PORTFOLIO students- summer

Portfolio                                                                                                              Purcell

Portfolio class requires you to produces 30-40 pieces from your junior and senior year.  It is crucial that you are drawing every day over the summer, even if only for a few minutes, to keep your skills sharp.  You will need works from three categories: imagination, observation and photo reference.  If you are able to set up a still life where it will remain undisturbed for a week or two at a time I strongly recommend getting some strong observational pieces done where you can invest over 8 hours in a single piece.

Ultimately, your portfolio should represent not only what you can do, but who you are.  Try to use subject matter that is an important part of your life.  Schools want to see that you can draw and paint what you see, but also what is important to you, so focus on that as often as possible.  If you care about your work it shows and if you are lazy it shows just as much.

Keep a sketchbook.  You should already have one in progress but try to continue and remember that it does not have to be full of finished work but perhaps explorations in various stages.

Things to avoid:  only working in one medium, lack of basic shapes to structure your work, centered compositions, art with no background, plagiarizing other’s work.

Things to do: self-portrait(s) that are about more than what your face looks like

A series of at least 4.  Do searches online and in books (give it a shot) at how different artists approach a series and what makes several pieces of work a series. (Size, format, subject matter, color palette…)

Find artists who inspire you and try to incorporate elements of their work in yours.

Consider getting a red envelope portfolio for your work 24 x 36 or bigger or if you go to an appliance store and ask them for a big box (refrigerator etc…) they are going to throw away, you can cut that down and cut out a handle. 

Drawing and Painting Final

Self-Portrait

FINAL PROJECTS WILL BE PRESENTED DURING THE EXAM BLOCK.


Write a 2 page double spaced paper (plus a works cite page) on an artist of your choice. Your artist must be approved by Mr. P by Friday June 5 before you begin. (one will be chosen for you otherwise) The artist must be one who created/creates self-portraits and can be from any era and work with any painting medium (pastels, oils, acrylics…) as long as they have contributed to the art world in a significant way. (Please avoid writing a paper about an uncle who likes to paint etc…)
There are many qualities you could choose to focus on such as how subject matter is presented, scale, medium, color choices/use of color, time eras, stylistic choices, meaning/intent… Analyze what the artist is trying to accomplish and how they do so. (for instance, why did Monet use the colors he did?) There are very specific reasons for this which would require research and understanding of the artists’ work.

Part two of this project is to create a full color 9 x 12 or bigger self-portrait that is both a likeness of yourself in some way and that represents the artist’s stylistic approach. Do not replicate a piece, but create your own based on the artist’s body of work. You may use acrylic or watercolor.

Presentations during the exam block will be brief but should present to the class as though no one has any prior knowledge of the artists. You do not have to read the paper but give a well thought through synopsis along with the image. You will likely be asked some basic questions as well so make sure you know your topic. This project counts for 20% of your grade!

Paper 40%

Artwork 50%

Presentation 10%

No late projects or emailed papers will be accepted so please do not wait until the last minute to print.  Do not be late to class for any reason as it will result in a zero

Please be sure not to plagiarize in any way as it will result in a zero!! Please be careful not to cut and paste or re-word from any web site or book.

Foundations Final

Choose an artist from any time period who made a significant impact on the art world.  Artist must be approved by Mr. P by Monday June 8 or one will be chosen for you.
Part 1: Write a 2 page double spaced paper (plus a works cited page) on your artist.  Discuss their upbringing, educational background and the history of their work.  What media did they use? What scale did they work with? What did their creative process entail? What subjects did they use?  Why? What makes their work significant?  Were they associated with any art movement and if so what was the movement about?
Part 2: Create a 14 x 18 acrylic painting representing the artist's work but not copying a specific piece.  Your artwork should be a portrait of the artist.  It could be nontraditional if that makes the most sense for you.  On the back of your work, identify the use of three elements and three principles of art.
This project counts for 20% of your final grade.  Please do not plagiarize in any way as it results in a zero.
Paper 40%
Artwork 50%
Presentation 10%

No late work will be accepted so please be prepared ahead of time. (any lateness to class will result in a zero, emailed papers will not be accepted)

Design Final-Character Design

Design final
Our final project will focus on character design which can cross over into many realms.  Begin by choosing an artist who designs characters in the field of video games, comic books/graphic novels or a related field.  Please focus on an individual who does the illustrative part of the process if there is a collaboration.  (for instance, if you chose Stan Lee and Jack Kirby who created the Fantastic Four, focus on Kirby with acknowledgement to Lee)
Part 1: Research and write a 2 page paper (double spaced plus works cited page) on the artist/designer.  Artist must be approved by Mr. Purcell by Friday June 5.  Discuss the artist's background, training, work history and any noteworthy information about their creative process.
Part 2: create two characters with an environment that could exist in the same world and are in some way influenced by the artist you chose.  Final art can be in any medium and any size 11 x 17 or bigger.
Be prepared to discuss/defend your design choices such as color, clothing, texture etc...
Please be prepared ahead of time with both paper and art as no late work will be accepted.  No emailed papers accepted and any late arrival for printers not working, last minute printing etc will result in a zero.

Have fun with this and do your best as this could be a potential portfolio piece
Paper  40%
Artwork 50%
Presentation 10%