Creative WoJM:
Art from Academy Students
Introduction Fitz Feature Artistic Academy
Sources:
"25 Mind-Blowing Secrets Hidden in Famous Art" - bestlifeonline.com
"Van Gogh Starry Night - The Painting and the Story" - vangoghgallery.com
Art from Academy Students
Introduction Fitz Feature Artistic Academy
Introduction
Welcome to the Creative WoJM column, where each Monday you will see three artworks from three students from the Academy, in addition to one artwork from the writer, Fitz Vacker! Today, Fitz is here to talk about symbolism in art.
Symbolism is a image, color, or phrase that represents something else. In other words, it is something that has a meaning beyond it's face value. Some examples are the heart that symbolizes love, baby Cupid to symbolize falling in love, red can mean love or violence, and owls and the color purple can symbolize wisdom. Metaphors use symbolism because they take words and give them additional meaning in a comparison.
The way all this has to do with visual art tends to lean more on the side of images and colors than words and phrases. Some of the most common symbols are the raven, dove, cross, and rose. The raven is a symbol of bad omens, and death, while the dove is a symbol for tranquility and peace. The cross symbolizes spirituality and the rose sybolizes love, and sometimes it symbolizes how most good things come with a price ("Every rose has it's thorns").
However, not all symbols in art are easy to find. In a very well-known painting by Vincint Van Gogh, "The Starry Night," a town is depicted under a night sky filled with swirls of paint, supposedly stars.
When Van Gogh painted this artwork, he was in an asylum in France called the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum. He was given more freedoms than the other residents, and one of these was an art studio. When he painted "The Starry Night", many thought it was symbolising nature among the unnaruralness of cities and towns, evident in the gentle, flowing brushstrokes in the sky contrasting with the rigid, unnatural buildings. Others believe it was Van Gogh wanting some religion in his artwork, as there is a church among the buldings. There is also the separation of the sky, or heavens, from the buildings and the town. The heavens in this paintings are the ethereal and beatiful part, just out of human comprehension and reach.
There is also a possibility of Van Gogh getting his inspiration for "The Starry Night" from a very complicated mathematical concept called turbulent flow, and patterns of turbulent flow are evident in many of Van Gogh's paintings. This was discovered when scientists were reminded of "The Starry Night" when they saw swirls of gas and dust through the Hubble Space Telescope around a star, causing closer studies on Van Gogh's artworks.
Welcome to the Creative WoJM column, where each Monday you will see three artworks from three students from the Academy, in addition to one artwork from the writer, Fitz Vacker! Today, Fitz is here to talk about symbolism in art.
Symbolism is a image, color, or phrase that represents something else. In other words, it is something that has a meaning beyond it's face value. Some examples are the heart that symbolizes love, baby Cupid to symbolize falling in love, red can mean love or violence, and owls and the color purple can symbolize wisdom. Metaphors use symbolism because they take words and give them additional meaning in a comparison.
The way all this has to do with visual art tends to lean more on the side of images and colors than words and phrases. Some of the most common symbols are the raven, dove, cross, and rose. The raven is a symbol of bad omens, and death, while the dove is a symbol for tranquility and peace. The cross symbolizes spirituality and the rose sybolizes love, and sometimes it symbolizes how most good things come with a price ("Every rose has it's thorns").
However, not all symbols in art are easy to find. In a very well-known painting by Vincint Van Gogh, "The Starry Night," a town is depicted under a night sky filled with swirls of paint, supposedly stars.
When Van Gogh painted this artwork, he was in an asylum in France called the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum. He was given more freedoms than the other residents, and one of these was an art studio. When he painted "The Starry Night", many thought it was symbolising nature among the unnaruralness of cities and towns, evident in the gentle, flowing brushstrokes in the sky contrasting with the rigid, unnatural buildings. Others believe it was Van Gogh wanting some religion in his artwork, as there is a church among the buldings. There is also the separation of the sky, or heavens, from the buildings and the town. The heavens in this paintings are the ethereal and beatiful part, just out of human comprehension and reach.
There is also a possibility of Van Gogh getting his inspiration for "The Starry Night" from a very complicated mathematical concept called turbulent flow, and patterns of turbulent flow are evident in many of Van Gogh's paintings. This was discovered when scientists were reminded of "The Starry Night" when they saw swirls of gas and dust through the Hubble Space Telescope around a star, causing closer studies on Van Gogh's artworks.
