Art

Islamic art progress reflection!

When we first began our art classes, I had no clue on anything related to Islamic Art. I only knew that they were found in Islamic architecture like mosques, homes and other places of worship. I knew they are complex patterns formed from various two dimensional shapes. After watching a video explaining Islamic art patterns and the complex process of creating it, I learned so much! I learned that all Islamic art patterns start with a shape of either 4, 6 or 8 folds. 

We were asked to create our own Islamic art sketch. I decided to start mine with an easy four folded beginning. I decided to include shapes like: a circle, square, triangle and multiple lines to create my pattern. I struggled with the proportions of my artwork, but I managed to create a decent looking pattern! It took up the whole page which is not good because I am not able to make repeated patterns only one large a4 sized one. I started my pattern with a circle, which helps it continuo onwards infinitely as circles do not have any sides and are infinite and then added more lines which I then added shapes to! 

For my draft we had to plan our drawing on a 6x6 inch piece of paper that we measured. I was inspired by the morning sun and chose to start my drawing off with circles and added triangles. This formed the shape of a sun. I helped get my proportions correct by drawing an accurate grid in the background. I tested color schemes by swatching different colors on the side of the paper. I wanted to do a beautiful royal blue colour with a gentle yellow, but I ended up deciding to use a royal blue colour with a bright yellow. I feel like these two colors combined formed a really pretty and eye catching painting! Things I could improve on: my painting skills. I got a 5 for my draft painting because was really messy when painting. This was partially due to my naturally shaky hand and the way I held the paintbrush. I was holding it from the far end, instead of having a good grip and holding it from the closer end. I could also improve on proportions by using a ruler more accurately, although I did draw a graph in the background!

I have started my final version, Firstly, all students had to measure an exact template of 15 inches by 5 inches. These proportions had to be exact as Islamic art is all about proportions. After accurately drawing the template, Miss Akhtar used a measuring tool to make sure our proportions were correct. At first, mine was too short, so I made it longer by about 0.4 mm and it perfect! I started my designs with a circle. I drew this circle with a compass and I made sure that the circle was the exact same size each time! Then, I began marking a dot on each side of the circles to help me draw the triangles for the sun accurately. Now I have completed my sun! I decided to keep it simple so it will be easier to paint therefore helping me boost my mark. For painting, I improved my technique very much. Firstly, I found a position for painting that I am comfortable with, then chose a better, thinner brush. I held that "pen" type brush from the bottom side to increase the control I had over the painting. I inquired about my classmate Noaf's technique as I was fascinated as to how she achieved her painting result! She told me that she pressed gently and used a lot of water to blend colors together as well as make the paint not appear streaky. I decided to go with a gradient effect to paint the sun, but I am yet to complete painting my own Islamic art. Hopefully I will get a better mark as I have focused primarily on improving my proportions and painting technique.

Process of my painting:

I began with measuring the proportions then my teacher double checked them for accuracy! I began with using my compass to draw circles of equal sizes. I then drew a bigger circle on the outside and drew lines as the sun rays on the outside. The technique I used to paint was with watercolour paint and lots of water to dilute the paint. On the outer edges of the sun, I used a stronger and more pigmented/less diluted solution to create a gradient effect. In the centre of the sun, I barely used and paint as I wanted an extremely light middle to complete the gradient effect! I repeated this painting technique on each three suns. 

After I finished painting the sun rays (triangles) yellow, I began painting the other shapes a royal blue colour. Then I finished the painting! 

What I liked about my painting/what went well: I believe that all my proportions were correct because I went out of my way to create accurate proportions. 

What I could improve on: I could improve on my painting skills as I am not satisfied with the clarity and definition of my painting.