UWM Gouache Painting Piece
Hot vs Cold
38.1 cm x 25.4 cm (2) Diptych Illustration November 2019 Exhibition text: The purpose of my pieces were to show the opposite of two Greek mythological Gods. Hephaestus who represents fire and is a blacksmith vs Boreas who represents the cold by being "the north wind", the God who controls winter and things related to it. |
Inspiration:
Hephaistos / Vulcan ( by Jastrow (2006)), public domain)
Hephaistos riding a mule by Zde (CC BY-SA)
Boreas Abducting Orithyia (by Giovanni Maria Morandi, 1640)
Hephaistos riding a mule by Zde (CC BY-SA)
Boreas Abducting Orithyia (by Giovanni Maria Morandi, 1640)
I took my inspiration from three pieces: Hephaistos / Vulcan ( by Jastrow (2006)), public domain), Boreas Abducting Orithyia (by Giovanni Maria Morandi, 1640), Hephaistos riding a mule (by Zoe (CC BY- SA). The pieces I used as inspiration for my depiction of Hephaestus were Hephaistos / Vulcan ( by Jastrow (2006)), public domain) and Hephaistos riding a mule (by Zoe (CC BY- SA). Vulcan was a sculpture made of marble and Hephaistos riding a mule was a piece of clay pottery.
Planning/Process:
During this stage I had to look back at my UWM illustrations I made last semester and I used them as a reference for the gouache painting. I also tried to improve some of the things that I messed up during my illustration piece and I added a few components to painting as well like color. During the process, I began by referencing my illustration piece and using it to sketch on the Greek God on the post board. I sketched a position I thought would be accurate for a God I placed him in a thrown and made a fabric made of fire which crossed over his body. For the sketch i used a reference photo I took for the anatomy and positioning. Then I mixed the skin tones and used red ,white, yellow, green, blue, brown to make a light peach for the skin color.
What I had to do to make sure the graphite didn't show up was get an eraser and try to leave a light color of the sketch so I would know where to paint. After that I got a cup of water and the gouache paints and tried to do a wash on the board and also erased some more of the graphite from the board. Then I began to paint with the top coat of paint.
During this stage I had to look back at my UWM illustrations I made last semester and I used them as a reference for the gouache painting. I also tried to improve some of the things that I messed up during my illustration piece and I added a few components to painting as well like color. During the process, I began by referencing my illustration piece and using it to sketch on the Greek God on the post board. I sketched a position I thought would be accurate for a God I placed him in a thrown and made a fabric made of fire which crossed over his body. For the sketch i used a reference photo I took for the anatomy and positioning. Then I mixed the skin tones and used red ,white, yellow, green, blue, brown to make a light peach for the skin color.
What I had to do to make sure the graphite didn't show up was get an eraser and try to leave a light color of the sketch so I would know where to paint. After that I got a cup of water and the gouache paints and tried to do a wash on the board and also erased some more of the graphite from the board. Then I began to paint with the top coat of paint.
Experimentation:
During my process I made many mistakes and and the most I could fix was about 50 percent. Two things I would do differently would be mixing the paints more carefully and erasing the graphite from the board before doing a wash. Mixing the paints well would help me improve the colors. For example the skin color when mixing i did not mix the bottom of the paint that well as a result in some places the paint looked darker than in other areas. While painting I realized that the graphite was showing up through the paint which wasn’t my intention as a result I tried to erase the lines before I got any paint on them. I applied this to my second piece and it worked much better than in the first.
During my process I made many mistakes and and the most I could fix was about 50 percent. Two things I would do differently would be mixing the paints more carefully and erasing the graphite from the board before doing a wash. Mixing the paints well would help me improve the colors. For example the skin color when mixing i did not mix the bottom of the paint that well as a result in some places the paint looked darker than in other areas. While painting I realized that the graphite was showing up through the paint which wasn’t my intention as a result I tried to erase the lines before I got any paint on them. I applied this to my second piece and it worked much better than in the first.
Reflection:
While creating this piece I found it hard to sketch the figure in the beginning and manage the time I had on this piece. As a result I believe my piece in some areas seems like it has been rushed. I also had trouble with anatomy and trying to make everything look proportional. During the painting stage i found it a bit difficult to paint on the poster board. This being the first time I used gouache I found that it was hard to keep consistent color over larger areas rather than smaller areas like the moon or clouds in the cold representation piece. I also found that the more water i added onto the brush the more likely the poster board would peal and leave small paper balls on it this could've also occurred due to the amount of pressure applies onto the pieces. While mixing the gouache i found that the light color i tried to get became much darker on the white poster board but i used that mistake to my advantage and used it as common sense. The tan color that mistakenly had happened on the piece with Hephaestus could be seen as since he is the fire God it would be evident that he of all people would be tanned rather than Boreas who would be pale due to the cold winds he is always accompanied by. |
Compare and contrast:
ACT questions
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its affect on your artwork?
- My art pieces were made to look as if they were real people in a modern era rather than one that would have been depicted as an elder God with white hair and long beards.
What is the overall approach of the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
- The overall approach I think was to depict the Gods as close to the stories as possible.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
- I have discovered that there was a major difference between cultures and the way the people dresses and looked.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
- The central idea for these pieces were the modernization of the looks of the Gods. Rather than a older looking hairstyle I made it look as if it were something someone my age would have.
What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis if evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
- One of the inferences that I made were that Boreas and Hephaestus would be opposites based off of the elements they represent in a way.
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its affect on your artwork?
- My art pieces were made to look as if they were real people in a modern era rather than one that would have been depicted as an elder God with white hair and long beards.
What is the overall approach of the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
- The overall approach I think was to depict the Gods as close to the stories as possible.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
- I have discovered that there was a major difference between cultures and the way the people dresses and looked.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
- The central idea for these pieces were the modernization of the looks of the Gods. Rather than a older looking hairstyle I made it look as if it were something someone my age would have.
What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis if evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
- One of the inferences that I made were that Boreas and Hephaestus would be opposites based off of the elements they represent in a way.
Bibliography:
Cartwright, Mark. “Hephaistos.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 8 Dec. 2019, https://www.ancient.eu/Hephaistos/.
“Boreas Abducting Orithyia - Giovanni Maria Morandi - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/boreas-abducting-orithyia/UAG6dj3GaKK5oA.
Cartwright, Mark. “Hephaistos.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 8 Dec. 2019, https://www.ancient.eu/Hephaistos/.
“Boreas Abducting Orithyia - Giovanni Maria Morandi - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/boreas-abducting-orithyia/UAG6dj3GaKK5oA.