Finished Pieces!!!!!

The piece that was a long time coming is finally finished. I call it "Wind Swept" because of the flying hair and wishful pose of the subject. I am really happy with how it turned out, and am really excited to display it. Now I just have to wait a couple weeks or so until the oil paint dries. WOOHOO!

Although I have been working on this piece since last school year, I have finally gotten it to look the way I want it to look. It was incredibly frustrating, but now it's finished and ready for review!

Still in progress.........

So this is the painting so far. I added color to the hair and did the under-painting on the ear. I still have to finish the eye and nose, and I'm thinking of possibly cutting into the eyebrow ridge because it looks a bit harsh and large and, to my mom, reptilian. The hair was originally supposed to be 2-D  - flat. Now, I'm not so sure. the shoulders and neck are so detailed that the hair is a bit... what's the word... inadequate. I dunno. I guess I'll figure it out.

In progress...

So this is the painting I am currently working on. the hair is going to be a flat red. Im not so sure about it, but at the same time I really like it. The infrared look of it is kinda trippy, but i think its an interesting contrast against the blue/green background. Obviously, this is not the finished product, but I like to think it is coming along quite nicely.

Into the Darkroom of Annandale High School

Zully, an IB Photography student develops her contact sheet

The process and practice of darkroom photography dates all the way back to the early 1800s, where photographs took hours to produce and had to be developed almost immediately. More recently, photography has become a hobby and pastime for virtually anybody with access to a camera. Rather than the good old family camera, kids and parents alike now own cameras of their own, whether they are camera phones, handheld digital cameras, or even fully manual film cameras. While most of the mainstream use of photography is purely documentary, such as Facebook pictures, vacation photographs and the like, the art of photography is alive and well, especially within the walls of AHS.

Through classes like Photography 1-3 and IB Visual Art, students are given the opportunity to explore the art of darkroom photography.

“I think the biggest benefit of working in the darkroom is that every time you work on a print, you give a little bit of yourself, much like any other artist in mediums like painting or drawing,” said photography teacher Meredith Stevens.

The process of darkroom photography is an intricate method combining math, chemistry and an artistic eye to develop photos with rich contrast and a full range of tonal values.

One of the tricks of this process is finding the perfect balance between dark and light values, as well as ensuring proper exposure and focus within the image.

“The best thing about working in the darkroom is that you do everything yourself from start to finish. Digital is so common now that it is really cool to learn how to make photos by hand,” said senior Yaritza Pacheco.

A feature of darkroom processes that is not widely known is that all the editing that can be done in Photoshop or any other photo-editing program, such as brightness/contrast manipulation, cropping and image size, can be done by hand in the darkroom.  Each photograph can be printed to any size, although most commonly, 8”x10” prints are used. The only limit when processing photographs in the darkroom is the size of the enlarger and the imagination of the photographer.

“In learning how to work in the darkroom, you learn a greater appreciation for the work and craft of photography, whether it is film or digital.

A handful of students have made darkroom photography either a feature or the focus of their IB Art portfolio. Junior Kelly Dwyer has been working in the darkroom for two years and is making photography the focal medium of her portfolio. The freedom given through classes such as IB Visual Art really allows photography to become an experimental process, where art students can explore their interests in photography, after completing the basic Photography 1 course, and learning all the essential skills.  Other students like senior Yaritza Pacheco and junior Becca Sponga have used darkroom photography as a small but important piece of their body of work, as they now shoot in both film and digital.

Darkroom photography continues to be beneficial to students and teaches students both the process of developing a photographic print as well as the basic mechanics and artistic aspects of shooting a photograph, whether it is film or digital.

Artist in the Spotlight: Becca Sponga

Becca Sponga is a junior, currently enrolled in the IB Visual Arts class, with a concentration in photography. Sponga’s work is very technical, focusing mainly on texture and detail. Producing images of water, family, and nature, Sponga creates a theme of adventure running through her work that gives the viewer both a nostalgic remembrance of childhood and the feelings of curiosity that come with it. She has perfected her printing process to include a full range of tones through her photographs as well as a comfortable and pleasing contrast between both the light and dark tones and the positive and negative spaces throughout her shots. This attention to detail shows Sponga’s advanced composition skills and her sharp eye for an interesting scene.
“I love film photography because I feel like my photos come out more artistic. I get the photo to look the way I want because through photography I am able to show people the world the way I see it. Plus I shoot better with film and the darkroom is my home away from home,” said Sponga.
Although Sponga is only a junior, she has set her sights on art school saying, “I want to either major or minor in photography. I don’t have any specific school in mind, but preferably I would like to go somewhere in North Carolina.”
Sponga shows promise as both a photography student and a photographer on her own. She exemplifies a clear sense of direction and a common theme throughout her work, which will take her far in the field of professional photography.

The A-Blast!

Check out the work we've been doing on our page online at http://www.thea-blast.org/category/arts/. there are articles and videos galore, with other content that fills our other 19 pages.

Great Falls Park

The beauty of Great Falls Park. the weather was perfect, with not a cloud in the sky - fifty degrees and sunny.

First mobile post... This is a lot like twitter. haha

The Portfolio.

"Can You See Me Now?" - Gel Medium Transfer on plywood.

     This is the culmination of all the work I have prepared to present for my portfolio reviews. There are, of course, other works in the making, but as they are not finished, they are not in my portfolio.

