Charcoal Pumpkin Statement

1. My goals for this piece were to capture an image that had a great contrast of highlights and shadows. I wanted to still keep it simple enough to draw so that the viewer can clearly tell the image I created. I accomplished them by really focusing on the image I was taking. I rearranged my pumpkin and my light source many times to perfect my image. I am always surprised at how much fun working with charcoal is. I think my drawing is mainly about really capturing all the pumpkin's details.

2. The most difficult challenge I had to face was probably first starting to put the charcoal onto the paper. I met this challenge by experimenting with how much charcoal I had to layer on and I just learned as I went on. For this piece I had to see the image as less of a pumpkin and more of a composition of light and shadow.

3. I think my drawing really works on the upper half of the piece where the highlights are more prominent.

4. Some things I've learned that I will use in my next drawings are the new shading techniques with charcoal I have picked up.

5. Another artist in the class that I learned from was Angela Borean. Yet again, I loved her use of highlights and shadows and how neat and clean her entire piece came together.

6. If i had a do over I would probably change the picture I took to begin with. I loved the one I chose but if I had the chance I might choose another composition entirely.

7. The best thing about my piece is my use of highlights and shadows. I'm really proud of how I really focused on strictly the shadows and highlights and less of the structure of the pumpkin. In the end, the drawing came out much more realistic and the shadows and highlights are beautiful.