Final for Portraiture Class

The assignment was to illustrate the relationship between two people in a space, on a canvas at least 28" by 36". So I decided to depict my sister and I, and how we normally interact in day to day life. This is definitely still a work in progress. To be honest, I didn't realise how long it would take me... as of right now everything's just blocked in. I'm excited to finish it though. I think in the end it will turn out well, and I've already learned a lot of good things from working on it.

Hope you enjoy.

Older work

So I was talking to my uncle about my work, and he made a good point that I should have all my stuff in one place, or at least viewable to everyone. I like this blog because I can post works as I do them and show some progression, but there's no real place for an album of collected works. On the other hand, I have all my works up on Facebook, but my profile isn't public. So in order to bridge the gap I decided to post links to my other albums that I have posted.

This first link is artwork from my last year at Ringling (08 - 09)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018098&id=1103040124&l=df191f9fa3


This second link consists of artwork from my first year at Ringling (07 - 08) and the ceramic work I completed for my AP 3-D class in my senior year in high school
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2000788&id=1103040124&l=930fab4d20


Hope you enjoy. 
Sarah

Class and Homework

This is some recent work I completed within the last few weeks in my portraiture class.

The first one is a piece we worked on in class for a few weeks with a model. It needs a few more touch ups still, but for the most part it I'm happy with it. The best part of this painting was I learned a little more about the process and what works best and most efficiently for me.

This one is a master copy of Vermeer's The Girl with the Pearl Earring that I completed for homework. I was bad and put it off to the last minute but the lessons I learned from the classwork made this one go by relatively quickly, and I think it turned out pretty well.

Self portrait

This is a self portrait I did from observation in my Portraiture and Figure Painting class this past week. The assignment restricted our colors to black, white, burnt sienna and umber, hence the very brown palette. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, I just wish I didn't look so pouty. I promise I wasn't upset or moody, I guess thats just my concentrating face.
Hope you enjoy.

The Nine Days Queen

So I was surfing along on Wikipedia as one often does on rainy or boring days and I somehow managed to fine myself on the page of a one Lady Jane Grey.

Lady Jane Grey was the queen, however briefly, between Edward and Mary. She was brought up by an abusive mother and an inattentive father, who forced her into a marriage she didn't want to align the Grey family with more powerful allies.

The Protestants in power at the time used her as a scapegoat to keep a Protestant on the throne, and crowned her queen after the death of Edward. Technically, Edwards sister Mary was next in line, but as she was Catholic her rule could turn the Protestants world upside down. So they made a loophole, and had Edward write Mary out of the succession on his death bed in favor of Jane.

It was easy to see that she was not the rightful queen so a little over a week after Jane was crowned, Mary rode into London with numerous supporters and locked up Lady Jane and her husband, charging them with high treason. She did not plan to execute them, until a Protestant rebellion broke out trying to crown Lady Jane queen again.

In the end, the only way that Mary could solidify her rule was to eliminate the competition, to execute Jane. And so Jane was executed at the age of 17 for the actions of other and to prevent uprisings she was not involved with.
Her story is so tragic and particularly troubling to me, that it inspired me to write a short short story about her.
Hope you enjoy.

They watched as the mesmerizing girl glided into the small courtyard, her fair hair and white gown dancing gently in the breeze. It was unfathomable that the girl of only 17 was able to walk with the elegance and bravery of a woman twice her age.

They knew she was no traitor, just a pawn in the schemes of parents and in-laws alike. She was forced into marriage by a mother who didn’t care, and given to in-laws who viewed her only as an accelerator for their own political plans. If she had had her way, she might had waited a few more years to marry, happier to spend her time with her books and studies. But alas, it seemed this life was not her own.

Now she was to be killed for a cause she never supported, for rebels who stole her name to use for their own gain. She was merely a symbol. A symbol of hope and revolt for protestants who feared the new catholic queen. Yet how would a new queen crush such rebellions? Take away the symbol, the rallying point, and the rebellions would be forced cease.

So there she stood at the grimy block, the blindfold in her gloved hands. It was the executioners low, shaky voice that broke the silence.

“I beg your forgiveness m’lady.”

“It is already done. I pray you dispatch me quickly.”

He nodded as she slipped off her white gloves, handed them to her weeping maid, then tied the blindfold over her young face. She kneeled slowly, groping the air for the block she couldn’t find. She let out a small sob as her groping turned to panic and her resolve shattered.

"What shall I do? Where is it?" she cried.

Unable to see her lady in such despair, the maid reached out to help her find the gruesome block and retain her dignity to the end. As the girl slowly placed head down, she called out “Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit!” With one swift motion she was no more.

Sketchbook Update

Here are some scans from one of my sketchbooks. Most of these are from pictures of my childhood I think thats why I enjoyed doing them so much. It was good practice for me to work on getting my likeness down and working with my line work. Overall they're a lot of fun and its always nice to get to look through old pictures and such again. Hope you enjoy.

At the Starting Line

I've been meaning to set up a blog for a while now, but for some reason I only just got around to it. But now here I am, an aspiring artist from Orlando, FL. In the future I'll probably post way more art related pieces than not, but I think I'll start off with a poem I wrote for my creative writing class. I wrote this shortly after my little sister moved away to college and thought it suitable since she just went back up after the end of her winter break.


To My Grown-up Sister

As far back as I remember,
Mom always dressed us up to match,
complete with uniform shoes and cute hairdos.
But as she always loved to remind us,
our outfits were never completely the same,
we were simply “coordinated.”

As time trudged on, I would get annoyed
if by some chance we left our rooms 

to see we were “coordinated” as before.
And in an awkward age of longing to differ,
I’d march back off to my room and swiftly change
just because I didn’t want us to look even close to the same.

Recently I was peeking through the closet in your now empty room
to see if you had forgotten or left me any good dresses or shirts,
when I saw two of our old christmas dresses hanging in the back.
They were green, but yours was dotted with little white flowers,
and while I looked, a watery smile flitted across my face
as I remembered our dreaded christmas card photo shoot.

It’s funny how age and time can 

loosen the views of even the most stubborn girl,
to long again for the days of coordinated clothes
if it meant we could be together once again.
And true, I know I’ll see you once more,
but its sad to know it will never be exactly as before.