Inspiration:
When I look at the word “dissolve limitations”, it reminds me of the visual limitation we have. When we construct or perceive a three-dimensional object, we actually visualize the object as a two-dimensional image in our mind. We are not able to see all aspects of the objects, as we often do not see all perspectives of things. Girl Before A Mirror by Picasso is well presented in this theme. Both sides of the woman’s face are showed, and the contrasting color painted in the mirror offers a different visual perspective. Compared to other realistic paintings, the picture in the mirror is the same as the figure. Although Picasso shows similar outlines and figure structures, he uses completely different colors. The art piece shows the expanded facial features as a planiform drawing, showing the two sides of the face as a whole. The two main points relate to my idea for the final project are that 1) we perceive the 3D world in 2D visualization; 2) we often see the single side of things. The well-known case of Jekyll and Hyde impresses us with two extremes of humanity. In reality, we seek a balance from two sides. I would like to combine digital and analog objects, using Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator to adds layers and elements to my project, combining realistic elements with abstract and modern elements in the project. The ideal effect is to show the contrast of dimensions through visualization. I am looking forward to exploring my experiences during constructing my project as well as to see works created by classmates.
Two Mock-ups:
Mock-up 1
The inspiration for this version also comes from a dream I had in 2018. I had a dream about my grandma, who passed away in 2017. In the dream, I told her that I was cold, and she walked a long way to bring me a blanket. My grandma is one of the most important people to me. She took care of me and stayed with me for 17 years. Thus I decided to take a photo of a blanket, and use acrylic to draw the snow mountains and lava. Then I will use Photoshop to make the blanket a dividing line between the snow mountains and lava. I will also use Photoshop to paste the photos of me and my grandma on both ends of the blanket. The blanket means the heat and the cold, the wind and the rain my grandmother had resisted for me in these years of growing up. Also, it means a bonding between me and my grandma that leads us to meet each other in my dream.
Mock-up 2
My inspiration comes from a dream. In the dream, I was told “Art is nudity.” Then I began to think about the connection of art and the happiness in my dream(This is subconscious thinking in the dream). I’m not always happy in my real life because once I set a goal, I will do anything to make myself “nude” for this thing. In Chinese, there is an idiom called “鱼死网破”. Transliterated, it means that the fish are dead and the fishing net is also broken, and in English, it can be said as “perish together” a life and death struggle“. Thus, in this version, I decided to draw an acrylic painting of a nude female, standing in between the fish and net under the sea. And I will make collages of the fish and net using Photoshop.
Demo videos:
How to draw acrylic painting
How to use Photoshop to make collages
Progress Images:
Sketch
Acrylic Painting
Photoshop Work
Final Project:
Final Version 1
Final Version 2
Detail Images:
Detail Image 1
Detail Image 2
Proposal:
CONCEPT
My inspiration comes from a dream. In the dream, I was told “Art is nudity.” Then I began to think about the connection of art and the happiness in my dream(This is subconscious thinking in the dream). I’m not always happy in my real life because once I set a goal, I will do anything to make myself “nude” for this thing. In Chinese, there is an idiom called “鱼死网破”. Translated, it means that the fish are dead and the fishing net is also broken, and in English, it can be said as “perish together”or “a life and death struggle”. Thus, in this work, I plan to create a scene at the bottom of the sea, a tangled fishing net, and a naked woman with goldfish swimming around to symbolize the struggle of achieving a goal.
PROCEDURE
I will show the narrative nature of this painting by the literal translation of the idiom that appears in the dream. The piece will encompass a real person and elements related to the sea, which are both familiar to us to show the connection between the inspiration of this painting——the dream, and our real life.
IMAGERY
I’m going to present the piece in a complete, straight perspective. However, it also contains abstract and narrative vignettes.
Narrative Vignettes will show:
1) The naked woman is trapped in the shark’s mouth
2) The naked woman is surrounded by goldfish
3) The naked woman was caught in a fishing net
Abstracted Vignettes will show:
1) The remains of a shark on the ocean floor
2) The goldfish
3) The fishing net
MATERIALS/METHODS OF ANALOG AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
I will use a combination of pencil drawing, acrylic paint, Photoshop, collage, and wire.
I will first sketch a naked woman and then use acrylic paint to color it. Then I’ll use Photoshop to create composites of the naked woman and the submarine background. I’ll also make collages of surrounding goldfish. Then I’ll use wire to make the fishing net, which will make my work have more perspectives and more 3-dimensional.
COLOR APPLICATION
Basically black and white. The naked woman will be painted in flesh pink, and the surrounding goldfish will be bright orange. Bright color contrast can reflect a mood contrast —— when we have a goal, it seems that we see hope, but in reality, the process of doing everything to achieve this goal is painful and struggling.
REFERENCES/SOURCES/CITATIONS
The background of this work, a picture of the deep sea comes from https://boredomtherapy.com/s/terrifying-ocean-photographs?as=799&asv=1&bdk=0
The pictures of goldfish come from
https://pngimg.com/
The shark is a basking shark, which is harmless to humans. I chose this shark on purpose not only because it symbolizes the potential fear of the process of achieving our goals, but also it means that the pain and suffering we go through in pursuit of our goals does not consume us or hurt us. The process is harmless, and may eventually lead to unexpected growth.
Process/ Conclusion Reflection:
My inspiration comes from a dream. In the dream, I was told “Art is nudity.” Then I began to think about the connection of art and the happiness in my dream(This is subconscious thinking in the dream). I’m not always happy in my real life because once I set a goal, I will do anything to make myself “nude” for this thing. In Chinese, there is an idiom called “鱼死网破”. Translated, it means that the fish are dead and the fishing net is also broken, and in English, it can be said as “perish together” or “a life and death struggle”. Thus, in this work, I plan to create a scene at the bottom of the sea, a tangled fishing net, and a naked woman with goldfish swimming around to symbolize the struggle of achieving a goal.
I first drew the naked woman in acrylic. Then I used Photoshop to paste the woman into the shark’s mouth and some collages of the goldfish. There are three goldfish floating around a woman’s head, indicating that she is being manipulated by her target. Inspired by Nabeeha and Laurel in the breakout room, I used wire to make the wire fishing net.
The shark is a basking shark, which is harmless to humans. I chose this shark on purpose not only because it symbolizes the potential fear of the process of achieving our goals, but also it means that the pain and suffering we go through in pursuit of our goals does not consume us or hurt us. The process is harmless, and may eventually lead to unexpected growth. The net can be opened in the middle, which means that the struggle and helplessness are not permanent, and once we achieve our goal, we can escape from the bondage. And the process of achieving that goal, though painful, is of our own choice, and we are completely free. I cut two fish and stuck them in the middle of the wire fishing net, half out and half in, to show that we were trying to slip the leash.
Learning Portfolio Update:
Acrylic brushstrokes on my body, dry, become a shell that confines me. Seawater fills my mind, I seem to be the goldfish wandering in the sea, which is supposed to be in the river. I almost forget my original intention. The net binds me hard. I struggle but find there is a way to escape from the seemingly solid fishing net. I chase after the crack and swim upstream as fast as I can. I know I will eventually get ashore and I will become my own light.
