Art Reflection and experiment report

Art Reflection and Experiment Report.
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Pointillism is a form of artistic expression where tiny dots of color are used to create an image. The word pointillism itself is derived from the French word point that means a dot. The image results from the creation of a depth of light. During the 19th Century, several artists experimented using this method. However, all of them had moderate success. In the modern era, the term dotted art is also used to describe drawings that are made entirely from dots. As an art, pointillism heavily relies on the use of dots to create a depth of lighting. This enables the artist to come up with subtle variations of color that would seem clumsy and misplaced if done in a haphazard manner. This kind of art is also considered part of the post-impressionist period. This movement advanced the ideas of the Impressionist era CITATION Kru05 l 1033 (Kruger & Worgotta, 2005) that included the view that an artist should place his ideas on a canvas for others to see. Due to the emphasis that the style placed on color, shape, and movement were ultimately affected adversely. Many artists’ works appeared posed which was different from earlier works that seemed to capture untamed moments for a lifetime. Some famous pointillists include French artist Georges Seurat CITATION Bre99 l 1033 (Brettel, 1999), who is considered a pioneer of pointillism, Paul Signac and Maximilian Luce.
Pointillism as an art form has significant historical ramifications.

Today, however, it is described as a technique that is used by different artists to create different contexts in art forms. The style heavily relies on the use of pure color as applied on a canvas. For this reason, the technique is heavily influenced by the ability of the viewer’s eye and mind to blend different color spots and make them tones. Traditionally, an artist’s only work was to mix pigment with palette and pointillism highly deviates from that practice. It is comparable to the use of some printers and how they use the four color system known as CMYK. The colors used are cyan or blue, magenta or red, yellow and key (black). If such a composition is viewed from a particular distance, then the dots of color appear richer and give a subtle effect that is also achievable by the use of conventional techniques. For pointillists, what matters is not the subject matter but the dots and what image they create. Pointillism is mostly done in oil paintings although there are others which are not common. The actual method of mixing paints optically instead of a palette is referred to divisionism or chromoluminarism.
The term dotted art and pointillism referred to the same thing albeit with a slight distinction. The only significant difference is that pointillism is used more among historians, collectors, and art lovers while dotted art is more popular with the public. It is popular with non-professionals, and several other artistic practices thrive with dotted art. A good example is Aboriginal art that is very popular for its dotted paintings. Pointillism also inspired other artists such as Vincent Van Gogh and in 1887, the world famous artist, to paint a self-portrait using the pointillist technique. Although it was an experiment of sorts, it came off well CITATION Art16 l 1033 (Artfactory, 2016). Van Gogh used color complements green and red. These showed his desire to understand neo-impressionism. In the end, the painting depicted emotional turbulence rather than a cool and intellectual objective showed by other artists’ works.
The Aborigines who are natives of Australia also heavily influenced pointillism. Aboriginal art is based on ancient stories. The stories served different purposes, and many of them were expressed in drawings and paintings. Due to the apparent lack of a proper language, the Aborigines depended on the art for purposes of education, passing knowledge and wisdom from their ancestors to future generations. This usually happened in ritual ceremonies where people would express their views and show the close connections they have with the land. Paintings told stories in the Aboriginal culture. The stories told varied depending on the audience and the storyteller. Due to their depth of content, it becomes almost impossible for a viewer who is not of Aboriginal origin to fully grasp the story behind any painting. The stories that the paintings tell are of paramount importance when it comes to passing knowledge and wisdom from generation to generation in the Aboriginal culture. A variety of elements is also hidden from the public eye and remains unseen. In a word, the paintings are just skeletons, which form part of the outline of the entire story, and it shall always remain hidden. The secrets of the society will also remain a mystery.
