"Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you never want to lose."

Lost in Lost Lake

10/2011

Watercolor, ink, and pencil

This paining is from a picture taken at Camp Neyati. We hike out to "Lost Lake," lots of times at night, and sit on the hill. I love being at camp, and especially sitting by Lost Lake. It's so peaceful and nature stretches as far as you can see. Camp is definately the best week of my summer, so I had a lot of love for the place to put into my painting. The quote, "Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you never want to lose," perfectly describes all the time I have spent at Neyati. I have some of the best memories and amazing friends from my weeks at camp.

The technique/look of this painting was inspired by the artist Des Murphy. (You can see his work at reddogcards.com!) He puts a lot of his artwork on greeting cards, but I just loved the way he simplified everyday landscapes and used vibrant watercolors accented with ink. I tried to mimic this style in my painting. Also, the trees in the background of my painting are painted with a sponge to achieve the leafy look and the reflections in the water have a little bit of pencil to make them blurry.

When I look at this painting, I am taken to the hill looking over Lost Lake with people I love. I hope this painting takes you to somewhere you never want to leave, too.



"Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world."

Marilyn Monroe

10/2011

Watercolor and marker

Marilyn Monroe is a fascinating subject to draw. I love portraits in general, but photos of her have such fierce shadows and sharp lines. In addition, she is a face that culture commonly recognizes.

I used black watercolor to do the entire portrait of her. It was fun to do something very different than traditional, vivid watercolors. It was important to use a small brush, lots of water, many layers, and most importantly - control! The hardest part was to decide which shadows/lines made it into my painting and which I left as white space. The balance was important. With this in mind, I decided to put the most detail around the eyes because that is one of my strengths to draw and I wanted them to be a focal point in the piece. The film strip is black marker, and used as a symbol of her role in society.

Then And Now

Then

Self-portrait

2007

Charcoal

I happened to be going through old art work, and found this blast from the past. In seventh grade, the "self portrait project" was a big deal. We spent about a month drawing our grid, rough draft, tracing with the light table, shading, and writing these projects. The background is a journal of my life at the time... my interests, my best friends; I think I even wrote about how I love ice cream sundaes. I recall being beyond proud of my talents as a charcoal portraitist, and even won $50 in an art competition for it. As much as I loved it (and still do, somewhat...), I love even more how it shows my development as an artist.

What I learned in seventh grade about charcoal, and shading in general, seemed so complicated and hard to do. Now, I owe many thanks to my amazing art teacher who always pushed me to do my best and do my own work. I look at the streaky highlights in my hair, the hard edged lines of my nose, mouth, and hands, and can only think of ways to improve it. For a seventh grade standard, it's not too shabby. My hope is that you can see the improvement... :)

Now

Self-portrait

2011

Pen and acrylic

Here is my self-portrait I did at the beginning of the school year. It was an experiment based on some of Andy Warhol's early work with printing. It was kind of fun to try something new, and I enjoyed the ink drawing. I chose to draw a picture of me from prom because I felt so pretty with my dress, hair, and everything. I hadn't even chosen my theme of beauty, but I guess it relates! :)

I think I have done stronger pieces, and my work can be better than this. It was an experiment, though, and led to a lot of ideas. I like the flower ideas, too, with the words. It says "imperfection is beauty, maddness is genius, and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring." Marilyn Monroe said it, and I love her, and that thought! The flowers represent my family, which are a big part of me, too.





The Beginning

Hey, I'm Sarah... I'm a senior in high school and in IB Art class. I am so excited and already loving it :) I do research, journal, and sketches in my sketchbook, but I'm making this blog to show others my art and most important thoughts! I hope you enjoy checking out what I have done, take some of my references, and maybe even get inspired yourself!
-Sarah