More Figure Drawings

I haven't been online in a while... and I also haven't been drawing as much as I should. I need some more animal and environment drawings. My figure drawings are good right now and I can always make more in class so that's good. Then, I will put my sketchbook together beginning of November.
The CalArts application isn't out yet because they changed it to early October.
So no pressure just yet right? :)

I've been making changes to my master copy. It took another 3 - 4 hours to add the background -___-
Maybe I do work a little slow...
I didn't want the girl to blend into the paper and look so lonely. I think adding the background makes it look a lot better.

I noticed that I drew her arms and hands a little lower than they're supposed to be :P


I wanted to post some figure drawings that I did at Bodyworlds in LA. They had a life drawing session during the Bodyworlds exhibit and I went with my teacher Rebecca Kimmel. A lot of people didn't show up at first but some people started coming in later on. It was a really good opportunity and it was fun. The models were doing some really extrenuating poses so they didn't pose for too long. But I managed to get some good drawings that will go in my portfolio.

These drawings below were done in my life drawing class. I really liked the model because she's female and she can rock those hips!
I think our life drawing class will be having a little trouble with model attendance because it is difficult to hire models at the moment. We've only had 2 including this one. But they're very good :)

The pictures are very light... but I think you can still see the drawing...
It's funny how in the life drawing classes that I have been in, I have been taught a different method from each teacher. In my other class I was told not to draw any curves. And now this class, I'm not allowed to draw straight lines. I guess it really is gesture vs. block-in. But I'm finding a way to integrate the both.

On Saturday September 20, I went to the San Diego zoo to get some animal drawings.
That did not go very well... the animals that I really wanted to draw are either really far away or decided to hang out somewhere where no one can see them. I did manage to get some really good angles of a polar bear. So I'll have those drawings up some time soon. Animal drawings really are a challenge. I think I'll end up drawing more pictures of my dog and Eunbee the cat.

So, I hope to have a really good portfolio to show CalArts on portfolio day :}
It will be October 19, Sunday from 12pm - 4pm. I'm really nervous but excited at the same time.
whew... this was a very long post, but I just had to catch up from all the days that I missed.
Next stop... portfolio day, animal and environment drawings!

First Master Copy

I actually finished my first master copy a few days ago. I'm not sure how long it took... I'm gonna say about 10 hours. 4 hours on two days, and 2 more on another. But maybe I'm not entirely done :p
I do think that it would look better with some background even though we're not required to do so.
But I finished my first master copy and I found that I really like doing them.
I chose William Bouguereau's Biblis. Even though it's a beautiful painting, there's a really sad story behind it.


Our first master copy had to be done in graphite. So good thing Rebecca made us use only graphite during the first few weeks of life drawing. My first master copy would have been a disaster +__+


I get to cat-sit my friend's cat named Eunbee. Apparently it means silver rain in Korean. He's a very handsome and smart cat who knows how to open drawers and doors.

I've been thinking about putting the master copy in my portfolio, but maybe just part of my sketch book. I'm not quite sure if I should send in the original or not. Hm...we'll see.

Thinking About Portfolio...Again...

I visited the Cal arts site recently. According to the site, the application will be available mid-September. That makes me nervous even though the preferred deadline is December 1. (why don't they make the application available in the beginning of November???) I'm pretty confident about what is going in my portfolio. But I still have a lot of work to do. I also have an artist's statement to write. Today, I sent my artist statement to my high school rhetoric teacher Mrs. Bradford. I still keep in touch with her because we are friends :) (very ironic because writing is my worst subject -____- ) She's going to proofread it and make sure it is a tidy and good. I haven't taken writing classes in a year so kudos to her for bearing with my writing.
I wish I could write about my journey to becoming an artist because it was quite a struggle. But I don't want to ramble on about that in the artist's statement. I'll try to incorporate some of it :p
My teacher Mara tells me that before I do anything with art, I must have the confidence. And Rebecca says that art is personal and takes time.
Art is hard and has taken me through a bumpy journey. But it has made me even more ready to be an artist.
I'm glad that I will be applying soon. Art, here i come!!!

