Coral Painting Project & Reflection I

Now that the "Under the Sea" project is done, we have a new project assigned to us. The assignment is to paint corals! Mr. Pat told us that the painting has to focus on corals; not fish. The painting has to be colorful and it has to be on the landscape side of the canvas. It has to show that there are depths in the picture and that is the challenging part in this project because a painting is a 2D type of art. If we want the viewers to see that there are depths then we have to play with the colors!

The first lesson, we had time to look at some pictures of corals in the art room and then plan our own coral painting. Among us, we chose different pictures and then share them. We planned on an A4 paper for the types of corals that we want and the colors of things. While planning, it was quite hard because there were only a few type of corals that I think that I could paint so there were not so much varieties in my plan. But I tried to add more rocks and small fish to help make my plan not so empty. Then after we finished planning, we let Mr. Pat check our plans. After he approved and gave some comments, we take the canvas out and started drawing some outlines before we paint. That lesson, I only drew the outlines while some of us already start painting because if I started painting, then I wouldn't have enought time to use all the paint.

Reflection II

On the second week of this new project which is the last week of school, Mr. Pat told us that we had to be finished with our wash so that we could continue next term.That lesson, I went straight to get the paints and mix the color that I wanted. I got the light blue that I want and started to paint on the canvas. I mixed the paint with a little bit of water so that it does look like a wash. I also remembered to paint on the sides because Mr. Pat said that the canvas would not be framed so the sides need to be painted. I painted from the top with light blue and then I added some blue along the way so that the color would get darker. When I was doing that, I realized that I was pouring out too much blue than I needed. I kept adding more color so the color never seem to get less. So I decided to get another cup and divide the color up. I poured some light blue into the new cup; just enough to make a darker blue so that I could paint. This way, I would be saving the color and not wasting it because if I don't separate the color, then I would be adding more and more blue until it's too much and would be turned into leftover paint. I continue to make darker blue and paint until I get to the bottom. Then I asked Mr. Pat whether I have to paint blue over the rocks or not. He said that I could just paint the rocks with brown so I went to wash the leftover blue. After that I went to get brown and start mixing color and do the same thing. I finished one rock and the time was almost up. First I thought that I would stop there but then I remembered that I should not do that because then the next time, I might not be able to mix the same brown I did that day. So I rushed a little bit and painted the other rock. I finished just in time and went to put the canvas on the drying racket and that was the end of that lesson!

Reflection III

After the school has opened, we had our first lesson. We continued to paint details to our coral paintings. I started with the two big corals at the front, the starfish and the shell. That lesson, I really enjoyed mixing the colors because I liked pastel colors like light green, light yellow, light pink, light orange etc. Most of my corals and seaweeds and things that are in the painting are mostly in pastel colors. When I worked, I always sat near June, and our coral paintings were planned quite similiar. When she painted the corals, Mr. Pat came by and told her to paint some darker colors on the corals to give some dimension and texture so it would look real. So she started to mix a darker color and paint on the edge of the corals. I saw that and I realized that perhaps I should do it too so I went to get more color and mix darker color to paint as shadow. First when I started to paint the shadows, it looked like shadows but in the end, it sort of turned out to look like hair of the coral instead of shadows. But I thought that it actually looked nice so I didn't fix or add anything to it. Then the lesson was over. That lesson, I finished painting the two main corals at the front, the starfish and the shell.

Reflection IV

After that lesson, I spent my time after school trying to finish up my coral painting. My painting was pretty much going according to plan. But then I realized that there were still too much free space. I asked my friends for opinion and they said that the painting has to be very busy. It has to be filled with seaweeds and corals all over the place. So I had to paint more corals on the rocks. I chose to paint other kind of corals even though I found it a little bit difficult because if I continued to paint the same types of corals I had done already, my painting would not be so interesting to look at. After adding some more corals in my painting, other friends commented that my painting looked like a cartoon drawing and it wasn't realistic because the colors I used were all pastel colors so it seemed too bright and cheerful. So I had no choice but to paint some more corals where I can fit them with darker colors.

Reflection V

Then after trying to finish up after school, we had one final class time to continue on our paintings. Before we start, Mr. Pat reminded us that our coral paintings have to show depths. When people look at them, they have to be able to tell which corals are at the front, which are at the back and we can show that by size of the corals. He told us that we could paint an exact same type of coral but at a different position. One has to be bigger and another has to be smaller.

Compared to others' painting, I thought that my friends' opinions were actually right. Other paintings looked realistic and they also filled up all the space. My painting's style was similar to June's painting because our choice of colors was similar. We both liked pastel colors and we thought that pastel colors are beautiful. That lesson, everybody finished their coral paintings and put their paintings on the drying racket. If I would have rate my own painting, I would say that it is not as good as I wanted it to be. I realized that other paintings are more realistic and I think that their paintings look more interesting and beautiful. My painting doesn't seem to have much depths in it. But at least, I know that it is pretty colorful. In my painting, there are corals that are supposed to be bigger than the ones at the back, but it's actually on the other way around. At first, on the first lesson, when Mr. Pat showed us some of the G8's works, I thought that this assignment would not be so hard. It turned out that this assignment is very hard because of the requirements. If I could do this assignment again, I would have ask for more comments and help. I would have ask Mr. Pat for more help as well.

This is a picture of my coral painting:

Welcome!

Hello! Welcome to my art journal. My name is Ping and i'm creating an art journal. In here you would get to see art works and reflections!~