Art: Week of January 25, 2011

 

"Truth Compassion Tolerance":  3 Paintings
These 3 painting go together.  USD hosts different Art Exhibitions through out the semester and during the months of January and May the "Truth Compassion Tolerance" International Art Exhibit is going on.  The room was full of of all different paintings that were essentially portraying the same message.  Each painting was beautiful and really helped tell the picture of the events that are going on in China.  My favorite painting was the painting of the Buddha sculpture.  I thought it was neat how the painter made the painting look as if it was a sculpture.  Being able to look at paintings to form a story can be more meaningful sometimes than just reading about the event/trauma that is going on.

Immaculata Catholic Church:  Stain Glass
The Immaculata Catholic Church is located within USD.  This church is not a part of the school, but it does play a big part of the Catholic institution.  In fact, the USD emblem is part of the Immaculata.  This stain glass piece of art is located near the front entrance.  Stain glass is a beautiful form of art and it looks great in churches because usually churches don't have very many lights, so the natural sunlight can shine though the stain glasses and make the church alive.  I really like how this piece has a boarder and then the painting inside the border, it allows the viewer to look deep into the stain glass painting.  I also like how the boarder has dark and vibrant colors, while the inside painting is lighter, the contrast is nice.

Founders Chapel:  Sculpture and Painting
Founders Chapel is located at the University of San Diego.  This chapel is open to the public and holds Catholic masses daily.  It is a place where people can come together as a community and celebrate/worship Christ.  The art work in the Chapel is beautiful and really brightens up the room.  This painting/sculpture is located right behind the alter.  This piece is very intriguing and beautiful because of the rich color and use of detail.  The placement and organization of the scuptor is also important because the viewer pays most of their attention on the main figure, Christ, but the surrounding figures are noticed and play a big role in the sculptor.  It's large size (takes up a whole wall) is important because even if you are in the last pew, you can still see it and feel its importance.

Self Portrait:  Oil Paint
This is a self portrait and it was one of my first ones, so it doesn't look too much like me.  My head was tilted back, hence the pig nose.  Painting this self portrait was more of a learning process than an actual painting for show.  I learned the different techniques about painting and how to mix colors to form new ones (We were only allowed to use 4 different colors for this painting).  This painting always cracks me up, so it is hanging up on my wall.  This painting also proves to me that paintings are easier said than done and in order to make a solid piece of art you have to have time and patience.

Nature:  Colored Pencil

This is a picture of a real peacock feather next to a drawn peacock feather.  I have recently started an obsession with peacock feathers and they are all over my room.  I think that they are so beautiful and fun.  Drawing the feather actually took an extremely long time.  Looking at a peacock feather, you might only see a few different colors, but I ended up using over 15 different colors of colored pencil (There are pinks and oranges in my peacock feather).  The point of the drawing was just to show the beauty of the feather.

                                                  

Eraser Lion:  Ink

This is a Lion that was drawn by only using the eraser on the end of a pencil, black ink, and water.  I used a dark contour "line" to shape the animal and then I used a lighter version of the ink (added water to the solution) to fill in the inside of the lion.  I really like this piece of art because I feel as if it is something that a kid would find in a childrens book.  It was also really fun making and I could see myself having my students create their own images by only using an eraser!  It is fun using unusual tools to make art!