Allison Simon ARTE 200/500 Artwork Portfolio Spring 2018
Introduction The purpose of this portfolio is to keep track of my works so they stay organized in one place. Also it is really helpful because it will eventuall show my growth in my works as I continue to enroll in studio classes. Keeping my pieces in order will help me choose for my exit portfolio, when I have to choose a lot of pieces to showcase my skills.
Me and My Art My name is Allison Simon and I am a first year student. I always have enjoyed creating art on my free time, and in high school I mainly focused on making 3D art. Although I did dedicate my time to 3D art, I enjoy drawing and photography for fun. I haven't found a particular style yet, but as of right now, I am drawn to observational drawings with bright and vivid subject matter, because I really enjoy working in color. I enjoy both loose, gestural drawings and clean lines. Personally, I have a tendency to render objects in local color, so I am hoping to be more expressive in different color choices. I don't have a particular artist that inspires me with their actual art, but Frida Kahlo's messages that she portrays are very powerful to me and I always want my art to speak from my heart and show a piece of who I am. I believe that anything you can see can inspire a beautiful piece of work, and I want to be able to expand my horizons and be more open to different subject matter in my future works.
About ARTE 200/500 ARTE 200 is a course that prepares you for the admission portfolio, while also helping you gain more skills in composition and media use. In my experience, it's an intense course to be enrolled in because it holds more responsibilities than a normal class. The class introduces the "teacher" role to you, which makes you more aware of the ways in which people learn and finding different ways to get your message across. It's also intense in terms of creation because you will be pushed to use new techniques and media you may not have used before. It's a helpful course besides the fact that it helps prepare you for an admission portfolio. To me, it helped me in my techniques, my critiquing, and my overall confidence in my work. This class is a heavy but rewarding course and Dr. Wang is always finding ways to push us towards the right direction.
New Works The new works on the following pages were inspired from the pool of topics given to us, where we took the different topics and created a piece we felt fit the topic name. We had the freedom to choose our subject matter, composition, and media.
Allison Simon "Messy But Happy" Watercolor, ink pen, chalk pastel 24 x 18 in. Spring 2018
"Messy But Happy" This piece is entitled “Messy But Happy” . I was finding ways to portray myself without showing my face, and my desk was a good representation of who I was. My desk is where I usually work on art, so all of my important belongings are there. The untidy books and materials show my less organized side, because I am juggling multiple studio classes this semester. However, each object on my desk is important to me, including sketchbooks, art supplies, my wallet, and my laptop. I consider these things essential to my everyday life and keeping myself happy. To begin the drawing, I left all the items that were on my desk and sketched out the outlines of each object on watercolor paper. Then I used watercolors to fill in the local colors of each object and the desk. To make the texture of the desk, I added brown chalk pastel across the bottom. Finally, I outlined each object loosely with micron pen, because I am intrigued by urban sketches, so I kept the mark making loose and energetic.
Allison Simon "Spoiled Rotten" Colored Pencil 18 x 24 in. Spring 2018
"Spoiled Rotten" This piece is entitled “Spoiled Rotten” . I created this piece because I’m inspired by my 1 year old shih tzu puppy, Max, who loves to play with me. He has a habit of grabbing a toy to bring to me, only to be distracted and grab another one and play some more. Max will do this until nearly all of his toys are out and they’ve been played with, and then he’ll go into his little bed and nap, leaving his mess behind him. My family and I always poke fun at this little habit he has, so we joke around and call him a spoiled little prince. That’s why I decided to draw Max seated on a throne, with a crown on his head. The toys sprawled across the floor are the actual toys he has. To begin this drawing, I decided what perspective I wanted Max to be presented. I chose to center Max on the page because a royal figure is always the center of attention, and Max is always the center of attention in my household. Figuring out this angle helped me to properly take reference photos of some of Max’s toys on the floor. I have many pictures of my dog sleeping so I picked one that best suited the straight-on view. After finding sources of thrones and throne rooms, I began to sketch out the outlines lightly in pencil, later adding in bright colors, signifying royalty and wealth, like a prince or king inherits.