I also wanted to use this post to acknowledge another blog. My sister has some friends who have a blog where they do little sketches: http://burritogoround.blogspot.com/
it's a shame that these guys don't post anymore. They sketches they do are really funny. Like this for example:


This one's from May 1, 2007:
"There's Alien vs. Predator and Freddy vs. Jason, but even better would be this: Alien vs. Jason vs. Predator vs. Freddy vs. Candyman. And you know why Candyman would win? Bees. That's why."

The life drawing class that I'm taking right now requires me to do 5 master copies throughout the semester. I'm pretty excited about doing the assignment. There are a number of painters from the past who have created such beautiful figurative paintings. My first master copy will be William Bouguereau's Biblis. I'll post my drawing when I'm finished so I can compare it side to side with the actual painting.

I want to post Lord Frederick Leighton's 'Summer Noon' painting on my blog because it's so beautiful...

Moving + Ian Patrick + Portfolio

I haven't been online in a while because I finally moved into my new apartment in Irvine!
I really hated my old apartment. It was extremely unsuitable for art students.
I always had to do my art work either on the little coffee table outside in the living room,
or I had to set up my aluminum easel next to my desk and have it constantly get kicked over by me. My easel was literally right next to my bed.

My new apartment room is much bigger and actually has space to stash all my art supplies.
:)

Continuing from my last post, I wanted to share the work of my painting teacher, Ian Patrick.
His paintings and drawings really are fascinating. Even though he may be incorporating a different element into his drawings, I see disembodiment and the mixed signals in his work.
I really appreciate him showing his work because it's very inspiring.
Here is a link to his website: http://softtopic.typepad.com/portfolio/


I also wanted to post more of my portfolio pieces. This really has been the summer of inspiration. I'm really glad I took the summer life drawing class. If I didn't, I don't think I would've had any good pieces for my portfolio.
The charcoal piece above was kind of a breakthrough for me. I kind of have trouble seeking out the different shapes and lights on the back of a model. So, this piece was a bit difficult but it's a drawing of a person's back that I am quite happy with. It might be a little messy still, but it makes a lot more sense than my other drawings of backs.

Disembodiment

While taking art classes at UCI, I have discovered that I really enjoyed experimenting with the theme of disembodiment in my pieces. I have been focusing mainly on the head, but I would like to play with the idea even more.

I drew this piece in my drawing class with charcoal. I never really questioned why I left the face out. But I do know that this person had very appealing hands. The asymmetry of the way he stood doesn't show very well in the photo :p But I really enjoyed the mystery of this piece.

I took this picture when my boyfriend was sleeping and tangled amongst the mess that is my blankets. I wanted to turn this photo into a painting but it failed miserably -___- I will attempt it again when I take more painting classes. The way his arms and legs are just sticking out in different places around the blanket is kind of funny.


I also took photography classes at Irvine. Exploring disembodiment was also very fun because I can take the photos and put them together like so.


This piece that I did in life drawing was a bit controversial . Because the girl was so dark and covered in shadow on one side, I really wanted that part of her to disappear and become part of the background . I thought about adding a background to the other side of her body to accent the light on the other side. But I decided not to and see what my teacher and my peers would say. A few people wanted to see a background on the other side of the figure. But my teacher Rebecca Kimmel also gave me feedback and said that the background is fine the way it is.

While I was trying to discover more ways to be creative with the idea, I found other artists who represented disembodiment in their art.

My life drawing teacher Rebecca Kimmel also has a body of work that shows missing body parts:
link to the other pieces http://rebeccakimmel.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=14




Enrico Casarosa:
This piece is called Girl and Kingyo. (Courtesy of Gallery Nucleus) I actually saw this piece at the gallery nucleus exhibition and I remember it being quite large. I really appreciate the size of the piece. It makes it even more lovely.