~Fitz Feature~
The drawing below, by Fitz Vacker, is that of a pheonix with a quote by Maya Angelou. Maya Angelou was a poet who was a racial activist through her poetry.
The quote reads, "I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it." Fitz was drawn to this quote because he personally has gone through many times of difficult change, and has witnessed many others' times of change. When Fitz saw that quote, he was inspired by it. He has heard and read many times that people are not defined by what happens to them or their mistakes, but rather how they fix their mistakes and how they overcome their life's obstacles, and how they learn from what happens to them. Fitz just never fully understood it until he read the quote and felt it resonate in him. Fitz now lives by this quote, and encourages other's to do the same.
The pheonix under the quote is an example of symbolism. In ancient Egyptian myth, the pheonix is associated with the sun and fire, and whenever a pheonix would grow old, it would combust in a show of flame. From the ashes of the pheonix whould arise a powerful young pheonix, in an everlasting cycle of change and rebirth. Because of this, the pheonix is seen as a symbol of times of change, and rising stronger from the change.
The drawing below, by Fitz Vacker, is that of a pheonix with a quote by Maya Angelou. Maya Angelou was a poet who was a racial activist through her poetry.
The quote reads, "I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it." Fitz was drawn to this quote because he personally has gone through many times of difficult change, and has witnessed many others' times of change. When Fitz saw that quote, he was inspired by it. He has heard and read many times that people are not defined by what happens to them or their mistakes, but rather how they fix their mistakes and how they overcome their life's obstacles, and how they learn from what happens to them. Fitz just never fully understood it until he read the quote and felt it resonate in him. Fitz now lives by this quote, and encourages other's to do the same.
The pheonix under the quote is an example of symbolism. In ancient Egyptian myth, the pheonix is associated with the sun and fire, and whenever a pheonix would grow old, it would combust in a show of flame. From the ashes of the pheonix whould arise a powerful young pheonix, in an everlasting cycle of change and rebirth. Because of this, the pheonix is seen as a symbol of times of change, and rising stronger from the change.
~Artistic Academy~
So today we have two winning artworks, one from Naressa Queen and one from Emma Forest. Both of you will recieve a prize soon! First we have an interview with Naressa Queen, who's artwork won the Best Composition award!
Today we have Naressa Queen on her artwork above.
Fitz: Hey Naressa! So the artwork you submitted was chosen for the Best Composition award. How do you feel about that?
Naressa: It makes me so happy that my painting was chosen! Art has always been a passion of mine, and I love sharing it with others. If I could, I would be bursting with joy right now. {Naressa laughs}
Fitz: That's great to hear, I'm glad! So I'm no expert on cars, but it appears you painted an old car. What made you decide to paint that?
Naressa: You're right, this is an old car, though I'm not sure what model it is...cars aren't exactly my strong suit. So..there's actually no story as such behind this, I just did what my teacher told me to. BUT it did actually help me move onto one of the last levels in my art class, so there's that. After watercolors, you move onto the human figures, the last of the basics, and this painting was the reason I moved onto human figures. It shows that I have good balance, and that in the past year, I've improved my art a lot.
Fitz: That's good, and practice makes perfect! And you don't need your artwork to have a story or message every time, either. So what techniques did you use to make this artwork, what materials did you use, and is it a digital artwork or did you take a picture of a painting you did on canvas?
Naressa: So I did this painting using watercolors, mostly shades of grey and dark green, and a bit teal of course. It was done on 150 GSM paper, ideal for watercolor paintings. I just took a picture and uploaded it!
Fitz: For those who don't know, GSM is rating of how many grams of material per square meter a paper is. Standard printing paper is 80 GSM. Naressa, what kind of other artworks have you done, and have you done very many? Naressa: So, I've actually done a lot of artwork. Too bad I don't have them anymore, but it's not like I can stuff 7 years worth of paintings into my cupboard..I need that space for other stuff. So since I've been attending for 7 years (or 8, I have no idea anymore ), I have lots of artwork under my belt. I've done stuff with oil pastels, pencils, portraits with different mediums and a bunch of other stuff as well.
Fitz: 7 or 8 years? That's a lot! Last question: Tell me, how do you usually do your backgrounds? I see in your painting that the background kind of fades away from the car.
Naressa: I like to tweak my paintings a bit, like change the background a bit. With this painting I added more teal than I was supposed...but it's my favorite colour, I just had to! I also darkened the background around the edges, just to make a little more dramatic, though it's not really visible in the picture..that's cameras for you. And that's pretty much my painting!
