Devin -- Still life With Rocking Chair --24"x18"

This painting has been selected by a committee to be used on this year's Annual Student Art Exhibition postcard.

Painting Studio --Broome Community College

Alaina -- Still life With Rocking Chair --16"x20"

Megan -- Still life With Rocking Chair --24"x18"

Whitney -- Still life With Rocking Chair --24"x18"

Shirley -- Still life With Rocking Chair --24"x18"

Shirley -- Cherry Tomatoes --8"x10"

Shirley -- Naturalistic Still life of Pears --11"x14"

Comments by Hall Groat II regarding Shirley's Painting

This particular painting is rooted in the tradition of naturalism, a sensibility that is based on the intense observation of tonal relationships, merging values, and dissolving edges. Naturalistic painting is concerned with suggesting the actual mood and ambiance of the space, which is reflective of how we see as humans. This aesthetic ideology is fundamentally different from "realists" who are concerned with specificity and freezing time, as in a photographic snapshot. Naturalism is ephemeral, just as the human experience. Humans do not have the capability of focusing on multiple sharp edges at one time, similar to how a camera sees or a hyper realist painter mimics a photograph or creates a hyper reality.

Hyesook" Still life #1" --18"x24"

Devin" Still life #1" --20"x16"

Megan" Still life #1" --20"x16"

Critique of Megan's Painting by Sarah ...BCC Student

Different brushwork techniques would enhance this piece greatly, as the majority of the brushstrokes are similar and very smooth. Perhaps up close they differ, but from the picture they all look alike. This would add more texture to the background, making it more interesting, although I do like the different shades of colors, giving the illusion of light to dark. The fruit looks rather cubist. Perhaps more detail in the fruit would give it a more realisitic feel. I'm not too fond of the composition as I favor more of the objects in the painting rather than most objects being cropped off. It is evident that the fruit is the focal point, but I think that by either painting one additional whole element would show the relationship better between the objects. To enhance the illusion of light and shadow, more highlights on the violin and the fruit would be beneficial, as well as more shadow on the underside of the lemon and upright pear. To enhance the relationship of colors, more red can be brought into the background or cloth in the foreground, instead of just incorporating the red into the apple and the upright pear. Either that or bring some purple from the background into the fruit. To enhance to sense of form and volume in the painting, more detail in the violin or lion would benefit the painting as a whole. Some more detail in the lemon would also make it look more like a lemon. It is obvious that it is a lemon because there are other fruits surrounding it, but without those fruit, it would be hard to identify. To suggest more movement and rhythm in the painting, bolder brushstrokes in the background can be implemented. To the artist, I realize that time was an issue, and I'm sure you would've made more changes that you thought necessary to improve the painting. I do like how the yellow of the lemon and the purple of the background complement each other nicely.

Janelle" Still life #1" --20"x16"

Alaina" Still life #1" --20"x16"

Shirley" Still life #1" --16"x20"

Mick "Still life #1" --20"x16"

Hyesook "landscape#3 --24x18"

Hyesook "landscape#2 --18x24"

Hyesook "Still life #3 --"Apples" 16x20"

Hyesook "Still life #2 --11x14"

Hyesook "Still life #1 -- 20x16"

Theresa: "Still life #2 --"Apples" 16x20"

Summer: Landscape 14x11"

Summer: Owego, NY, 11x14"

Summer: Still life #2 14x11"

Summer: Still life #1 20x16"

Heidi: landscape (sold!) 16x20"

Heidi: "Still life #2 --16"x20"

Andy: "Still life #3 --Uncle's World War II Dagger" 11x14"

Please e-mail andy if you have questions about this painting:
stifel79@yahoo.com

When I first began this class, I was very unsure of what to expect, both from myself and from the course. Prior to this time, I had zero experience with oil paints, and very little with acrylic. After my first still life, I wanted to explore different strategies and criteria such as intense color, reflective surfaces, landscape and figures. At the end of the course,I felt that I ended up with four strong paintings for my portfolio. With my final piece, I really wanted to do a figure painting. When it came to the skin tone, I used mixtures high in yellow and orange. Painting from a photograph had it's difficulties, but I would invent color at certain spots according to what I thought would give the overall appearance a better feeling. I was satisfied with the final result, being my first oil portrait, but I would like to do more and work on my technique.

Andy: "Still life #2" 20x16"

Andy: "Still life #1" 20x16"

Andy: "Friend's Girlfriend" 24x20"

Katerina: "still life #2" 20x16"

Katerina: "still life #1" 16x20"

Katerina: "Doll" 14x11"

Katerina: "Figure Study" 14x11"

Jessica: Still life #2 16x20

Sam: 20x16 "Skull"

E-mail me your thoughts: olmsteads2@acad.sunybroome.edu

I have achieved my goals in Art 116. I wanted to see if I had a potential to paint artistic images and enjoy the process. I feel that I accomplished both those objectives. I have a long way to go before I could consider myself a well-developed artist but that it would be worth the effort in the long term.
I do well with form; my paintings strongly resemble the object or form painted. The lighting is good although I need to work on mixing colors. Perspective of the painted image is good but I need to work on spatial relationships and size. Composition was adequate but I should restrain myself from always paining the entire image, as a portion of the image may be more successful in conveying the mood or message I wish to get across. I am hesitant to use bold tones or color schemes, but it works well when I go beyond my comfort zone.
I agree that I was very hesitant in the beginning and spontaneous in the landscape It helps that I feel I have caught onto the idea of the under painting as a way to create the illusion of depth and substance in the painted image. I am beginning to get the image to roll away into the background, but I need to practice more to obtain a chiaroscuro effect. I have developed a better eye for tone and color. I am also more patient in rendering the general before specific. I understand the notion of painting the areas of value and am able to identify a wider variety of tones.
Contextually I am narrative, trying just to make a realistic image. As I become more refined I would like to show more symbolism and emotion, especially in rendering facial expressions.
I agree I do better when I loosen up and place less importance in perfectionism. Thank you for providing such a strong learning environment. I am very pleased with both the experience and the outcome as I compare my present level of ability with that which I arrived with on the first day of class. This has been very enhancing of my confidence in my creative process.

