Artist Research: Donato Giancola

I just recently discovered this artist, Donato Giancola, and I am simply amazed by his skill and talent. His work is so imaginative and his level of detail is insane. He draws inspiration from the old masters of painting, like Caravaggio, Vermeer, William Bouguereau, and Hans Memling. When I look at his paintings, I am definitely reminded of baroque and renaissance art.





His work is very dramatic. I can really get the sense of the narrative that he is conveying. The way he paints light and shadows is incredibly beautiful. I enjoy the areas of saturated color, which add nice contrast.



Giancola's paintings transport you into another world, making you part of the story he weaves. I love how each part of his painting is interesting, not just the focal area, but everywhere in the painting. There's always something to catch your eye.

Artist Research: James Gurney

I really, truly admire James Gurney's work. The level of realism and detail is phenomenal. I think it is incredible that he creates these worlds with dinosaurs and humans coexisting in his Dinotopia books. They look so real and believable.



I've flipped through his book on color and light, and it is incredibly informative. You can tell he knows what he is doing by how deliberately and intelligently he paints color. I think that it is awesome that he still paints with oil paint, considering how illustration has been shifting to the digital realm.




I absolutely love his portraits as well. They are beautiful and really capture the individuality of the model. I like how he uses minimal brushstrokes to define certain areas, like the hair, and renders focal areas, like the eyes, nose and lips, with more detail.



I hope to one day be able to paint/draw at his skill level. He is definitely an artist I would love to emulate.

Artist Research: Aubrey Beardsley

I am loving Aubrey Beardsley's work. His drawings make a big impression, even though they are in black and white. His linework is beautiful and delicate. I really enjoy all the white space and the flatness of the forms. It looks like his work was inspired by the Japanese woodblock prints.



I also really like how he incorporates patterns in his drawings. They aren't all over the place, but rather in specific areas that draw your eye in. The sense of narrative is great too. The figures interact with each other and have expressive faces. It's like he captured a scene from a story perfectly.

Mid-term Self-Evaluation

Thus far, I am mostly happy with my work. I like how the portraits are turning out. I really enjoyed making use of both colored pencil and ink and I think that I will continue to use both materials. One thing that I would like to try is going bigger with my paper. Probably not too much larger, but maybe at least 24x36'', or something around there. I'm also considering using soft pastels for the big piece, since colored pencils take a while to build up color and value. I might go for two large drawings by the end of the semester and 3 more smaller ones, hopefully more if I manage my time well. I definitely want to incorporate a few full figure drawings, since I've only done up to the bust in my portraits so far. I'm thinking about experimenting with watercolor, and maybe acrylic as well, in some of the smaller drawings. I want to try to push myself with developing darker values, since I tend to make my drawings too light with not much contrast. I really do like the direction my art is headed and I'm excited to see where it goes.

Movie I love the look of

Pan's Labyrinth:





A lot of scenes are very dark and a bit hard to see at times. I love the mystery involved in them, where you are not quite sure what will pop up.
The make-up is absolutely gorgeous. The faun character is completely done with make-up and some animatronics. It is so real and convincing.
The whole movie has this eerie, fantasy quality and you are not quite sure if any of it is real, or just a part of the girl's imagination.
The color and light is so saturated for certain scenes. The contrast is really beautiful.
The camera angles are really dynamic.

Artist Quote

EDWARD HOPPER

“So many people say painting is fun. I don’t find it fun at all. It’s hard work for me.”

I find this to be accurate regarding my experience making art. As much as I love the final product and knowing that my efforts paid off, I don't really like the process of getting there. I second guess myself all the time and wonder if I'm painting or drawing the right way, or that I'm somehow missing something important. I have to force myself to draw or paint. Sometimes I get in the "zone" and it comes easy for me, mostly when I know what needs to be done or when I'm not worrying about how it will turn out. Most of the time, it's like I'd rather be doing something else, no matter how trivial or mundane. It's strange (not to mention stressful) how I have this love/hate relationship with my work, but I can't imagine myself doing anything else.

Artist Research: Ernesto Caivano

Caivano's drawings are simply stunning. He manages to convey so much only by using line. I love his patterning and suggestions of texture. I think that I would like to do something similar with my drawings, especially with this in class project. I would like to experiment with ink and attempt to combine it with some minimal color, perhaps watercolor or markers.