Week 10- 9th Portfolio

     A very scary Halloween to all! This week, I was assigned to create a piece to dedicate to someone, be he living or dead. I chose to dedicate mine to William Gaines, creator of such comic book series as Tales From the Crypt, The Vault of Horror, and The Haunt of Fear. He was also the original publisher of one of my all-time favorite magazines, MAD.

Tales From the Vault of Fear
I created this piece in my usual method of pencil and paper, as well as adding a splash of color to it, which was done with colored pencils. I had originally intended it to dedicate it to a student I saw present his works. He displayed a series of book covers he had created, which really captured my interest, especially his treatment of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Inspired, I did a quick sketch of a book cover of my own, depicting Robert Louis Stephenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.However, when I learned that the piece could be dedicated to anyone, I decided to dedicate it to the crowned prince of horror, Vincent Price. But, considering that I drew much inspiration from the Tales From the Crypt comics, I decided to pay tribute to Mr. Gaines.

What I have drawn here is a ghoulish little man who would no doubt feel right at home in the Cryptkeeper's crypt, or the Old Witch's lair. A vampire bat dangles from his extended finger, and a raven is perched on the corroding dagger lodged in our creepy friend's skull. As a noose dangles around his neck, he holds a leaking beaker of frothing, sizzling poison that leaves boiling puddles on the ground.

I think the first major detail that viewers of this piece should take notice of  should be this spooky gent's eyes. One of the is stitched shut, while the other has a pair of unnaturally- wide lids, the lower of which dangling past his mouth. The second thing to notice should be his otherworldly skin tone  a pale yellow that suggests the quality and texture of moldy cheese. The final thing to notice should be his hunched-over posture, which makes him look a bit on the loony side, as if you haven't probably already guessed.

Week 9-8th Portfolio

      This week, I was tapped to create a drawing that was inspired by a work I saw at the Art Institute. I what I created was inspired by Exquisite Corpse, a collaborative piece created in 1928 by Yves Tanguy, Man Ray, Max Morise, and Andre Brenton:

Exquisite Corpse, 1928 

Mating Call

   I created this piece with pencil and paper, and used colored pencil and marker I obtain a similar style to the piece it is based on. I have taken it upon myself color my works, since I used color in my previous two pieces, which were received well my my instructor and colleagues.

     What is depicted here is a bizarre creature constructed of various musical instruments (his feet are bulb horns, which was mistakenly cut out of the image) calling out to its mate in a most unusual fashion. There really isn't any point to this work other than to be surreal for the sake of being surreal,which, admittedly, could also be said for most of my other works.

   The first thing that should be noticed when viewing this piece are the various instrument parts sticking out of the creature's anatomy: the bagpipes tubes and cymbal sticking out of its head; a concertina and a clarinet for arms; a tambourine on the tip of its tail; and a drum for its body. The second most noticeable detail should be the way the musical notes flying out of the creature's mouth appear all crooked, which suggest a few sour notes, much like how the mating call of a moose sounds.
The final most noticeable detail would be the appearance of the horn coming out of the creature's mouth, which I drew as such to provide a similarity to Exquisite Corpse. 

Week 8- Seventh Portfolio

For this week, I was assigned to create a piece of art that included blue in it. In response, and in regards to the Halloween season, I crafted this:

Blue Boo

      I created this drawing with pencil, as usual, and I made it blue with the use of markers and colored pencils. For this work, I drew inspiration from the artwork of Disney Imagineers Mark Davis and  Claude Coats for Disneyland's famed Haunted Mansion attraction. I had originally envisioned drawing a a corpse, frozen blue in a block of ice, but I soon came to the conclusion that that would be too gruesome. 
    
     What is essentially drawn here is a blue free-floating apparition dressed in his Friday (the 13th that is!) best: a ragged old sport coat and a patched bowler. He clutches a suitcase in one ectoplasmic hand, and a rusty old candelabrum in the other as he makes his way on his haunting spree.

    I think that the most noticeable detail in this artwork is that the candelabrum is colored differently than the rest of the ghost, which indicates that it is the only "corporal" object in this piece.  
 the wax dripping from the candles, and the flames billowing outward. This would indicate a sense of rapid momentum. The second most noticeable thing should be the condition of the phantom's clothes, which suggests that he was a hobo in a previous life, which should be implied also by the spirit's suitcase. The final most noticeable detail would be the wax dripping from the candles, and the flames billowing outward. This would indicate a sense of rapid momentum.

Week 7-Sixth Portfolio

For this week, we were to create a piece  that incorporated red in it. Here is what I have done.

Spludge

          This was created, as usual, with pencil and paper, with colored pencil added. I used it so that it would be fitting with the overall theme of my series- character drawings done with pencil.

          What this week's drawing depicts is this slug-like creature having just skeletonized an entire cow for its lunch. Happy with the meal it has just enjoyed, the creature licks its lips in satisfaction and beams brightly.

