Lanie Vevasis Portfolio 2017
Art Blog
"Dealings with artists requires great prudence; they are acquainted with all classes of society, and for that very reason, dangerous..." ~ Leopold I
For my metamorphosis project, I was challenged transform one object into another. I had to have a series of six changes to meet the requirements. I decided to model a black cat, often seen as bad luck in western superstition, changing into a Maneki Neko, or the beckoning cat, a Japanese symbol for good luck/good fortune. I call it 'A Change in Luck'. Below are images of the stereotypical black cat and a Maneki Neko. To start, I sketched out my ideas for the cats, as well as the background ideas. I decided to avoid super realistic cats to allow for a smoother transition and better cohesion among the cats. For the backgrounds, I wanted to retain the concept of bad luck to good luck, so the backgrounds behind the black cats resemble broken mirrors, and behind the Maneki Neko, there are coins. The colors also change from a dark purple to a golden yellow, showing the cooler colors (green, blue, purple) with bad connotations, and the warmer colors (orange, yellow) with good connotations. For my next step, I redrew the cats onto gray-scale paper, and cut them out using an X-acto knife. I traced their features with a sharpie to help me define the lines when painting. Switching to the backgrounds, I cut out 5.5 x 4.25 rectangles. I then watercolor painted the backgrounds their respective colors: purple, blue, green, yellow-green, yellow, and golden-yellow. Once I finished my watercolor backgrounds, I started painting my cats. I used acrylics as well as sharpie for smaller detail. The cats went from having fur to being made of plastic, so I painted the black cats with hair and the Maneki Neko without it. Lastly, I used chipboard to elevate the cats off of the background to give depth. I used sharpie marker to color the sides black to eliminate the unsightly brown of the chipboard. This gives the cats an element of finality and a three dimensional look. I secured the cats to the board and the board to the backgrounds using glue. The last element needed is the matte board around each cat. This is the result of my metamorphosis project. For this project, I was not inspired by any art in particular, but instead by the concept of luck. Before I started the cats, I had several other ideas, including turning a spiderweb into a suspension bridge. In theory, this would have turned out to look aesthetically pleasing, but there was no meaning behind it. I felt a lack of purpose in making the spiderweb bridge, so I moved on to the cats. Below are some sketches and the concept of a stencil for the spiderweb bridge idea. Overall, with the amount of time I allotted myself to finish the cats, they turned out almost exactly as I had planned. My strength in this project was in the design of the cats. I progressed the piece by having the black cat lift its arm up into the position next to its head. I developed its coin and collar through a gradual change in colors. These aspects made up for the fact that cat was changing into a different cat, and not into an object with a completely different silhouette. My weakness in this project was the painting (as usual). I do not paint often, and I sometimes struggle with patience when painting. With this project, I did not have a brush small enough to create fine details, making most of my lines large and unrefined. If I were to paint them again, I would use a smaller brush, especially on the faces of the cats. If I made this entire project again, I would make it out of clay to give the cats a more realistic aspect. I would be able to give the cats texture, which would have a more visually appealing effect.
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Lanie Trudiana VevasisI am a current Junior at Shippensburg High School that loves all aspects of art. I am in no way an expert; however, I am constantly looking to expand my knowledge and experience. Archives
January 2018
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