Allison Simon Ink pen "Yours and Mine" 10 x 8 in. (each) Spring 2018
"Yours and Mine" The title of this piece is “Yours and Mine”, and it is a drawing of my dorm room from two different perspectives; mine and my roommate’s . I was inspired to make this piece because my roommate, Rachel, is a lot quieter than I am, so it’s hard for me to talk to her. I always am curious what it’s like to be seeing me from her perspective, and the only way I can see from her perspective is in the literal sense, of how she actually sees me. My side of the room is a representation of me, messy but comfortable. I drew from her usual work spot, which is at the end of her bed where she can see most of the room. I began the drawing by sitting on each bed and sketching a fisheye/panoramic view of the entire room from each spot. After this sketch, I used micron pens to do basic outlines of the objects, and then began to use scribble-like gestural lines for shadows and value. The density of the lines indicated the value, including the tones in the wall as it went back into the space, and also my bed sheets, which are black, but for the sake of the drawing, I decided to keep it lighter in the both the first and second piece, so the shadows and crinkles could be seen more easily.
Allison Simon "Never Enough Time" Chalk Pastel 18 x 21 in. Spring 2018
"Never Enough Time" The title of this piece is “Never Enough Time” . I drew my 1-year-old shih tzu puppy, Max, playing with me and looking up at me excitedly, waiting for me to throw the rope that’s spread across my lap. I love to play with my dog more than anything, and he knows I’m the most playful one in the household so he’s always so excited when I come home. I’ll always be sitting on the edge of my bed, doing homework or using my phone, and I’ll feel his little paws on my legs along with a toy. I’ll play with Max for nearly an hour until he gets tired and decides to nap, with all his toys sprawled across the floor. I was inspired to create this piece because one of my previous pieces was a colored pencil drawing of my Max napping like a spoiled little prince after playing with all of his toys. To begin, I looked at photo references of Max, because I take a lot of photos of him in the position I drew him in, where he’s waiting between my legs and looking up at me. I drew in pencil on grey paper first of the outlines of my legs, Max, and the toys around us, then I went in with chalk pastels to add colors and details, spraying with fixative in between layers.
In-Class Studio Tasks The following pieces were assigned for us to complete during class time, so we can practice our skills in front of Dr. Wang and he can give us suggestions on what to fix. These tasks were interesting and pushed our creativity and imagination.
Allison Simon "A Piece of Home" Graphite 24 x 18 in. Spring 2018
Allison Simon "Handle With Care" Colored pencil, graphite, watercolor, marker, tracing paper 24 x 18 in. Spring 2018
Allison Simon "Serenity" Colored pencil, chalk pastel 18 x 12 in. Spring 2018
Allison Simon "Layer by Layer" Watercolor, colored pencil, acrylic paint 16 x 12 in. Spring 2018
Urban Sketches The following pieces were assigned to practice our skills in observation and creating an atmosphere relatively quickly. The urban sketches were really interesting and fun to do. I am really inspired by large variety of urban sketches to create more, and I personally wish our class had more chances to go out to different places to sketch. Since we ran out of time, we replaced some urban sketches with in- class assignments.
(Left to right, top to bottom): Jakob, Haifa, my mother, Nivia, Dr. Wang Ink pen Spring 2018
Daffodils and Chinese writing Ink, tempera paint Spring 2018
Allison Simon "Take A Look" Colored pencil 18 x 12 in. Spring 2018
Allison Simon Tourists Graphite 6 x 8 in. (each) Spring 2018
Pieces in the Admission Portfolio
Allison Simon "Decaying" Glass, wire, resin, spray paint, acrylic paint 6 x 20 x 10 in. Spring 2016
Allison Simon "What You See" Charcoal 22 x 30 in. Spring 2018
Allison Simon "Stay Golden" Wooden plaque, resin, spray pain, acrylic paint 8 x 10 x 1 in. Spring 2016
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