Also by Enrico Casarosa: Your Knee
Another artist who also seems to like to chop off limbs is Audrey Kawasaki:
Many of her pieces feature girls with separated hands, torsos with missing appendages and much more.
http://www.audrey-kawasaki.com/index.php
I can't explain the beauty and wonders of her pieces so I provided her website :)


One last artist I would like to mention is my painting artist at UCI, Ian Patrick. Ian is a wonderful painter and finding his work on the internet is very difficult. So I emailed him and asked for a website and his permission to share his work. I will post his work as well as soon as he responds.

I would like to continue to explore the mysteries and fun of disembodiment. Little did I know that my favorite artists were also exploring the same until I took on the experiment myself. This theme has offered me a different perspective about art. I don't quite know what it means to cut someone's face in half, or to separate arms and such. But I do have an idea, and I will continue to dwell in the world of hidden body parts.

Chinese Painting

I started Chinese painting about a year ago. My mom wanted me to try it out and see if I would like it. I agreed because Chinese paintings are very beautiful and I wanted to try something new. She took me to a famous Chinese painter who happened to live very close by. He wanted to meet me first before starting any lessons. I remember that he didn't want to accept me at first because he thought I was too young. He also thought that it very unusual for a young person such as myself to take an interest in such an old tradition. But he accepted me in the end with the help of another one of his students who happen to be my mom's friend, Mr. Li.

A year has passed and my teacher very much enjoys having me as a student. (whew!)
This November, I will be displaying 3 pieces that I painted in my teacher's annual exhibition. I'm pretty excited about it. At first I thought it was going to interfere with my Cal Arts application process because I would be overwhelmed with art. But actually I already have 2 of my pieces done. The exhibition is in November but I am required to have my pieces done at the end of September. So there will be no problem at all with Cal Arts. Which is really good! (It must be a sign!!!)

I really just wanted to write about how I feel about Chinese painting. I feel as if Chinese painting isn't really painting. It's more like drawing with a brush. Perhaps it is between drawing and painting. Every stroke counts and mistakes must be minimal to none. You feel as if this form of art is about perfection. But it really isn't. My teacher constantly reminds me to make these strokes messier, or to vary the sizes of the leaves and such.
Chinese painting has taught me a lot of patience and discipline of the hand.
Another important thing I learned from Chinese painting is the ability to bring feeling into a painting. Like figure drawing, Chinese paintings need a sense of life of gesture. I find this to be a challenge in my art making process but I enjoy it.

I hope to become a lot better. Because the pieces that I will be displaying are nothing compared to my teacher's other students (who are all middle-aged and had at least 2 years experience...wow...I'm telling you they are gooood.)
I hope they let me take pictures at the exhibition because I want to show the work of my peers.
Hopefully next year I show my work, I won't be known as the teacher's little ABC student :)

I'm very grateful for taking up Chinese painting. It really is a treasure that I hope everyone can share and like.



Here are just a few of the pieces that I have painted just for practice. Every week, I paint about 10 pieces and I show it to my teacher on Fridays. My teacher will correct my pieces and if he feels like I can move on, then he will teach me something new.

I will try to post more and better pieces later on.
My gallery pieces are at home so they won't be ruined but I will get pictures of those as soon as they are made into scrolls so they look more official :)

Portfolio Pieces

i've been doing some drawings on my own time because i cant lose the momentum.
(need to keep the momentum!)
and also because i need to practice using charcoal pencil.
charcoal pencil is like... the weapon that i never use in devil may cry because its different, kind of weird and i dont know how to use it but it probably kicks butt.








this piece is from characterdesign.com.
im pretty happy with how the drawing turned out.
this really encourages me to bust out more drawings using charcoal pencil.




this is my ugly dog piece. i still have to work on it and give it a background or something. the dog in this piece is my dog. she looks like that when she lays down and shows her teeth. its pretty funny. i dont mean to call her ugly because she isn't! but those faces she showed me at the time were quite unlady-like.














this is an actual picture of my dog sporting a white hanes v-neck.