This week I spent most of my time painting. I mainly focused on working on my pieces inspired by “At the Seaside” and “Three Graces.” One thing that was challenging this week was my work with acrylic paint. While I am used to it, I still find myself struggling with the paint drying, as well as color matching. Since acrylic paint dries very fast, it is important to remember how you made certain colors. During my cohort, I also realized that I need to focus more on what colors I am mixing. When I first brought my painting in for review, I was told that the blue skies for both needed to be neutralized.  There was definitely too much ultramarine blue used in my “Three Graces” inspired painting. The sky looked very unnatural with the three women and the landscape that I painted. My “At the Seaside” inspired painting could have stayed the way it was, however, I still think that there was a bit too much ultramarine in the sky. I did end up going back and neutralizing the blue a bit. With this project, I have realized how important and helpful critiques are. I am thankful that James, along with the members of my cohort group, has given me such great feedback. My work would not be where it is without constructive criticism.

One thing that was exciting for me this week was that I completed my “Nighthawks” inspired painting. I have been working on this on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays in school. This piece was completed using oil paint, which is a material that I am completely new to. While this piece allowed me to work on a large canvas (much larger than I am used to), I also go to experiment with new colors (cadmium yellow, emerald green, phthalo blue, cadmium red, etc) and oil paint. I learned how to work with turpentine and linseed oil. During my work, I found that I enjoyed mixing my paint with linseed oil, rather than turpentine. After reviewing the final product, I noticed that some of my proportions are off. Though it is not a huge deal, it is something that I struggle with when I make art. If I were to start the painting over, as well as have a little more time, I think that I would try to fix the proportion issues. I know that my pastiches don’t have to be exactly like the original, but I would like to see if I could make this piece more accurate and precise. I am, however, happy with how my painting turned out. Though the changes to it are small and subtle, I think that the message and look are both there.