Emily52505's artwork

from school project "Art 1: Watercolor Landscape"

Artist Statement (what Emily52505 said about their artwork)

For this art project, I created a landscape using watercolor and thick watercolor paper. I started by sketching out the mountains in the background, and then I jumped in with the paint. I started from the back, painting the sky behind the mountains. I used a pinkish gradient wash for the sunset. I also used a gradient wash for the blue mountains, and used lifting to add more detail onto them. Once the mountains were dry, I started working on the trees. I used the dry brushing technique to create splotches in the form of trees. On some of the trees, I used a smaller brush to add a trunk and a more defined tip. I did about two layers of trees, and then started working on the water below. I started with a dark teal on the outer parts of the water, and then used more water to blend it into the middle. I then added the sky’s reflection onto the water and blended it with the rest of the teal. I lifted a little bit using a paper towel and water to make it a little less harsh.

This project was definitely more time consuming than I thought it would be, however, for the most part, I like the result. My favorite part is probably the top half of the work: the sky, mountains, and first layer of trees. I think that part looks the best and was definitely easier than the rest of it. Painting all of the trees was challenging. It was difficult to get the perfect water to paint ratio in order to make the perfect tree. Also, the water was very difficult. It didn't really blend how I would have liked. If I could change anything, it would probably be the water. I should’ve been more patient and waited for each layer to dry, even if I didn’t like how it looked.

The main thing you see in this artwork is mountains, trees, and water forming the landscape. The sky is a coralish color that fades out to an off white. The mountains are bright blue that fades into a lighter blue towards the trees. The trees are various shades of green and teal, with little hints of brown here and there. The water is a mix of lots of different colors, but is mostly dark teal, with a little bit of coral for the sky’s reflection.

I used space, texture, value, and color in this painting. Space is used to add distance to the artwork. I used space to make it seem like the mountains are far away, the trees are kind of close, and the water is the closest. Texture is used to create more detail on the trees and make them look more realistic and full. I also used value to add more contrast to the work and create more interest. I used value on the mountains and the sky, which added more detail and definition. Finally I used color to add brightness and excitement to the piece.

I think that I did a pretty good job on the artwork. I really like how the top half of it turned out and I worked hard to create it the way I wanted. I also really liked the colors I created by mixing the watercolors. I wish that I would have been a little more patient and waited for everything to dry before trying to add something else. I like how some of the trees turned out and I really like all of the colors next to each other. Overall, I am proud of the painting and think it turned out well.

Throughout this project, I learned many things. This was my first actual project using watercolor, so I learned a lot of new techniques and got more practice with them. I also learned that I need to be more patient with my work. Even when things didn’t go exactly how I wanted them to, I tried to make it work the best that I could. I think I got better at turning mistakes into happy accidents and working off of them. All in all, I really enjoyed this project, even though it did frustrate me sometimes. I’m excited to create more works like this and see the progress that I can make.