Project 4
Title: "Feliz Cumpleaños"
Size: 20 in x 15 in Medium: Pencil, Water Color November 2019 Exhibition Text- The piece "Feliz Cumpleaños" is inspired by Frida Kahlo's "The Frame" and Norman Rockwell's "First Trip to the Beauty Shop". This illustration is meant to portray an original photo of me during my birthday celebration in mexico. Reasoning behind the piñata and cake being the only objects within the image to be water colored was because they are important culturally to me.
|
Inspiration
- Inspiration artwork for the piece "Feliz Cumpleaños" are "The Frame" by Frida Kahlo and Norman Rockwell's "First Trip to the Beauty Shop". The painting by Kahlo had a major influence of the color scheme and the intensity of the hues used. Some of the colors that are the most prevalent within the art are red, indigo, and yellow. These colors are culturally important in mexican culture because they originate from the indigenous roots. The second inspiration piece by Rockwell influenced details such as the shading value displayed in the realistic illustration.
|
Planning Sketches
Process
(5&6) After having completed the face and body I started to draw the background and the front area. The image in step 6 shows how exterior objects such as the pinata, and the cake were lightly sketched at this point. Another thing is that I had started to shade in my grandma's shirt in the background to the right,
|
(7&8) After the background sketches were done I started to add details. As seen in the image in step 7, the small ruffles of the paper on the pinata are sectioned for when painting. Also in the background my grandma's shirt is shaded in correctly to replicate the original photo. I started to paint the turquoise and pink area.
|
Critique
Compare & Contrast
Similarities:
- Both "The Frame" and "Feliz Cumpleaños" have a lively and bright and light color scheme. - Like Kahlo's painting, my piece demonstrates the same balance since it is a portrait. - Similarly "Feliz Cumpleaños", displays the same frontal angle/ point of view. Similarities: - Both pieces display a portrait format. - Like "First Trip to the Beauty Shop", "Feliz Cumpleaños" use darker shades to create a gradient look on the leaves. - Similarly to "First Trip to the Beauty Shop" both artworks include a illustration medium. |
Differences:
- Unlike the piece "Feliz Cumpleaños" Frida's piece "The Frame" displays a colorized portrait of person. - Another difference between both pieces is the medium. Frida's artwork is an Acrylic painting while my piece is a combination of realistic illustration and water color. - There is a difference between the way the women are shown and their surroundings due to the creation time gap. Differences: - Unlike "First Trip to the Beauty Shop" the piece "Feliz Cumpleaños" shows the use of cool hues instead of warm hues. - Another difference between "First Trip to the Beauty Shop" and "Feliz Cumpleaños" is the way the painting style creates texture in the pieces. - In contrast "Feliz Cumpleaños" has different objects shown. |
Meaning
- The meaning behind the piece has to do with tradition, cultural and nostalgia. The reason why I chose to illustrate a replica of that certain photograph was because it was taken on my birthday in one of the last times I went to Mexico. As shown in the image, my toddler self is standing near the table with my goodie bag, tres leches birthday cake and my pinata. These three objects within the picture are very meaningful because they symbolize Mexican traditional they bring back memories of when I was younger.
Reflection
- In the end after the piece was completed I was satisfied but not completely. The part I was mostly satisfied with was the basically all of the piece but the way the face looked. After having looked at the drawn face I noticed that if was a bit off and maybe it was because when I was drawing on the board it was in an angle which made it only look good only if I moved the board in a certain way. Other than that, my favorite part of the piece was the pinata because I spent the most time on that when painting each of the squares. At first I was just outlining and painting them but afterwards my friend told me to make them ombre in order to make them look like they are overlapped.
ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you were able to "identify the cause-effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork" - I was able to identify the cause and effect of Magritte and Kahlo because the elements that are similar are obvious. The inspiration taken from Magritte's piece is clear through the way the painting is formatted. Kahlo's piece had an influence on the color scheme and cultural connection.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration? - My overall approach for this piece was to deliver the idea of how my culture is important to me and how it impacted my childhood.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration? - I have learned that traditions and culture affect a person in different ways. Just like Magritte and Kahlo culture affected their art and what they express in their pieces.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research? - The central theme of my research was to find the common values in culture, tradition and how they impact a person.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research? - Inferences I made while reading my research is that not only does culture affect a person but it also changes how they express themselves.
Clearly explain how you were able to "identify the cause-effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork" - I was able to identify the cause and effect of Magritte and Kahlo because the elements that are similar are obvious. The inspiration taken from Magritte's piece is clear through the way the painting is formatted. Kahlo's piece had an influence on the color scheme and cultural connection.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration? - My overall approach for this piece was to deliver the idea of how my culture is important to me and how it impacted my childhood.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration? - I have learned that traditions and culture affect a person in different ways. Just like Magritte and Kahlo culture affected their art and what they express in their pieces.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research? - The central theme of my research was to find the common values in culture, tradition and how they impact a person.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research? - Inferences I made while reading my research is that not only does culture affect a person but it also changes how they express themselves.
Citation [MLA Format]
- Self Portrait the Frame - by Frida Kahlo, https://www.fridakahlo.org/self-portrait-the-frame.jsp.
- “The Art of Norman Rockwell - Norman Rockwell Museum - The Home for American Illustration.” Norman Rockwell Museum, 29 Oct. 2019, https://www.nrm.org/collections-2/art-norman-rockwell/.
- “The Art of Norman Rockwell - Norman Rockwell Museum - The Home for American Illustration.” Norman Rockwell Museum, 29 Oct. 2019, https://www.nrm.org/collections-2/art-norman-rockwell/.