Pick-Your-Own-Blog

I developed my idea for this project by brainstorming different ideas for what I wanted to do. I wanted to do an issue that was important to me and was something that I wanted to capture. I knew that I probably wanted to use acrylic (I think it is my favorite medium) but I did not know what subject to choose. After brainstorming, I decided to go to google and find a picture of a tree (I like to paint trees) for inspiration. One thing led to another and I came across a picture of a tree whose leaves reminded me of continents. I then came up with the idea of painting a tree whose leaves were the continents to show that even though we (all the people in the world) are different, we all have the same roots and need to stand together as a united front. I then crudely "sketched" a tree to try and plan out where I would put the continents. For the most part my sketch was the same as how my final turned out, but I had to adjust where some of the continents were in order to make everything fit on the canvas. I really like this project because I like the way it looks but I also like what it says. A lot of people don't see the meaning at first, but when I say what I was showing they really like it and think it's really cool. I also like it because at first I did not think that it was good, but after changing the background from just a mix of blues to more of a gradient/ombre, it created more depth which I like.

I really like selecting what I work on! I do not like to do art because someone told me what I have to do, I like to get an idea myself and go with it. Having guidelines is okay, like saying to try and pick a world issue or a certain general idea, but when it's too specific it takes the creativity out of it. I like having a lot of choice, but sometimes it does get overwhelming and I need some direction. Especially because I usually have projects that I know I want to do, but after they run out I have issues picking things to do. Overall, I really like being able to pick what I do and having the freedom to choose, but I understand that the teacher actually needs to teach and sometimes we have to have certain assignments.