Copper & Stripes
Robyn L.
Soft Pastels
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This piece was the most challenging for me, and the results are the fruit of the many hours of struggling labor. My art teacher wanted to challenge me with a color still life, knowing that color matching and theory were skills that I struggled with. In the two months I worked on the piece, countless practices filled the pages of my sketchbook, studies of how light reflections and object materials came together. The most considerable obstacle to get through was the seashell. The textures of the seashell were minute, with ridges and valleys that traveled all over. I experimented with the erase-out technique Ms. Hodges had previously taught me to create the impression of ridges that stuck out into the light, and the results were so much more than what I expected. This piece is not perfect– there are numerous mistakes and areas that I want to rework, even glancing at it now. However, the technical tests of creating this piece made the result all the more rewarding. I do not see Copper & Stripes as the pinnacle of my artistic skills, but as the conquest of a difficult challenge, the piece that I am most proud of.
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Creativity is synthesizing the teachings of teachers before and one's own individual identity into artwork. I express my creativity through drawing, painting, and visual arts-- producing pieces that express my views on the world and my own identity, all while combining technical skills I learn from those around me.
