Crystal
Title: Untitled
Size: 17.78cm by 22.86cm Medium: Acrylic paint on a canvas board Completion: September 2023 ExhibitionThe crystal project is a detailed close-up painting of a colorful glass object. The goal of creating Crystal was to dive deep into a small section of the original picture and scale it up. This project was geared toward the technique of separating the minor differences of color and shape. This was done all without blending to emphasize the different colors, along with building on the skill of scaling up images to correct proportions.
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Process
My process began with figuring out what section of the original crystal photo I wanted to replicate. The reasoning behind why I choose the section is because of the contrast in the different colors. Once I decided on the section, I marked along all sides of the image. I marked a 2-inch mark on both horizontal sides of the image and a 1.5-inch mark on both vertical sides. I kept those measurements on the sides of the image so that when I drew the cut-off lines connecting the marks, I could avoid a slanted line. Which could have affected the proportions of my final piece.
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Next, I needed to transfer an outline of the picture to the canvas board. The grid method was the best to transfer the image. First, I split up the 2-inch x 1.5-inch section into 16 boxes.
(4 horizontally and 4 vertically). I applied the same sectioning of 16 boxes to the 7-inch x 9-inch canvas. I started by finding the half point on all sides of the canvas and then drawing a line connecting the points (red lines). Then, with those sections, I found the half-point in those sections and drew a line connecting them until I was left with 16 boxes (blue lines). After finishing the grid, I started to draw a detailed outline of the different shapes and variation of colors I could see. |
Once the outline was done, I started painting. I used four different brushes for my painting. I used the Flat Shader 4 to cover the areas with more open space. (e.g., The dark brown color is painted with the Flat shader). I used Round 2 and Round 1 for thinker lines and the curved parts of the outline (e.g., The yellow, purple, and tan colors used the round brushes). I used the Short Liner 10/0 brush to get a precise clean line for the different shapes to emphasize a clear separation of the colors (e.g., the thin dark purple lines layered over the lighter purple).
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Experimentation
My initial process to effectively paint my piece was doing it box by box. However, I noticed some things that could have been improved in this process. The first flaw was that doing this affected the smooth transition between the same shapes in different boxes. Along with that, I wasn’t effectively using the colors I had made. If I saw a similar color elsewhere on the canvas, I didn’t paint that area with the color because it wasn’t a part of the box I was working on.
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My next idea was to paint shape by shape Instead of box by box. So then, I started to paint from the shapes flowing from the first painted box. (e.g. shapes outlined in red). I noticed some improvements in how the shapes were turning out. They turned out more smoothly. However, I was still struggling with not getting enough use out of the colors I had mixed.
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After thinking about using the colors I created more effectively, I decided to paint sections by their color. I started painting the grays, blues, pinks, yellows, purples, and browns. The main part I had to experiment with was creating the proper shades of the different colors to match the image but also having the colors different enough so there would be a visually clear separation of contrast amongst the colors. I started by mixing random colors to achieve the color that best matched the image. However, this led to the color variations looking visually off in unity and looking different in tone (warm or cool). So, to fix this problem, I decided to mix a base color for each color section. (Base color shown in the red boxes).
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I mixed base colors for each color based on the shade the paint displayed most. Once I determined the base color, I mixed up a gradient in the colors. Most of the time, I added titanium white to lighten the color and Payne’s gray to darken the color. This didn’t work for every color because it would affect the vividness of the color. So, I would add more of the original paint color in that situation. For example, I couldn’t add black to the yellow because it would ruin the intensity of the yellow. So, I decided to add some yellow ochre because this is a darker version of yellow. The painting by color section emphasized the unity of the overall piece.
Reflection
This project at the end showed me the ability I have for the different techniques. The techniques include color mixing and matching, separation of color, and ability to make clean smooth edges. I wouldn't say my technique and skills have improved a whole lot from doing this project. But this project gave me a visual aspect of what I right now can achieve. My biggest challenge for me was being able to create colors that accurately match the image, but also works with the unity of the piece. Throughout the process of this painting, I was never happy with the outcome of the colors. They looked so wrong in comparison to the photo, and also looked wrong on the canvas with the other colors. This project ties into exercises of techniques and skills I had learned as a sophomore when working with acrylic paint. I used my skills in color mixing, and my techniques in creating clean smooth lines I practiced a lot as a sophomore. My favorite part of this project was the challenging of having to enlarge a small section of an image, onto a canvas board. My least favorite part of this project was the color matching, and color separation. I hope others view my work as learning piece, a way to look at and reflect on your skills.