| This is the planning and sketches of my artist inspired painting. I researched American sculptor Alexander Calder but I wound up trying to echo his painting style rather than his sculpting style. His paintings were often of very simple landscapes, painted in only primary colors, so I decided to go with a desert scene to incorporate my own twist. These are some of my artist's, Alexander Calder, paintings. The simple style with only primary colors and clean lines were his staple. So that style is what I tried to accomplish with my landscape painting below. This is a progression of my artist inspired painting. Again, I chose a simplistic landscape and painted in with only the primary colors, a red-orange, a yellow-orange and black, similar to what Calder did on most of his own paintings. |
- Who was your referenced artist for the painting? Name 4 main ideas you used from your research to create your painting.
1. A famous American sculptor and painter
2. Primarily used the three primary colors plus shades of red-orange & yellow-orange.
3. Used distinct outlining techniques with black paint
4. Painted very simplistic & geometric scenes
2. Describe the craftsmanship of your painting. (Is it neat and well executed?)
I feel the craftsmanship of my artist recreation painting is pretty good. I tried very hard to keep all the lines going around each layer of the mountains, cactus outlines/silhouette, and sun outline very straight, precise and of the same width to ensure the painting looks uniform and simplistic, just as Alexander Calder did in his own paintings.
3. What was the most difficult part of this project?
For me, I thought the most difficult part of this project was trying to only paint with the primary colors along with black and white. Calder only painted his simplistic landscapes with these colors, but the landscape I chose had more areas to paint than those five colors mentioned above. So figuring out how to mix slightly different shades and tints of the primary colors to get enough paint colors to paint all the areas of the landscape was the most difficult part of the project for me. But in the end I was happy with the colors I created.
4. Describe your color choices and how they reflect the work of your chosen artist?
My color choices almost entirely reflect the work and style of my artist, Alexander Calder. My artist was mainly a sculptor but, when he did paint, he painted with only the primary colors (blue, yellow, & red), black, white, and sometimes he would use a red-orange or yellow-orange, as I did in my own painting, to fill in extra areas of his painting. So by only using these colors in my own work, I unmistakably reflected Calder's painting style.
5. Describe how the style of your landscape reflects your chosen artist.
The landscape that I chose was a simple desert scene with very geometric shapes and clearly defined layers so I could paint it in Calder's style. This type of landscape, a simplistic one, is also what Calder frequently painted. He often chose very clean, and somewhat plain, landscapes and painted them in a very whimsical and colorful way. That is exactly what I tried to replicate by choosing a desert landscape which is often very barren and simple.
6. What do you think your chosen artist would say if he or she could see your painting today?
I think Calder would recognize that my painting was an attempt at trying to paint in his style but ultimately not exactly like his own paintings, because he put very signature touches in his styling. But I believe that he would be able to look at my final piece and see how it resembles his own general painting style.
7. What would you do differently if you were to do this project again?
If I were to do this project over again, I think I would figure out a more precise way to paint the outlines more evenly. Even though they look all the same width, if you look closely, they kind of vary and look wobbly. I would like to go back with a thinner brush and a steadier, more patient hand and get the outlines all equal in width to really give the painting a clean, sharp and simplistic edge.