End of Year Reflection Essay

Throughout this entire year, I have learned so much and I thank Coach Hall tremendously for that. More specifically, I learned how to document my pieces, create a website, photograph my work, oil paint, abstract paint, hatch, carve wood, and I additionally learned a bunch of art history and vocabulary. All these skills that I have acquired I will carry into Art 4, and then beyond. 

I have seen the greatest growth in my art skills inventory. Through taking this course, I have pushed myself to do projects that make me uncomfortable. For example, the first major project we did was an artist copy. When choosing my artist to make a copy of, I decided to do a piece by Rubens that included a bunch of hatch marks and specific anatomical muscles. I am definitely more comfortable with making blended and shaded pieces, but I wanted to challenge myself and try something new. After completing this project, although I don’t particularly love my piece, I learned how to hatch. Since then, I have been making many drawings in my sketchbook using hatch marks. 

I feel that I need to improve my painting skills. Prior to high school, the last time I painted was in elementary school. This year, I painted an oil still life and an acrylic abstract painting. I really enjoyed oil painting, but I faced many challenges because it was my first time working with oil. Namely, I worked super hard on my grisaille, then accidentally destroyed it because I glazed too thickly. I was able to clean it up and make my piece look decent, but I definitely want to keep improving with the medium. I additionally found myself struggling with abstract painting because I kept making my piece muddy. I was able to revive it but I definitely want to continue to build my acrylic skills. In addition to working more with oil and acrylic paint, I would like to explore watercolor.

As I move forward into Art 4, I plan to apply the skills I’ve learned to my next pieces and projects. I will use my documentation, editing, and website skills I’ve picked up in order to publish my work. I will also use the new techniques I’ve learned in future projects. More specifically, I would like to work with wood again as well as working with a variety of paints. Although I hope to continue to experiment with new mediums and techniques, I still hope to continue making pieces with mediums I have always loved to use, such as charcoal and oil pastel.