UWM Illustration
Planning
Inspiration
My inspiration for my illustrations is Francis Bacon. The Screaming Pope by Francis Bacon is was very intriguing to me because of the use of colors and the way he connected it to the unity of the piece as a whole. There is a beautiful use of rhythm using grey and light yellow to create a streak/glow effect. One of the ways he would create rhythm in his piece is by using long streaks of dull colors in the backround and in the frontground. Many of his pieces include disturbing imagery and touch upon political topics. In addition to rhythm one of the other subjects bacon studied movement and time. Bacon was interested in motion, gesture, and animation. Espically animation of figure and face.
Francis Bacon also focused on the brutality of the fact. Many of his paintings express chaos and agony.
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Planning Sketches
My final sketch is supposed to show the opposites between my experiences with religion and my personal interests. The first panel shows how religion gradually ruins my relationships with people in general because of my identity. The second panel is how religion effects my relationships if I hide my identity.
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Process
Experimentation
For the first illustration, I was experimenting with the colors I would choose for my skin. I was deciding between bright vivid colors or dull muted colors. Seeing the vivid colors, I felt that it conveyed the strong emotion I was trying to express. But after I was half way doing to the first panel, I felt I wanted to mix some of the actual skin colors I have so there was some hint of a "human". Because I wanted to connect it to the metaphor that religion is gradually taking away my identity when it comes to the status of my relationships. During the coloring process, trying to color over the pencil was difficult because after I layered over the pencil with colored pencil, I couldn't erase the pencil sketches.
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When I was experimenting with the first illustration I came across struggles with the initial skin tone that I made. It was too saturated and orange which wasn't what I wanted to express. I feel like painting over a yellow light didn't help because I couldn't really see what the colors really looked like. Once I started using a white light over the illustration board I got a better idea of how I was going to make the skin tone. Changing the skin tone after I already painted the face was very challenging especially after I put too many layers. Afterwards, I would describe the consistency of the paint to be very chunky and flaky. This one of the problems I faced using gouache especially since this is the first time I've used it.
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ProcessAfter I finished my planning sketches, I decided on which to continue with. Once i chose a sketch, I took a reference picture for it. When I put my hand on my head it was supposed to express frustration and represent the concealing aspect of how I try to hide parts of my identity. I felt that the yellow hues were prominently used for contrast between the dark purples in Bacon's paintings. I wanted to connect the colors to my piece to express how my confidence of self expression was gradually shifting. Then I took a picture of myself tightly interlocking my fingers. This was supposed to express the anxiety of having no choice but to be honest and vulnerable. Then I made two sketches of how I wanted to place them in the composition.
After my colored pencil sketches, I started on my gouache paintings. The first thing I did was the transfer method for both of the pictures. I decided to change the composition of the second part of the diptych because I felt it didn't convey the opposite aspect of the theme. So for the second one I decided to take an additional picture of myself. |
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Reflection
I felt like this project was a fun project with an interesting prompt. I learned about how colored pencils layer and how I could make a style similar to Francis Bacon. For the second part of the UWM project, I had to learn how to use a new medium, gouache. This was an interesting type of paint since it acted like watercolor but was more opaque. Gouache overall taught me a new way to layer my paint and how to prepare.
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Similarities-Rhythm using streaks of two different colors.
DifferencesThe subjects of the art piece are different.
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ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
The rhythm in Bacon's piece inspired me to use that streak brushstroke in my background to convey the an emotion.
The rhythm in Bacon's piece inspired me to use that streak brushstroke in my background to convey the an emotion.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The approach the author had regarding my topic was the psychological standpoint of his art.
The approach the author had regarding my topic was the psychological standpoint of his art.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc, while you researched your inspiration?
Ive discovered cultures.
Ive discovered cultures.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea is identity.
The central idea is identity.
What kind of inferences (conclusons reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
Francis Bacon had a lot of controversy in his day.
Francis Bacon had a lot of controversy in his day.
Bibliography
Flaumenhaft, Harvey. "Francis Bacon and the Project of Progress." American Political Science Review, vol. 88, no. 4, 1994, p. 972+. Gale In Context: U.S. History, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A16531052/GPS?u=gree82036&sid=GPS&xid=31ca42cb. Accessed 12 Dec. 2019.