Color Theory

1. Discuss what you thought about creating the Value Scale and Color Wheel.

While creating the color wheel I thought about high school art class, and how much I enjoyed learning about art, back then. In high school they taught us that the primary colors were red, blue, yellow. I also forgot how amazing it truly is to mix two different colors and have a completely new color outcome. When I was creating the value scale, I had thought about a college studio class I had taken. I love drawing in graphite and charcoal. Creating these were fairly easy for me because art comes natural to me.

2. Which media did you enjoy working with the best and why?

I enjoy working with charcoal the best because I like to smudge the charcoal with my finger to create different values. It is easy to erase and hide mistakes. Working with it is fun too!

3. What was the most important discovery in the creation of these studies?

The most important discovery I found in the creation of these were the truths about the real primary colors. It blew my mind that I had not known this. The more I read about this the more it all made sense. These are the same primary colors that my printer uses.

4. What is the most important information you learned from watching the videos for this project? What is your opinion of the videos?

The most important thing that I have learned from the videos are the old way of primary colors is due to the lack of scientific evidence that leads to the real primary colors. The videos were great, I feel that they explained how to create these projects well.

Project 1

http://s358.photobucket.com/user/wojciesl01/library/

Reflection Journal

Unity- The Chicken finger pizza shows the unity of the cheese and meat. They are all melted together for a delicious taste.

Emphasis – The eyes in this picture are more prominent that the normal size of eyes. It shows how sometimes we forget to look at everything else when we are focused on one specific area.

Balance- Every time I look at this picture I feel a sense of calmness. The picture shows a easy flow from the bottom to the top. The blankets are wrapped around him and his calm expression makes this picture well balance when we think of snuggling.

Proportion- I used this picture because I felt it portrayed the size of humans and the world. It is harmonious and flows beautifully.

Texture – The ice cube is smooth but shows plenty of texture inside. I found that this picture was perfect to show that texture could be inside things that aren’t considered very textured.

Contrast – The snow everywhere in this photo makes it easy for the eyes to follow flawlessly through the entire picture. The heavily saturated blue sky became the perfect background for this shot.

Pattern- this photo could also be considered an line element, but after looking at it for several minutes you tend to notice all of the patterns peeking out from the snow. The way the lawn was mowed and had left and distinct pattern. The footprints from a dog run through out the snow covered grass. The roads meet to also form this pattern, or shape. The fence can also be considered the same pattern as everything else.

Line- the lines from the siding on the house and also the lines that are on my son’s shirt give the picture a unique design. The eye can imagine how far the lines go and what shape it would show from a distance. This image encourages the viewer to see beyond the picture’s lines.

Space – The empty space that is around the paper helps the viewer focus only on the fortune cookie message. This creates a view that people can relate with. When you open up a fortune cook and read its message, you are completely focused on only that message and not the background. Sometimes you could find yourself not even truly seeing the background.

Value – the image displays extreme darkness and light. There are a great amount of different shades used in this picture.

Movement- the constant movement while driving and the hustle and bustle of the commute can be seen in this picture. The people that are all moving in the same direction show movement. The viewer can relate to this picture and imagine this turning into slow traffic on the highway.

Color- the playground is colorful and emits happiness with the primary colors they used. When you look at this picture you can feel happiness and the imagination of children’s laughter.

Shapes- each shape is the same, perfectly round and its contents are as well. Liquid takes the form of any container. People sometimes feel like they have to conform to specific ideals.

Video Review

After viewing the Aesthetics video I have learned several key concepts. Artists have tasks that they consider before producing art work. Plato's low opinion on aesthetics and how he wrote what he saw at the time. Creativity is mainly the ability to produce something that is new and groundbreaking. Avant-garde is the refusal to follow standard definitions of art. I have also learned that you cannot define art, it is more useful to interpret the role you feel it represents. Not all art is going to be beautiful in the eyes of the beholder. The article was very interesting to me because I really enjoyed the Mona Lisa paragraph. It was very amazing to view the painting with the peripheral view. When your eyes move around her face, her expression changes! I don't think that I have ever looked at the Mona Lisa this way and I find it breathtaking. While reading the article I also realized how much there is to learn about art. People often think that they "know" what art is and all you have to do is look at it. My eyes are more open now than ever. I feel that Leo Tolstoy's (20th Century) Expression theory of art is most important. This theory states that art is an expression of emotion. I believe that all artists show some form of emotion in their work. This theory has shaped the minds of artists today. I found it interesting that Changeux's view of aesthetic art bottom-up processing. I remember learning about this in psychology 101 class. This explains the steps that the brain takes to process what you are looking at. Neuroscientist Ramachandran had an interesting scientific view of art. He discovered that symmetry plays a huge role in aesthetics. The peak shift principle was created and explains why animals are attracted to a particular shape especially when exaggerated. Personally I really enjoyed the article and the aesthetics film because I felt I learned a lot from them both. However, I did not enjoy viewing the second video because of the neurobiologist's heavy accent and poor video quality. I found his high use of "um" very distracting and hard to focus on the topic. I wish I could have seen his slide show better. All these resources have added great depth to my understanding of aesthetics of art and the processes that are done to create such pieces.

Step 3

1. How was the process of creating the GMail account and setting up the Blog?

I already have a Gmail account so that was easy! Setting up the blog was very easy and the instructions were spot on. I had no problems and I am learning my way around here.

2. What do you expect to learn in this course?

I'm not quite sure, I assume that this course will explore the world of art and break down the meanings of each styles. I expect to learn more about great artist and their techniques and the history behind it. I never expected to learn how to blog, I find that very interesting about this course!

3. How do you feel about taking an online course?

I have taken a handful of online classes and I love them. I have learned that online classes are just like attending campus classes. They are just as demanding and I do find them easier because of the heavy use of computers. I am into technology and really enjoy using it to its full potential.