
The overall question of my portfolio is: How can I show the importance of nature and the impact it has on our emotions?
Piece 1-

Hight: 11 inches Width: 14 inches
Master and Current artists:
The master artist I chose for this piece was Claude Monet. I took inspiration from the way he painted water by adding colors other than blue. My current artist is Lynne Lee. Her piece titled "Plastic Bag" influenced how I decided to paint my koi fish.
Ideas:
My backyard inspired this piece. There is a koi pond in my yard with beautiful fish and little pink flowers floating on the surface. My goal with this piece was to show the influence that the nature I'm surrounded by has on me. I wanted to portray how joyous and grateful I am to live where I do.
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Materials:
I chose to do this piece entirely in acrylic paint. I want to grow in my painting ability and experience so this piece has been a great learning opportunity. I used bright colors to make this piece feel very exciting and happy.
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Processes:
I started this piece by practicing with koi fish outlines and sketches. I experimented with how I like to portray movement in the fins and tail of the fish. For the background, I used leaves from my yard to stamp the ridges and veins of the leaves.
Progress Pictures-
Support Piece-



Final Piece 2-

Support Piece-

Height: 12 inches Width: 8 inches
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Master and Current artists:
The master artist I chose for this piece was Pablo Picasso. I chose Picasso because of his use of juxtaposition and his technique of painting subjects in backgrounds where they don't normally belong. The current artist I chose was Michael Humphries. His paintings of redwoods gave me ideas on how to make the bark on the trees detailed.
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Ideas:
My goal with this painting was to express two different aspects of nature and have them collide. I chose the redwood trees as a factor in nature and the koi in the water as another. The redwood trees are very important and stunning so I wanted to draw attention to them.
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Materials:
I used acrylic paint for this piece. My decision of using acrylics was made because I wanted to practice painting trees and experimenting with texture.
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Process:
Before I painted this piece I practiced how I would show depth in the water with different shades. I practiced with perception to make the grass and path in the background. I used shades of white and grey in the fins of the koi fish to add movement.
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Final Piece 3-

Support Pieces-
Height: 12 inches Width: 9 inches
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Master and Current artists:
The master artist who inspired me for this piece was Ambrosius Bosschaert. I was specifically drawn to his piece titled "Still Life With Flowers". His paintings taught me how to work with the perspective of flowers in a vase or jar. The current artist I chose was Micheal Creese. I was impressed by the way he captured so much movement when he painted the tail of a goldfish.
Ideas:
This piece isn't finished yet. I plan to add a source of light from the top to act as a spotlight on the jar. The flower and the fish in an empty room are meant to portray how dull life can be without the addition of nature.
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Materials:
I decided to use pencils for this drawing. I wanted to create this piece with less color than my other pieces. The lack of color is meant to symbolize how life is darker without being surrounded by the environment.
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Process:
I practiced a lot with shading and perspective for this piece. I spent time learning how to draw the petals of a flower to make them look bent over.

