Q1 Portrait Project - "Sister Earth"

"Sister Earth"
"Sister Earth"
The picture I decided to create was meant to be Mother Nature's rebellious daughter. I depicted her as an anarchist to represent the massive increase in climate change, natural disasters, etc. The reason I chose this is that not many people care about or believe in climate change. The symbol of anarchy is kind of like her “new self.” 
In order to capture my message, I used basic watercolors, as well as some mixed with each other. I had to use smaller detail brushes because of the minimal area of paper that needed to be filled. I started with a sketch in my sketchbook, then remade it on another piece of paper. Since I was working with watercolor, I knew that the pencil marks would show up more. Therefore, I erased enough of the pencil that I could still follow along with them. Since I was trying to create Mother Nature, I used warm, earthy colors. An artist that also used watercolor was Vincent van Gogh; one of my all-time favorites. The piece I included is Fishing Boats on the Beach. It’s simple, but captures a scene beautifully. His line work is more precise than mine, however still gives a “messy” look. The colors bring out the mood of the painting as well.
One thing I’m proud of in my painting is my color choice. I already favor earth tones, so this was a perfect opportunity to express this. Something I’d change is my line work. As a recreational artist, I paint with acrylics, or slightly watered down acrylics. I don’t work with straight-up watercolors, so this was an experience for me. I didn’t really understand paint-to-water ratios or the ratio of paint out of the tube for this project. Overall, I am proud of the piece I created. It took me a long time and I messed up a few times, but I think it was a quality piece for my first watercolor.

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