"Passing of Time"
Medium: Dry Point
Size: 17.78 x 12.7 cm
Date: October 2015
Sometimes we become so obsessed with time that we forget to live in the moment and just let time pass by. Inspired by Vincent van Gogh's "Starry Night," I created a piece to demonstrate the beauty in letting time pass and enjoying the world around.
Medium: Dry Point
Size: 17.78 x 12.7 cm
Date: October 2015
Sometimes we become so obsessed with time that we forget to live in the moment and just let time pass by. Inspired by Vincent van Gogh's "Starry Night," I created a piece to demonstrate the beauty in letting time pass and enjoying the world around.
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Planning
At first, I thought about making a completely new theme for my dry point rather than a continuation from my block print. So, I began making simple sketches of objects that popped into my head, thus creating a heart, a swirl and I was thinking of going abstract, and then an eye. However I then decided that I wanted to incorporate the outdoors while still connecting it to the human body. Therefore I sketched a tree in the shape of a hand, yet I was not satisfied with the piece. I enjoyed creating more of a simpler feel to my piece. Suddenly, I thought about van Gogh's piece, "Starry Night" and decide that I wanted to incorporate that into my piece. I also decide to remain on the topic of time and sort of create an opposite to my block print. Rather than obsession with time, I wanted to demonstrate the passing of it, and eventually created my final sketch. It shows a body sitting on a cliff looking off into the distance at a city across the lake with a swirling sky as time just passes by. |
Inspiration
Van Gogh was a post-impressionist who at the time during which he was alive, was not considered a great artist. In fact he only sold one painting before his death from suicide. Regardless, today, Vincent is revered as one of the greatest artists to have ever lived. Among his most well-known works is the piece "Starry Night." The painting is most known for its beautiful, serene, swirling sky. I enjoy this feature of the painting and wanted to incorporate it into my piece and it produced a relaxing feeling, one which went perfect with the subject of the passing of time. Image Citation: Starry Night. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.vangoghgallery.com/catalog/Painting/508/Starry-Night.html>. Research: Vincent Van Gogh Gallery. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2015. <http://www.vangoghgallery.com/misc/biography.html>. |
Process
I first began by taking my transparent plastic and laying it over my sketch, making sure to align the edges. Once aligned, I taped down the plastic. I then proceeded to utilize an exacto knife to carve into the plastic and trace any pencil lines. I repeatedly went over the lines in order to make sure they were deep enough for ink to get in. Once I had gone over all pencil marks, I began to in my piece. I utilized a palette knife in order to push ink into the crevices I had created. After making sure all crevices were filled with ink, I began to wipe away excess ink with newspaper, making sure to get rid of all excess ink. Meanwhile, I had placed a sheet of paper in water to soak while inking my piece. After eight minutes, I removed the paper from the water and set it on a towel. With my piece inked and paper ready, I placed both on a sheet of newspaper on the roller. Then I rolled the plastic on top of the paper once. This caused the wet paper to get into my carvings and absorb the ink and create a print. Sometimes, there was not enough ink in the carving and therefore the piece was faded, while other times I did not wipe off enough excess ink. After repeating the process three times, I finally got the print that I wanted.
I first began by taking my transparent plastic and laying it over my sketch, making sure to align the edges. Once aligned, I taped down the plastic. I then proceeded to utilize an exacto knife to carve into the plastic and trace any pencil lines. I repeatedly went over the lines in order to make sure they were deep enough for ink to get in. Once I had gone over all pencil marks, I began to in my piece. I utilized a palette knife in order to push ink into the crevices I had created. After making sure all crevices were filled with ink, I began to wipe away excess ink with newspaper, making sure to get rid of all excess ink. Meanwhile, I had placed a sheet of paper in water to soak while inking my piece. After eight minutes, I removed the paper from the water and set it on a towel. With my piece inked and paper ready, I placed both on a sheet of newspaper on the roller. Then I rolled the plastic on top of the paper once. This caused the wet paper to get into my carvings and absorb the ink and create a print. Sometimes, there was not enough ink in the carving and therefore the piece was faded, while other times I did not wipe off enough excess ink. After repeating the process three times, I finally got the print that I wanted.
Reflection
I feel that I was successful in producing a piece to represent the passing of time by enjoying the beauty of the world around one. The most challenging part of the process was removing any excess ink as sometimes there would be a bit left over and cause a bad print. However, with patience, I was able to remove all excess ink and produce a good print. Perhaps something I would change about my piece would be the city. It might have been better for me to have drawn a ship or sunset rather than the city. Regardless, I am happy with my end result.
I feel that I was successful in producing a piece to represent the passing of time by enjoying the beauty of the world around one. The most challenging part of the process was removing any excess ink as sometimes there would be a bit left over and cause a bad print. However, with patience, I was able to remove all excess ink and produce a good print. Perhaps something I would change about my piece would be the city. It might have been better for me to have drawn a ship or sunset rather than the city. Regardless, I am happy with my end result.