This is the final of my skeletons.  I had to increase the line weight in a few areas.  So this is it.

 I had to do a second skeleton piece, and it could be anything I could think of.  So this is what I came up with.  I wanted the human emotions and feelings still attatched to the bones, but I wanted the feeling of being burried.  So, hopefully it conveys that. 

 I was required to do an academic study of a skeleton, and I decided to use charcoal.  This is a view of the spine and the ribcage.   

Picasso Self Portrait

 This is the self portrait that I did, based on Picasso and cubism.  I really like the expressiveness in Picasso's cubist paintings, and I attempted to capture it in my painting.

Rhythm

This is the progression of my latest project. My assignment was to convey a sense of rhythm, and I decided to accomplish that through shading.  I focused on the highlights and lowlights in the composistion of the sink hardware and tried to move the viewer's eye through the piece using that. Again, these aren't the best picures but they get the job done.

Final of Portrait

This is not the best picture ever, but I decided to finish the portrait off with a purple wash in the background.  I think it ties the whole picture together and completes it.

Expressive Portrait

 This is the photo I took of Miranda for my expressive portrait of her. She often describes herself as a bubbly person.

 This is the first concept sketch I did of Miranda.

This is the final drawing I did of her face, the entire piece is not completed yet though.

This is the next step of the piece. It is not yet completed, as I need to add more bubbles. The final picture will be posted soon.

Finished Architecture Painting

This is the progression from start to finish of the architecture themed painting I did.  It is hard to see in the picture but there is sand mixed in with the paint to give it a cement-like texture.

New Painting

This is the background for my next piece. It is a collage of newspaper and will serve as the landscape for my arcitectual painting.  I'm not big on using architecture as an inspiration but it's always good to try something new.

Yay!!! My Book is Finished!

 Cover (Front)                                       Cover (Front and Back)

First Page                                         







                                   

Second Page

Third Page
( It flips open to reveal both faces)

Fourth Page

                                                                                                    
Fifth Page
                                        

                                     

                                                                                                          Sixth Page

Seventh Page

Eighth and Ninth Pages

The Last Page (Tenth)

Ta Da! That is my altered book from front to back.

The Rest of the Finished Book Pages

This is the progression of one more page for my book that was finished last week. It is of another one of my good friends.

This is the progression of the last page I had to finish for my book. It is supposed to look somewhat like stained glass. I cut out tissue paper and pieced it behind the black paper.

Push-Pin Painting

This is the progression of my push-pin painting from the pre-posted sketch to the finished product which is the painting at the bottom. I think it is a whole new way to look at a push pin.

Another Finished Altered Book Page

This is the progression of this page from start to finish starting with the sketch which I have already posted. The shiny petals were cut from pages of a book and painted over. You can't really see it in the picture but in person the words come through the paint a little.

My Artist Statement

Art allows me to be loud. If you know me, you know that I don't talk all that much. With art, I don't have to consider every word I say.  I draw what I want, and what I feel.  When I finish a piece I look back and expect to see a bit of myself reflected in the art.  I think it makes my art believeable.  I want people to see it and see real people not made up ones, and I want them to make a connection to my art.  Art is made for everyone.  I think that a lot of artists create pieces exclusively for other artists and when regular people go to a museam and look at it, they just walk by and don't give the art a second glance.  I want my art to jump out at people and I guess that is what I strive for in every piece that I make. 

I don't plan on making art my career.  I actually want to be an astronomer, but art has always come easily to me and it is something that I enjoy imensley. Even when I get old and grey, as we all eventually must, I hope to still be creating.  Art will always be a part of me and if I'm not drawing because I want to, then I don't want to draw at all. 

I am a perfectionist and art is always showing me how not perfect I am. But I've realized over time that nothing in art is ever perfect.  There is always room for improovement and that is something that I love.  I love looking back and seeing how far I've come as an artist, and I look forward to the future and seeing how much I will improove. I'm glad that my art isn't perfect. It it was then it wouldn't be real and tangible.

This year I want to master the art of capturing the essence of my subjects.  That is the special "thing" that captures the audience.  I want my art to tell a story and, like I said before, I want it to be believable.  When art contains that essence it doesn't need any intoduction or special show. 

Art allows me to be me.  I don't have to pretend, or wear any masks. Art doesn't lie.  Art speaks every language and eventually trancends words all together.  I want my art to speak beyond myself and that is my intent.  I want my art to touch something inside people and make them believe that anything is possible. 

sam

New School Work

This is a sketch I did today in class for a painting due on Monday.  It is the top down view of three push pins.  Pretty cool huh? The final product will be posted soon.

My Altered Book

All of the pieces below this post are pages from my altered book. Not all of them are posted yet but will be soon.

This is the newest sketch of one of my few remaining pages for my altered book. I will upload the final work when I finish it this weekend along with the rest of the remaining pages.

This is an acrylic painting of my dog. It is done in an almost fauvistic/cubist style.