Fitz: And there you have it, a fine artwork by Naressa Queen, an all around skilled artist!
So next we have the winner of the Most Creative award- Emma Forest's parrot dragon!
This is an amazing and super creative paint! Congrats Emma!
Want your art here?
Want your artwork presented in this column, and possibly get a reward? If so, send Fitz “Chaos” Vacker a letter with the subject “Firstname Lastname – Artwork Interview” and include a cropped image of your artwork so that only the artwork is showing, and be prepared to answer questions about how you made the artwork, the tools you used, and the message if it’s a concept artwork. If your artwork is featured in this article for "Best Composition", it means you are the one user per week to win a prize! Two other artworks will be featured, but they will not get a prize. The three categories are: Most Detailed, Most Creative, and Best Composition. If you have any questions, feel free to send a letter to Fitz.
Code by: Movni ShirlydithSo today we have two winning artworks, one from Naressa Queen and one from Emma Forest. Both of you will recieve a prize soon! First we have an interview with Naressa Queen, who's artwork won the Best Composition award!
Interview
Today we have Naressa Queen on her artwork above.
Fitz: Hey Naressa! So the artwork you submitted was chosen for the Best Composition award. How do you feel about that?
Naressa: It makes me so happy that my painting was chosen! Art has always been a passion of mine, and I love sharing it with others. If I could, I would be bursting with joy right now. {Naressa laughs}
Fitz: That's great to hear, I'm glad! So I'm no expert on cars, but it appears you painted an old car. What made you decide to paint that?
Naressa: You're right, this is an old car, though I'm not sure what model it is...cars aren't exactly my strong suit. So..there's actually no story as such behind this, I just did what my teacher told me to. BUT it did actually help me move onto one of the last levels in my art class, so there's that. After watercolors, you move onto the human figures, the last of the basics, and this painting was the reason I moved onto human figures. It shows that I have good balance, and that in the past year, I've improved my art a lot.
Fitz: That's good, and practice makes perfect! And you don't need your artwork to have a story or message every time, either. So what techniques did you use to make this artwork, what materials did you use, and is it a digital artwork or did you take a picture of a painting you did on canvas?
Naressa: So I did this painting using watercolors, mostly shades of grey and dark green, and a bit teal of course. It was done on 150 GSM paper, ideal for watercolor paintings. I just took a picture and uploaded it!
Fitz: For those who don't know, GSM is rating of how many grams of material per square meter a paper is. Standard printing paper is 80 GSM. Naressa, what kind of other artworks have you done, and have you done very many? Naressa: So, I've actually done a lot of artwork. Too bad I don't have them anymore, but it's not like I can stuff 7 years worth of paintings into my cupboard..I need that space for other stuff. So since I've been attending for 7 years (or 8, I have no idea anymore ), I have lots of artwork under my belt. I've done stuff with oil pastels, pencils, portraits with different mediums and a bunch of other stuff as well.
Fitz: 7 or 8 years? That's a lot! Last question: Tell me, how do you usually do your backgrounds? I see in your painting that the background kind of fades away from the car.
Naressa: I like to tweak my paintings a bit, like change the background a bit. With this painting I added more teal than I was supposed...but it's my favorite colour, I just had to! I also darkened the background around the edges, just to make a little more dramatic, though it's not really visible in the picture..that's cameras for you. And that's pretty much my painting!
Fitz: And there you have it, a fine artwork by Naressa Queen, an all around skilled artist!
So next we have the winner of the Most Creative award- Emma Forest's parrot dragon!
This is an amazing and super creative paint! Congrats Emma!
Want your art here?
Want your artwork presented in this column, and possibly get a reward? If so, send Fitz “Chaos” Vacker a letter with the subject “Firstname Lastname – Artwork Interview” and include a cropped image of your artwork so that only the artwork is showing, and be prepared to answer questions about how you made the artwork, the tools you used, and the message if it’s a concept artwork. If your artwork is featured in this article for "Best Composition", it means you are the one user per week to win a prize! Two other artworks will be featured, but they will not get a prize. The three categories are: Most Detailed, Most Creative, and Best Composition. If you have any questions, feel free to send a letter to Fitz.
~Fitz Vacker and
Lux Dew~
Sources:
"25 Mind-Blowing Secrets Hidden in Famous Art" - bestlifeonline.com
"Van Gogh Starry Night - The Painting and the Story" - vangoghgallery.com