          What the viewer of the this should view first, I think, should be the slug creature, since it stands out so well on the white background. The next thing they should notice should be the cow bones, since they should be quite noticeable already. The final thing they should notice is the expression on the cow's faceless skull, indicating that it was taken by surprise and just noticed it was going to be eaten at the last second.

Special Edition Post-Art Institute

On Saturday, October 6th, I visited the Art Institute of Chicago with my Portfolio group to view the exhibits. Afterwards, we were assigned to create a blog post that showcases what we think are the best works.

 

   This piece, Exquisite Corpse, is the one that inspired my blog post from October 23rd. I admire this one greatly because of its pure surrealism, disjointed and disconnected from a coherent reality, hence the reason I was so inspired by it.

This piece, a 1928 collaborative effort by Yves Tanguy, Man Ray, Max Morise, and Andre Benson ; and created with pen, brown ink, graphite, and colored crayons on paper, displays a bizarre-looking figure with an appearance that defies all description, with distored limbs and various objects standing in for limbs.

 I think the first most noticeable detail in this piece is the weird contraption in the place where the figure's right arm should be, which gives a very inhuman quality to something that seems inhuman to start with. The next most noticeable detail, I think, is the figure's body, shaped like a human heart, complete with a protruding artery. Finally, one should take notice of the serpentine creature slithering between the figure's legs.

Considering this piece is little more than a woman's face made of various objects, I don't have very much to say in terms of Concept and Composition in this case.

I liked this piece, however, because it seemed very unique among the other works that were created with the usual oils and pastels.

This untitled work was created by Francis Picabia in 1920 with the use of various bits and pieces of junk, such as matchsticks, hairpins, coins, and string.

White Nurse, I feel, has a lot of social commentary in it, seemingly speaking out against the Vietnam War ( the army helmets) and the Klu Klux Klan ( the three crucifixes and the title, White Nurse).

Peter Saul created this piece with graphite on ivory wood pulp board, and colored  with oil pastel, crayons, and fiber-tipped and ballpoint pens.

I think the first detail that should call people to attention would be, of course, the central figure, since it is the single most noticeable detail in the piece. The second, the gigantic  phallic object that trails from from the left side of the canvas to the other, which should stand out with its bright yellow hue. Finally, one should take notice of the duck near the top, which seems almost out of place. 

          Now, out of the the works of art that I have selected that I consider a true masterpiece, I have chosen Salvador Dali's 1937 oil on canvas piece, Inventions of the Monsters. The reason I think this one is the best out of the others is that Dali's work is widely considered to be the most surreal in the world of art, and, as I have mentioned before, I hold an immense admiration to surrealism. Unlike Exquisite Corpse, however, this piece seems to hold some actual substance to it, as an outcry against war, much like White Nurse.  It also seems that Dali is recording a dream in this work, as explained in the art description above.

          The piece shows a winged  figure wearing a mask, crouched berfore a horse-headed creature rising out of a wooden block, apparently offering it something. While this takes place, various monstrous shapes dance about them in a post-apocalyptic landscape.

The detail I think people should notice first should be the flaming giraffe off to the side, either an animal who has been set about by the monsters with torches, or a monster itself. The second detail, I think, should be the score of horselike creatures, apparently partaking in some sort of demonic ceremony. The final detail people should notice should probably be  the ghostly image of a dog, who either looks upon the whole scene in morid curiosity, or is frozen with terror.

 

Week 6- Fifth Portoflio

To begin with, I have decided to title my series as "Pencil People", since they are drawn with pencil and are mostly figure drawings.

 What I have done for this week are drawings drawn on different surfaces than what I usually draw on, such as cardboard....

Pick a Card

...mathematics paper...

Blockbot

...and post-it notes.

Mailbox Beast

I have chosen to go into detail on the post-it note drawing since it seems to me to be the most unusual among the ones I have done. 

I attempted to create the picture by sticking the notes to each other, but because they would not stick well, I chose to tape them together. I also taped over any part of the notes that had glue on them so that I would not risk making the picture look ugly. The actual drawing process was much more simple, since the tape was easier to draw over, and to erase markings from, than I thought it would be. I chose to draw something involving a mailbox as a play on words; that is, "post".  

What I have drawn here is a mailbox with a reptilian monster dwelling within, who has apparently just finished off dining on a mailman, whose bones lie beneath the mailbox. The monster peeks out of the box, his clawed hands opening the cover ever so slightly; his eyes mere spots of lights within the dark box; and his scaly dragonlike tail dangling from out of the box.

What should be especially noticeable at first glace should be the creature's claws gripping the cover of the box, his tail dangling out, and his staring eyes. The second most noticeable thing should be the bones of the unfortunate postman, the hat still on his fleshless skull. Finally, the last thing you should notice should be the droplets of blood on the cover of the mailbox, indicating that the postman's fate was a messy one.