Coursework Ideas

Running out of ideas for my coursework recently...As much as I want to focus on portraiture, I am afraid that painting from observations can be un-innovative and unappealing to teachers who seek to credit originality in the highly experimented and sophiscated final work (and these are what I always lack in ape assignments and even exams ####### )

Anyway, I came across amiria [Blog] as I was researching. It is a blog written by New Zealand artist/ teacher, Amiria Gale, to help art students with their A Level coursework. I want to mention it here because it explains how a sketchbook should be done and even includes pictures of past A Level student's sketchbook and final work.

 A sketchbook page by Nikau Hindin, showing compositional studies

She also points out that "students who select substantial, heartfelt issues that they really believe in are more likely to achieve great results than those who choose aesthetically pleasing but superficial subjects...A tried and true subject can still be approached in an individual and innovative way, but choosing a topic that is novel and fresh has certain advantages."

At least portraits are not superficial, haha. Hope I will convince the teacher and myself into portraits the next time I look at this post :)

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Below are some oil paintings by contemporary artists that inspired me

Paul S. Brown

William McGregor Paxton once said that "Painting is so difficult that I would give it up if it were not so enjoyable."  I believe it is what all painters feel when painting the figure.

Self Portrait Sketch, 2005

BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery

 Self Portrait, 1996

Self Portrait Study, undated

Self Portrait, 1993

Vladimir Volegov

*he can be found on facebook

Sunny Breakfast, 2010

Sun is setting, 2010

painting process on youtube

Acquaintance, 2006

Thanks for viewing! :)

DALT - Caiqing Greeting Card

This is my fourth design for DALT~!

It is a greeting card meant for the families/ organizations who invited us to perform in their houses during the Lunar New Year :D It may not be the most creative design, but this card gave me a great sense of accomplishment when it was given out to our customers in the end :3

Despite its simplicity in composition, a decorative background was manipulated to intensify the contrast with the foreground. Elements like the dragon motif and rectangular frame were also incorporated to fit the theme of lion dance.

From choosing the font till printing them out, the card making process was indeed as memorable as the card itself. This card could not have been done on time without the encouragement, advice and support from our beloved president, Simin. Really appreciates how you managed to inspire me all the time :) Thanks for reading! ^_^