THE EXPLORATION OF IMAGE MAKING
My intent with this project was to come up with 10 words and use different image making techniques to create 10 unique works of art. I used various mediums such as paint (acrylic and watercolor), photographs, digital illustration, glass, etching cream, etc. I was able to experiment, get outside my comfort zone and let myself try new things. The outcome? Success.
1. Dream- In my research I found that flying was one of the top 5 things people dream about, so that’s where this idea came from. I wanted to capture what it might be like to fly amongst the clouds. (Acrylic paint and photograph)
2. Light- I really wanted to do something with photography for light because photography relies on different types of light to create photographs, so I thought it made sense to use photography to express light. (Photograph)
3. Macro- I was experimenting with macro photography at the time and thought it could interesting to use that concept in some way. The idea came from a sunflower leaf I took a picture of with my macro lens. I wondered what would happen if I kept zooming in, so I researched sunflower leaf cells, and that’s how I was able to see what the leaf looked like zoomed all the way in. From the photos I found, I traced them and scanned them into my computer and image traced them. I took the most interesting one and repeated it to create an interesting composition. (Digitized scans of hand drawings)
4. Vessel- Originally, I was going to make a 3-D vessel out of clay or a different medium, and paint it. However, I decided to use photography instead because I wanted to see how creative I could get with using light and glass from the bottles. I experimented with different angles and lights until I had what I was looking for. (Photograph)
5. Transparent- I liked the experimentation of self portraits from another project I did (Self-Portrait Book) and wanted to use a different medium other than paint or paper, so I used plexiglass and etching cream. I like the idea of transparency in people, and how you don’t always have to be afraid to show your thoughts and emotions. Some think it’s weak to show emotion, but I think a person is actually stronger when they show their emotions and share their thoughts. (Plexiglass and etching cream)
6. Sound- I created a word list that had to do with sound and I came across echo. I associate echo with circles and the their repetitiveness, so I experimented with watercolor and tried different variations and compositions of circles. (Watercolor)
7. Ethereal- This word feels light to me, so I wanted to use light colors and imagery that felt like it wasn’t from this world. I wanted to create another world that almost felt heavenly. (Acrylic paint and photograph)
8. Time- I wanted to do something with the idea of the sun and different times of day. I took colors that correspond with each time of the day and did various layouts. I ended up using all the colors from each time of the day and used gradients to blend them smoothly. I also used an hourglass shape to represent time and the times of day. (Digital Illustration)
9. Escape- When I think of escape, I think of going somewhere new and fun. Most people need an escape from their daily lives and often dream of going to their favorite place to escape. I combined the idea of one of my favorite places to escape, (the beach), and dreams. I took the ferris wheel from the boardwalk at the beach and put it in the clouds, which represent dreams. (Acrylic paint and photograph)
10. Energy- When I think of energy, I think of bright colors and bursts of light. Energy is hard to depict because it’s more of an action, than an actual object, so I had to get creative and think more abstractly. I used crazy lines that loop around and have bursts of light at either end, almost like a fuse. (Digital Illustration)