FINAL PAINTING PROJECT!

I chose to paint one of the still life compositions for my final project in Surface class. A collection of personal items- letters, concert tickets, photos, etc, this painting is 5x4 feet on a masonite wood panel that I created as part of the class assignment. I really wanted to choose a composition that meant something to me personally and made me happy when I painted it, and honestly I'm not sure that I would have had the patience to complete this work if it weren't for the fact that I love each and every item in the composition. I am very proud of this work and think that it exemplifies the progress I've made this semester in Surface Research!

way overdue.... my experimental color theory works!

These go way back to the color theory painting assignment. As part two of that assignment, we were to have an art experience, getting lost in different mediums and just having fun. I did! The following works were created with acrylic paints, metallic ink, matte medium transfers, and drawing. Inspired by cities, wildlife, geometric shapes. On 8"x1' and 1'x1' wood panels.

mixed media work

A combination of paper transfers and acrylic paint. This work was inspired by fluorescent cell images- science is a wonderful and sometimes beautiful mystery.

in a dream.... collage work

This dream-landscape collage was inspired by old-fashioned train stations. To me they symbolize the excitement and adventure of traveling, in the days before people dreaded airplane rides and car trips. I included myself in this collage, stepping off the platform into a new city. I also wanted to include an autumnal setting- inspired by the changing colors of the trees!

"create your own" composition

For this open ended composition, I decided to retake one of my earlier still life photos, incorporating some of my favorite elements from each one. I also chose to use a blue background instead of white to offer some contrast to the yellows in the objects.

distorted photo

I played with contrast and exposure levels on a photo I took for a previous assignment for my photo distortion composition. I think it has a dreamlike feel, and I like the way the lines in the composition are highlighted.

A few singular objects....

As part of an exploration project to choose a composition for our panel paintings, we photographed objects by themselves. I was able to play with lighting to create different shadows which was fun! I have never really photographed objects this way before (creating my own setting/lighting) and it was a great experience!

still life photos

Here are a few of my photos taken for a 'still life' assignment, composed of objects that have personal meaning as well as kitschy/masculine/feminine-type objects. 

Prop Part 2

The second part of this project was a puppet/mask to coincide with the poster for our march to Monroe Park. I made this figure, a girl's head with a computer screen as a face, out of cardboard and drywall spackle. I covered the computer screen with headlines from recent articles about cyberbullying and drew the girl's face on the screen as if she were trapped inside. Her hair is electrical wire.

Prop yourself up!

Our latest project in Surface was a two-part project called "Prop Yourself Up" which was all about raising awareness (and not being afraid of controversy!) for a certain cause we felt passionate about. After reading so many news articles about tragic cyberbullying deaths and other internet-related tragedies and losses of privacy, I felt very concerned about the direction that our high internet use is taking our society, especially college students. As Facebook grows increasingly less private and it becomes easier and easier for others to view and exploit personal information, I think we need to re-examine our internet use and perhaps cut back- looking at the negatives instead of only the positives. 


The first half of this project was a propaganda poster. I modeled my poster after vintage travel posters I looked at during my research. I tried to give the poster a vintage look to contrast the modernity of the internet. Through the symbols I used, I tried to convey the message that there are negatives as well as positives when it comes to the internet, and it may not be as innocent as it seems. 

Color Theory project, part one!

Part one of our color theory project was to create a painting using three objects interacting, each it's own color that we chose based on color theory. I loved the teal, light yellow and orange color palette, and created a painting of a dark teal bridge/stream landscape, a yellow light source in the background, and a bright orangey red GIANT koi fish. Acrylic paint on wood panel, 2x2'

Surface project #2: Grayscale drawings

For this one, we were supposed to utilize the entire grayscale in a drawing that depicts an emotion. We drew from photographs onto tracing vellum, a translucent paper that was smooth and fun to work with. I took this picture of a little boy at the Schuylkill river park in Philadelphia one weekend when I was there visiting my boyfriend. Graphite pencil on vellum, 9x12"

First surface project: Silhouette

For our first Surface Research project, we looked at Kara Walker's cut paper silhouettes as inspiration to create our own black and white works depicting a narrative. Mine was inspired by the recent passing of a dear family friend. Ink on paper, 22x36"

On Collingwood....

I have to disagree with Collingwood as far as his theory on the difference between art and craft. According to Collingwood, craft is something that is preconceived to express a specific, preconceived emotion. Craft is something that involves technique and skill, in transforming raw materials into a finished product. We can easily differentiate between these raw materials and the finished product. Also, there is much planning involved when it comes to craft- planning is separate from execution and the more planning, generally the better the product will be. So Collingwood says that if the art has any of these qualities, they are in fact, not art but craft. I have to disagree with this, because I think that craft itself is an art- it is an intelligent design and each of the elements of craft (the planning, the technique of execution) are very intellectual and creative. The artist, say a carpenter, must design the plans for the table, experiment and figure out what techniques will work best for the look he wants the finished product to have. I think that the very idea of envisioning the final product and the emotion/look that you want it to have is one of the most important parts of art. I suppose it just comes down to different ways of approaching art- either art is a process, experimental and without boundaries, or it involves planning, technique and a preconceived outcome. Either way, I believe that both of these approaches fall under a very broad and inclusive category of ART.