MY ART ESSAY

Madeline Hall

JANUARY 10, 2017

 Madeline Hall
Exploring Art 1010
Jan 10, 2017

The artist that I chose to use as my influence in this project is Helena Wierzbicki. She

was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and attended the Escuala De Bellas Artes there. She has

participated in local and international art shows. To her, art is a balance between the inner

and outer world. She has 137 artworks, and continues to create. There was a particular

painting of hers that stood out to me, entitled Blue Lady. I was intrigued by the use of cooler

colors and abstract shapes that represented different parts of the piece. Wierzbicki is an

expressionist, creating art that has to do with her innermost thoughts and emotions. This art

piece really depicts the expression through the amazing use of color, imaginative figures and

bold colors. This work of art really drew me in because I love the beauty it has. It catches the

eye and made me want to almost study it. I decided to add my own face into this piece

because that is the way I wanted to interpret it. I also used oil pastels in contrast to the paint

that Wierzbicki used. It was interesting to do this, because I also interpreted how I see myself.

I began by sketching a picture of my face, then using pastels to fill in similar colors to the

original.
Madeline Hall
Exploring Art 1010
Jan 10, 2017

The face was the most time consuming part in the process of making this portrait. It was the

most detailed and needed to be the right

shape and proportion. After the main details

of the head and face were completed, I

decided to work from the top right corner in

a clockwise direction. This made it easier to

get the shapes the right size and in the right

place.

I made sure that my glasses were the

last thing that I completed when making the face. That way the color would not smudge, and I

did not have to try to color around them too much.

It was very interesting to do a project

like this, because it has been hard for me in

the past to portray on paper what is in my

mind and what I am feeling. Looking at

another work of art helped me to have a guide

and to express myself with my own style. I

kept thinking back to the things that I learned

about the artist and tried to see it in her point

of view.
Madeline Hall
Exploring Art 1010
Jan 10, 2017

I looked at many other pieces done by Helena Wierzbicki, and I found that many of her works represent

the human form. I especially like the closer face portraits because they have more detail and have

emotion and feeling that is both expressed and

given off.

I enjoyed working with oil pastels,

because it is a material that I have little

experience with, and I wanted to experiment

with the combination of colors and textures. At

this point in the project, I was surprised that it

looked this way, because it was challenging to

make the right colors and shapes in the right

places. It was also very time consuming, and I

sometimes lacked the motivation. I thought that

I was not capable of doing such a colorful piece

with intricate shapes. I often felt it would be too

hard for me to make a piece based on

Weirzbickis art. However, I kept pressing on

with my strategy and it started coming together

very nicely.
Madeline Hall
Exploring Art 1010
Jan 10, 2017

Going through the process of doing my own art from the inspiration of another artist, I learned a

lot about art and about myself. I was able to do something that I did not feel was within my artistic

ability. I like the idea that Helena Wierzbicki uses modern art that is beautiful and poetic. I am happy

with the results of this portrait, and have experienced the benefits of hard work and dedication. I truly

enjoyed doing this project, and I hope to improve my skill and knowledge of art in the future.