The Art Assignment

Today I finally got caught up on a new PBS YouTube series called The Art Assignment, and I’m so SO glad that I did. I think The Art Assignment is an extremely wonderful and important thing. Its goal is to teach people how to think more broadly about what art is
and how they, personally, can create art. It also exposes people to a range of contemporary artists, something we are not getting a lot, and in my opinion enough of. I’m going to try to complete all 3 of the assignments set so far, and will absolutely positively put them here for your viewing enjoyment when they are complete.
My favorite Art Assignment so far:
 

 

John’s was not the only mind blown by Sarah’s observation about the significance of the term ‘moving pictures’ for films. A lot of people don’t really understand that movies really are not just magical strings of perpetually moving film. This is why a cinematographer is sometimes called a director of photography; because at it’s most basic state, a movie is simply a string of images, each of which is unique and significant on its own. Because, as Toyin observes with her art, one image could never be enough to truly capture something.

Lord Benedict Cumberbatch

 

 

 

 

 

I'm sorry about this.

Is this post rendered legitimate because of the picture?

Or is it still just like every other post on every other blog of every other teenage girl who secretly believes that she, and ONLY she, shall be the one to melt the ice in Sherlock's heart?

If so, I'm really not sorry.

There's a reason why every teenage girl on every blog talks about Mr. Cumberbatch. And that reason is: he's freaking awesome.

He's ridiculously smart, ridiculously talented, ridiculously pale, and ridiculously good with kids. Everyone should want to marry him. And that includes everyone, even Anderson Cooper. (I have no idea what Anderson Cooper thinks of Benedict, he was just the first person I thought of.)

HOWEVER.

This post is about the picture, really. About how BAD it is, good gosh, looking at it now is absolutely PAINFUL. Not only because his eyelashes look like they were bought from the Maybelline section of Walmart.

His mouth is RIDICULOUSLY wrong. And, let's be honest, he's rendered a tad pitiful without the hair. 

But it'll improve. Over time. Maybe. And I'll be sure to shove it in your face again when it does. Will I do it just for the chance of talking about Senior Bendytoots again? Absolutely.

 

 

 

 

 

Moonrise Kingdom Artwork

This picture represents a work in (not too much) progress, but I’ve chosen to exhibit it because of what else it represents for me. See, I don’t do work with color. Ever. Like, when people give me paints, I kind of freak out, and if I go so far as to pick up a brush and prepare to USE them, my hands shake and are rendered basically useless. Black and white, oh my gosh, black and white, what a stark and dull comfort zone. It’s the shadows, I think. I’ve always been praised for my ability to use shadows to my advantage, especially in human faces. Because what do you use for shadow in a black and white picture? Black. Lighter black. Smudgey black. And, if you haven’t washed your hands, brownish-black, because I always use my fingers to smudge and end up hating myself when I ruin a picture because of it (I might even upload my recent picture of Benedict Cumberbatch to illustrate this phenomenon. His forehead is now a total mess. I’m crying as I type.)

BUT anyhow, to get back on topic, I used colored pencils for this one. I had to. It’s a still from Wes Anderson’s movie “Moonrise Kingdom” , which is SO great, and like all of his films, visually just a masterpiece. I loved this still in particular, and when I like something that much, I draw it. But I knew it would be a crime to render this without color, I mean, 90% of the sheer PURPOSE would be sucked out of it by my cowardice. Of course, if you’ve seen the movie, you can tell that the colors here don’t match up perfectly at all, but that was slightly intentional, if you can believe me. I went all out with those colors. I decided that if I had no idea what I was doing, it might as well show. So I just put in colors where they didn’t belong, I think I must’ve put purple EVERYWHERE, and I have to say I’m pleased. Everything is so much richer and more alive than it would’ve been if I’d stuck to the primaries. Werq that color wheel. 

 

-Anne