Starry Night Finger Painting

My starry night is a story about how the earth came together. When there was only empty space, the world was deep blue and black until the moon came along to break through the dark. The moon was so big and the storms in the heavens so violent that it began to break into pieces and shoot small circles, bringing light all across the sky. When the winds rushed through, they knocked some stars spiraling down to the ground and stuck out as highlights in the grass and the sea. Although the empty space became separated into earth, air, and water, they can all come together and keep the same elements of light. An overall movement now holds the picture together and the chaos can be remembered by the one solid tree on the land that stays black to contrast all that came to be.

Element & Principle Design

This piece was an example to show both line and balance. I started by evenly breaking up the space with strips of green felt for just straight lines. To fill in the negative space above I used an orange circle for contrast. The lightning bolts I drew in decreasing size in the opposite direction than the green lines. By doing that, I tried to split the weight out a bit as well as keep your eye moving. Overall I think it was successful because I focused on the overall balance of the composition and did so with the way I arranged lines.

Footprint Intro

I traced my own foot and made this mixed media representation of myself for the first project. The character in the middle was cut out from the image on the cover of the book Atlas Shrugged, showing my interest in philosophy and Ayn Rand. Along with that I placed the globe as a symbol of 'the soul of the world' because that is somewhat of a religious belief for me. Around the middle I played with the lines to show some abstract complexity and the kind of designs I'm into as an artist. I also love bright colors and rainbows which is shown with toe-print people all connected which is also important to me. Finally I made a border with my own words from a poem I wrote titled "Inspiration" which sums up my spirit and all the ways that art and self-expression is my motive to live.

Art Review (Kandinsky)

Wassily Kandinsky "On White II" 1923

• combination of geometric shapes
• primary colors + black & white
• mostly flat colors, slight invented texture created with pattern
• triangles, rectangles, squares, some circles
• a few organic shapes & simplified lines
• high degree of balance
• most forms concentrated in the center
• overall emphasis on positive/negative space
• patterns within parts
• position creates rhythm & movement
• equality to maintain unity

• abstract design emphasizing balance
• very primitive use of primary colors
• monochromatic contrast against white
• angles breakup space
• separation of shapes and lines

• one of my favorite pieces by my favorite artist
• incredibly unified-every element is necessary
• variety of forms and bold variations
• interesting use of space
• successful flow with color contrast & shapes