Final – Self Analysis

My final project took inspiration from both my home life and the prompts “Shadows and Light”. Each drawing accomplishes a different goal; whether it be through texture, materials, or style, every piece had a motivation behind it and an inspiration to back it up. Each drawing also uses a variety mixed media materials to create the shape and form of the piece; from watercolors to charcoal to ebony, no two drawings used the same materials. I believe these to be a true culmination of my work throughout the semester.

My first drawing is of my tuxedo cat, Swiftfoot, and emulates blackout poetry styles. The words that make up the background basis are from Corinne Bailey Rae’s most recent album (at the time of writing), The Heart Speaks in Whispers, which I have lovingly deemed to be Swiftfoot’s favorite due to her claim of the sweatshirt from a concert. The textures are done almost entirely in fine point pen, with only the gray on the left being something different (in this case charcoal). I greatly enjoyed experimenting with the textures in this piece, and while it took me the longest of all three pieces, I think the emulation of style is certainly well accomplished.

My second drawing is of my two younger cats, Sophie (the tabby one) and Frazier (the orange one), and it is a specific recreation of one of my favorite pictures of them. I am proudest of this one by far; I used Prismacolor pencils for the background, 6B and Ebony pencils for Sophie’s fur, and watercolor for Frazier’s fur, Sophie’s eyes, and to help blend the lighter cyan color in the background. I think the anatomy and use of color is the highlight of the piece, and I think it accomplishes the goal of mixed media very well.

My third drawing returned back to pencils, and added a sanguine contie crayon to make my calico cat Imari’s fur stand out. As with the last two pieces, the patterns on Imari’s back and face are meant to emulate the real patterns that she has. I think the picture doesn’t do it justice, but the image also has intricate shadows on its right and detailed patterns on the wall and sides. I found the sanguine crayon to be somewhat difficult to use in the process, but I believe that I was able to really implement it well.

As a whole, I am very proud of all three of these drawings. They helped me with getting through the last few weeks of the semester and allowed me to really hone in my skills onto things that mean a lot to me. These are certainly not perfect, but I am very happy with how they all look together. I am looking forward to possibly doing more in the future.