Sam: 24x18

Sam: still life #2 14x11 "Garden Tools"

Critque by Peter on Sam's work

Sam’s Still Life #2 could have been handled much better if it was given a more smooth approach with the brush. The texture looks very rough and the negative space flows right into the positive space and makes it difficult to distinguish where each begins. While I like the dark tone and mood created in this piece it may have worked better if he had made a little more of a transition between the focal point and background.The pumpkin he created is very recognizable but he could have added more texture to it, rather than leaving it flat to make it pop out more. The background looks very plain to me and might have been enhanced had something been placed there such as a picture, another piece of fruit or another tool leaning against it to add that extra dimension. The onion also looks very small to me compared to the pumpkin and should have been made a little bigger. His illusion of light and shadow is confusing in this piece. While I can tell that light is coming in from the left side as he showed on the table, the shadow of the pumpkin does not match the figure. Too much of the painting was left dark and in shadow that there appears to not be much of a light source at all, while the pumpkin alone seems to be heavily lighted and does not make sense. I enjoy the colors in this piece, as they create a dark mood, but the colors in the background are a big distraction. He has added a little bit of yellow into the fabric to show just a little bit of light hitting it, but had this been added more to the background as well, instead of leaving it dark throughout most of it, it may have worked better. I also believe he has brightened up the onion too much and not transferred that light onto the tool and made it brighter on the back and this seems distracting. The colors added to the table right behind the tool match the onion perfectly but the tool seems like it is in shadow where it shouldn’t be because it was left too dark. I appreciate the form and volume in this piece, except for the pumpkin. He has added some form into it but had he not left the front of it looking so flat with a dull orange it would have really enhanced the 3-D effect. It is apparent that the pumpkin is rounded on both sides but looks flat in the front and the touch of gray added to the left side is a bit too much and had he added just a little less as he did on the right side it would have worked better. This piece seems to move pretty well, but had another object been added to the background it would have looked more visually pleasing. Also if he had increased the scale of his drawings just a little, so as not to have taken up half of the painting with negative space on the top and bottom it would not create such a distraction from the focal point. Also the scale of his piece throws both the pumpkin and the tool right off the page and they are not fully represented and it would flowed more nicely had they been fully shown.

Adam: Niagara Falls 16x20"

E-mail me your comments: willsona1@acad.sunybroome.edu

This class was really my first experience with oil painting. It took afew sessions to get used to, but I enjoyed it. I feel my best workcomes when I stay disconnected emotionally from the actual work, as mybrush strokes are free and I'm able to take risks and not worry about'ruining' the piece. If I approach the painting with an almostdisdain, I'm able to keep the strokes more honest. If I'm too close tothe piece I tend to baby it, mistakes become disasters, and fixing themistake becomes an even bigger mistake. Waking up for an 8:00am studiosession definitely helps me disconnect from the painting, as Iinvariably wake up grumpy. Overall I was pleased with my progress as apainter, and plan to continue to develop my work.

Adam: still life #2 20x16"

Adam: still life 20x16"

Jooyeon: #5 history painting: Life on the Erie Canal 11x14"

Please e-mail me your thoughts regarding my work: wndus1016@yahoo.com

At the begining of this semester I just painted as I have done in the past. But I tried to explore new ways gradually and I've got them. I wanted to represent different styles according to objects and atmosphere each of my works.

My last work was landscape as canal. Actually I liker to paint still-life than landscape because I had landscape painted on large canvases usually so I felt a little boring and I got tired but this work is very small and a new trial and venture. It was very small and I tried to paint in different style like famous artists as Courbet. It was interesting and I think my last work has like historical mood.

Jooyeon: #4 still life 11x14"

Jooyeon: #3 still life 11x14"

Jooyeon: #2 still life 20x16"

Jooyeon: #1 still life 20x16"

Renate: Still life #3 10x8"

Please e-mail me your comments on my work: reynoldsr118@acad.sunybroome.edu

At first I was hesitant to paint, I wasn’t confident in myself. I was focusing on making it perfect and not abstract in any way. My first still life painting was very object oriented but I established the form and color in the piece. The second still life painting I did was much more successful than the first. All the objects in the painting flowed together and no object was isolated from another. From my first painting I improved greatly. Composition wise, I think I was successful in both cases, as well as my other two paintings. I still need to improve on the way I paint because sometimes I catch myself being too cautious. But in the end, I learned how to enjoy painting even with the simple concepts in mind.

The painting of the pot has meaning behind it unlike the still lifes. It is just a pot. But it’s a pot that was made and came from Germany. The pot is symbolic of my German heritage and my family in Germany. I feel a strong connection with my family even though I rarely see them or speak with them. I talk to them through my mother and the letters that I send them. Pictures, objects, food, stories, and even a little pot connect me with them and make me feel closer even if I am so far away.
Painting an object or place that you have a connection with makes it more enjoyable. There is an emotion, a feeling, a mood behind what you are painting. I painted the pot and the painting of the landscape of Taughannock Falls more freely. But yet I keep on critiquing my work in my mind because I was associated with them. After all it was a great experience to be able to paint something that was special

Renate: Still life #2 16x20"

Renate: Still life #1 16x20"