Figure Drawing

"Jess" Gelatin Silver black and white photographic print.

"Lifeline" Mixed media on canvas (electrical wiring, acrylic, paper)

"Liberation" screen print

"Otep" charcoal drawing

"Tap" oil on canvas with red rope light

"Reflection" oil on canvas

"The Scoons" screenprint

"Yellow" oil on canvas

Artist Review: Richard Colman

Richard Colman is a native of the Washington D.C./ Metro area, having grown up in Bethesda, Maryland. Now residing in San Francisco, California, Colman is producing more work than ever and has been featured in multiple magazines over and again, including JUXTAPOZ, Milk magazine and Moose Magazine.

Since Colman graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, his work has been exhibited all over California through galleries such as PRISM and New Image Art Gallery in Los Angeles, White Walls Gallery in San Francisco and galleries as far as Krets, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark. Colman has also been featured in multiple books and group exhibitions around the world.

Colman’s success is directly tied to his immense body of artwork, comprised of highly technical paintings and mixed medias. Typically, he works in gouache and ink on wood and/or paper on a very large scale. His signature imagery is of intricate patterns, undulating lines, twisting rainbows, bright, even florescent, colors and mismatched body parts. Throughout his work runs a theme of sexuality and intensity, and with this theme comes a specific shock value, which is exactly what Colman intends. His imagery, if not completely vulgar, is fanciful and confusing. To the viewer, Colman’s work is disorienting and requires specific attention to detail to appreciate each individual piece of the paintings.

However, on that note, his work is so controlled and deliberate, the viewer cannot help but at least appreciate his lines and patterns, if not the entirety of each piece. Some pieces such as “The Same Only Different,” Panel 1 (pictured) appear as though Colman cut apart a pre-existing painting and pieced it back together in a different order. This technical and complex composition is anything but unplanned, and has somewhat of a jarring effect on the viewer, because all sense of continuity within the piece in non-existent.

Other works, such as, “Untitled, with Legs,” focus mainly on line and color. Again, we see Colman’s complex juxtaposition of blocks and shapes within the piece, but the overall flow of the painting is more evident than that of the aforementioned piece, “The Same Only Different,” Panel 1. Here, the underlying motif is a paint drip. Behind all the rainbows, bricks and patterns, there are paint drips, which are not repeated through any other painting. The other recurring subject is clumps of legs. From the title, legs are expected, however, the design of this painting is so intricate, the viewer must hunt for these legs.

Colman’s work is complex, twisted and questionable, but is also intriguing and eye-catching. His work makes viewers think and wonder, which, for any artist, is a big accomplishment.

Dabbling in the Dark Arts

      Greg Simkins finds inspiration in everything around him, from landscapes to flowers and finds special interest in the images he fabricates in his imagination. Simkins refers to a blank canvas as a “sponge” upon which he soaks every thought in his head.  Throughout his work, Simkins uses imagery from his childhood, melding together his obsession with Disney and Sesame Street characters and modernistic designs, reflective of spike pits and cloudy skies.
        There also runs a science fiction theme throughout his work that, while familiar, is completely original and manufactured entirely from his mind. Stylistically speaking, Simkins uses the familiar and nostalgic images of Disney characters and childhood symbols to create a contrast within his work, that both speak to his life and imagination, creating a personal feeling. The use of such characters creates a lure to his work, which is met with sharp spikes and fantastic creatures which are by no means cute or cuddly. To the contrary, Simkins creates an intense spooky and haunting mood through his use of exaggeration and manipulation of his characters. 
        Much of Simkins’s work shows evidence of arduous planning and use of technical skill. Simkins’s style looks almost computer-like through his use of layers and his incredibly smooth lines and textures. His work is very controlled. This use of control and smoothness within his paintings counteracts the randomness and seeming disorder. The confusing imagery is composed in such a way that when the viewer is working their way around and within Simkins’s pieces, there are parts which are intense and jarring, immediately followed by soft or blank space, giving the viewer’s eye a chance to rest.
       This is shown in Simkins’s “The Outside” (pictured). Here, the viewer sees an urban theme, in the crumbling wall of graffiti. Bursting through the crumbling wall are fish and birds from a washed out, “wonderland” landscape. The lines of the bird and fish draw the viewer’s eye around the piece from the bottom right corner up through the top right and on to the upper left. This image shows a lot of layering and juxtaposition of creatures and themes. Simkins has created a great contrast between the flowing, lucid movement of the fish and bird, and the crumbling, harsh appearance of the graffiti wall. Simkins, technically, is a great artist, while his imagery may not appeal to all viewers, his technique is impeccable and his skills are copious and advanced.

The joy that is ART SCHOOL APPLICATIONS

Well... as Senior year is in full swing, so is the arduous process of applying to colleges. Feeling ambitious, I was going to apply to 6 schools... Realistically, I am applying to four, because the process of art school applications is not the easiest, or for that matter, stress-free. Thus far, I have written four essays and prepared a ten-piece portfolio for Florida State and NC State. I still have to re-format a sixteen piece portfolio and prepare at least three more essays, for VCU and Colorado State. Despite the pain-in-the-a**ness of these applications, I will be completely finished by my 18th birthday, so basically I'm super psyched. then all I have to do is not fail!