Portfolio Homework: Concentration Proposal and 1 Completed Concentration Piece

Due: 
April 12

Project Description:

1. Write a typed, one-page proposal for your Concentration, a personalized focus of artistic study on which you will be working for 4+ weeks.
2. Complete one fully realized, refined, "portfolio-worthy" piece.

Objectives:

• Review your list of concentration ideas; brainstorm other possibilities if necessary
• Think about your artistic interests and passions.
• Look through the books in class on contemporary art. Notice what’s being done in the contemporary art world.
• Be clear on what you will be learning, how you will be growing as an artist.
• Foresee and plan for problems/challenges.
• Be clear on how you will know when/if you are successful.
• Be prepared to discuss your plans and be challenged by your peers.
• PLAN so that you are successful in this series!

Grading Criteria:

• All parts are completed thoroughly, thoughtfully and clearly.
• The Concentration has a significant degree of challenge.

Parameters:

• The Concentration must be a series of artworks that can be displayed together.
• The proposal must include:
  • Media
  • Content
  • Timeline for completion of parts
  • Work schedule on project outside of class (The Concentration will not be your only homework during the month, but you will be expected to work on it regularly outside of class.)
  • Learning Objectives! -- What will you be learning by completing this series?
  • Other explanatory information as necessary
• The proposal must be typed.

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Sample Proposal

Content:
Portraits (self and family members) from ID photographs (driver’s license, old and new passports, school and work IDs)

Media:

• ​At home – water soluble oils on canvas
• In class – oils on canvas or panel; acrylic on canvas

Supports:

• At home – larger canvas sizes
• In class – small (8 x 10”) to medium (18 x 24”)

Quantity:

• Six paintings completed in class
• Three larger paintings at home

Schedule

• Sunday mornings (or Saturday mornings on weekends w/ previous obligations) – 3 hours
• Tuesday nights (or another weeknight on weeks w/ previous obligations) – 2+ hours 

Primary Objectives:

• Be a conscious, thoughtful, focused painter.
• Complete a cohesive series of paintings.
• Be willing to experiment and explore.
• Study techniques of master painters. Try out some of those techniques.
• Experiment with different palettes – a different color scheme for each painting.
• Experiment with different ways of working – a different method for each painting.
• Be aware of the importance and effect of each brush stroke.
• Develop a refined awareness and use of color.
• Have a better idea of what direction I want to go in as an artist.

In a few words, this will be what I focus on:

• Commitment
• Openness
• Consciousness
• Skill
• Sensitivity
• Impactful color
• Formal considerations
• Effective paint handling
• Experimentation
• Academic study
• Cohesion
• Confidence

Rationale

I have experimented with many artistic disciplines over the year, and I would like to return to a focus on painting. My main interest is in translating light’s effect on observed forms, specifically the mass of big, solid forms.

Using heads as my subject allowed will assist me in meditating on my identity, my heritage and my legacy. 

Using small photographs (from picture IDs and cropped snapshots) as my main reference, I will challenge myself to consider how much visual information I could retrieve from these images, and how much I must make up. With that fabrication, what myths will I create around the men (me) in the transition from photograph to painted portrait? How far will that veer from their actuality, their truth?