Recently, I tried my hand at pointillism and dotted art in particular. I made an attempt to create dotting patterns on a canvas. For this experiment, I used various tools that included a Q-tip, a pencil eraser, chopsticks and a small brush. I used acrylic for dotting because it dries quickly and provides a pop-up 3D effect that other types of paint cannot do. For the dotting, I used black and gray colors. The gray was obtained by mixing black and white. For the Q-tip, I dipped it into the black paint and stamped it on paper. The tip is soft and absorbs paint quickly. It also takes a short time to dry. This tip’s ability to quickly dry out made it necessary for me to dip it in the paint consistently. I did this after painting every two dots. I found that if I stamped too fast or did so at an irregular angle, then the tip produced irregular shapes.
The second tool I used was the pencil eraser. I found this particularly easy to use due to its ability to make almost perfectly round shapes. It is also easy to stamp on paper. The eraser does tend to leave some paint in the middle of the dot when lifted. Just like with the Q-tip, it produces dots that are irregularly shaped when used too quickly. The pencil eraser is also disadvantageous because there are no varying sizes. This makes it difficult to create larger or smaller dots. Pencil erasers only come in one size.
I then proceeded to use a chopstick. In particular, I used the tip because it is easy to create dotted impressions and stamp it on the paper. The research I conducted showed that several artists have in fact used this tool to create dotted paintings. Christine Curtz-Casten is one such artist. My attempt to use the tip of the chopstick reveals several things. The hardness of the tip makes it hard to control the amount of paint that goes on the paper. The chopstick is a difficult tool to use mainly because when dipped in paint, there is a lot of it that is leftover when the chopstick is stamped on the paper. For this reason, the chopstick requires a lot of attention and expertise to know how to use it properly. The difficulty in using it also stems from the fact that once dipped in paint, and when drawing the second dot, paint might spill over and make the dot larger.
The last tool I used was the small paintbrush. This tool is easy to use and can easily be controlled to create dots of any size. The biggest problem, which is its only problem, is that it is time consuming and the bristles require a lot of care to create perfect dots. After trying out all the four tools, I settled on the small brush. I was also able to use different brushes to create a design of my choice. I also tested the drawing on a piece of paper. I noticed that it produced different results. This was because the surface of paper was softer compared to the surface of canvas.
Once I settled on the proper tool, I tried my hand at pointillism. I would use dots to create the pattern of my choice. I used a variety of paints including black, light gray and dark gray. My first pattern was the tunnel. To draw this pattern, I would first create an outline or sketch using several small brushes that would do the dotting. I began by dipping the brush in acyclic paint and dotting the canvas. I created a 3D effect by applying thick dots, which would also ensure that they would retain their shape. I dotted along the outline but left space between the dots. I used another brush to paint the gray dots and another one to paint dark gray dots. I followed the pattern that I designed for my painting and started painting another row of dots just outside the first row. It is important to ensure that the palm does not touch the dots when they are still wet, as this will distort the shape. To this end, I used a hair drier to make the dots dry faster and set it on medium heat. Once the paint dried, I repeated the process using light gray paint. The variety of creates a color contrast that is eye-catching and which creates a sense of depth and distance.
I chose the tunnel because it was symbolic of my passage from childhood to adulthood. When I was younger, I had no knowledge of the real world, and my thoughts were those of a child. Moving through the tunnel, I got a better understanding of the world. The tunnel also symbolized my inner desire to surpass the challenges and become an adult. The painting contains an entrance and an exit. At the center of the entrance, there are black color dots that show how the end is never apparent when you are at the beginning. On entering, however, the exit becomes visible, and there is light. The exit is represented by white dots located at the center of the pattern. I also put a dotted pattern near my head. The design described the self-consciousness and awareness of the mind and was symbolic of the wisdom and intelligence contained in mind. The different dot sizes depicted the power of the mind and its ability to distinguish between right and wrong.
References
BIBLIOGRAPHY Artfactory. (2016, May 23). Vincent Van Gogh Self-Portraits. Retrieved from Vincent Van Gogh – A History in Self Portraits: http://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/portraits/van_gogh.htm
Brettell, R. (1999). Modern Art, 1851-1929: Capitalism and Representation. London: Oxford University Press.
Kruger, N., & Worgotta, F. (2005). Symbolic pointillism: Computer art motivated by human brain structures. Leonardo, 337-340.