Concentration 11

Okay, so in the critique the class said that they wanted more emotion, so I said, "emotion you will get!" and BLAM-O! The hairdresser was born. This piece is about how happy the hairdresser can make someone by giving them a makeover and doing their hair.

Although the photograph does not show it, this piece is very bright and vibrant. The people are still done in black and white though as in all my other pieces. I wanted to make this brighter because it is exciting and put a smile on someones face like the girl in the photo.

Concentration 10

For this piece I decided to do a soldier. This is definitly the heaviest piece I have done yet. This soldier has lost people that he loved when he was in war. I wanted to capture the true emotion and despair. Behind the man is a graveyard where his fellow soldiers are buried. A man is kneeling in front of one of the stones mourning someones death.
I did this piece in charcoal, I felt that color would detract from the feeling of the piece. I think this is one of my best pieces visually and conceptually although I would like to continue working on the right side of the piece.

Concentration 9

For this piece I decided to do a good ol' fasion farmer. The farmer is standing in his field smelling one of his plants. He truly loves every crop he produces. I feel like this piece really shows how passionate and how much love one can have for their job. I really uped the color in this piece to show the happiness and the passion of the man. I used graphite for the man and watercolor pencil for everything else. This is one of my more emotional pieces so far.

Concentration 8

For this piece I stepped out of my comfort zone and attempted to do some different subject matter. I have never drawn a baby before! That was a lot of work, but with much head enlargements I think I finally got it right and I am happy with the end result.

For the subject matter I wanted to do a doctor. This is supposed to show how fulfilling this occupation is, curing the sick and saving lives. If the doctor had not been here there is a possibility that this baby could have died. I think that doing the piece in black and white made it a more emotional and moving piece.

Concentration 7

For this piece I focused a lot on the symbolism. My subject is a business man in the fast-paced world of today. He is so worried about the time that he spills his coffee while looking at his watch. In the background there are other objects about time, post-its on the wall about appointments, a card on thh desk that says 'missing you', a large clock on the wall...it is a critique on today's society on how everyone is just too busy and does not stop to think and breathe.
For the materials I used graphite, charcoal, and conte along with watercolor pencils in the background.

Concentration Piece 6

For this next concentration piece I decided to take my style in a new direction visually. Unlike any of my other pieces I did this one on black paper with white conte. I was very happy with the end result with the extreme lights and darks. As for the subject matter I decided to take on a musician; specifically a guitarist in a hard rock band. The dark colors are symbolic of his lifestyle, dark, mysterious ect...the lifestyle of a rocker is extreme (they don't have that scary look on their faces for nothing!)

I really like how this one turned out, I may work back in and try and create more of a sense of space in the background.

For this piece I decided to do a professional athlete. I used graphite for the girl and colored pencil for the background. The idea is that her family and friends is at home missing her while she is traveling around persuing her career. I put a sad face in the background instead of blantantly putting a picture of her family in the work like in some of my past concentration pieces. I would like to work to develope the values and contrast in this piece some more.