I just completed one of the most emotionally draining classes I have ever taken - AP Art I. Below are photographs of the projects I created over the course of the year, in the order they were made, with a few of my favorite sketches at the end.
Negative Space Sculpture - vine charcoal and white charcoal pencil: we created paper sculptures and had to make as accurate drawings of them as we could. I must have spent hours each night driving myself crazy adjusting each little mark on the page.
3 Objects with Cast Shadow - polychromos: these clementines (or tomatoes???) were a proud moment for me because my initial layout sketches matched the final piece. Looking back on it now, the piece isn't particularly interesting but it was the first time I got a compliment from my teacher.
Contour with Color - pen, acrylic, colored pencil: so originally this was a completely different drawing but I ended up scrapping it and I'm so glad. I'm not sure I quite like the eyes but the color contour itself is pretty decent.
3-Day Figure Drawing Study - charcoal: my first legitimate figure study, interestingly the other drawings by classmates made the model look much heavier. I keep wondering if I perceived her as skinnier, if it was the angle I was drawing her from, or if others thought she was heavier. The mind is strange.
Section of a Collection - polychromos: the shadows here took forever to get right but this is my favorite project. There's a certain whimsy to it that I'm really proud of and that I feel actually reflects my personality.
Charcoal Reduction Still Life - charcoal: I'm not a fan of the objects I was drawing but I like the style I did it in, kind of painterly I guess. It was definitely a good lesson in the power of stripes.
Self Portrait - charcoal: alright so I've had to do a self portrait pretty much every year of high school. And I can't take it anymore. Overall though, I like the way it came out, but someone pointed out to me that the eyes are kind of strange and now I can't unsee it!
Creative Chair - oil pastel: I made this last minute so it frustrates me a lot but I like the chair itself. Clearly, though, I need to spend a lot more time on my pastel skills.
Creative Staircase - polychromos: so I do love the staircase, I went to my friend's house and drew her majestic stairs and I love them. Not sure I love my choice in Cleopatra.
Portrait with Pattern - mixed media: I really allowed myself to break the rules and I'm glad that I did because this ended up the best and most highly praised project of the year. Emma was a beautiful model and I can confidently say I did her justice and I don't even have much experience with colored pencil.
Textured Still Life/Genetically Modified Animal - pen: we could choose to do either project but not entirely satisfied with my goats, I drew the still life as well. It's easy to see the shadows were challenging but it forced me to get more comfortable with pen than I thought I was.
Watercolor Fabric - watercolor: the hardest part of this project was the large space. It was a huge piece of paper and covering it was very challenging. Watercolor is a bit scary at first but I think I avoided over-doing it.
AP Art I was the hardest class I took in terms of pushing myself. In being criticized I actually gained a bit of confidence. Here's hoping AP Art II is a bit more fun than stressful.
