and investigations
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Check list
ACT
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
- this is regarding your research and investigations
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
- this is regarding your research and investigations
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
- this is regarding your research and investigations
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?.
- this is regarding your research and investigations
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
- this is regarding your research and investigations
Citations (MLA):
Bibliography:
- MLA or AP format
- MLA or AP format