August 4, 2021

The past weeks have been slow update wise, but I have gotten a couple of pieces of art done. Each of them has their own inspiration and has a small story to tell.

The first piece I completed is based off of Roy Lichtenstein's Girl with Hair Ribbon. This piece by Lichtenstein focuses on an era built around the comic-book style of art: bold colors, Ben Day dots, and exaggerated features. I took this opportunity to recreate this piece of art in my own style. Using sharpie and markers, I created a modernized take based on this style. My work features a woman with some headphones, who I based off of the Twitch streamer JustaMinx. I love the colors, contrast, and similarities to the original work of art.

The side by side of my work versus Roy Lichtenstein's Girl with Hair Ribbon.

The next piece that I completed is based off of Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam. Instead of using traditional colors, though, I based the hands off of two popular YouTubers: Pewdiepie and CinnamonToastKen. I had originally wanted to cover the hands with tattoos, rings, and other non-traditional options, but then I went with some recognizable tattoos for the fun of it. The reference images I used for are below.

For this piece, I also experimented with watercolor paint, something I had not tried before. I used an archival pen to outline the tattoos and for my signature.

The side by side of my work versus Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam.

The last piece that I have completed so far is my version of Katasushika Hokusai's The Great Wave Off Kanagawa. This famous piece of art was an obvious choice for me to recreate in my own style. I changed the colors to a more pastel version, as I didn't want to do anything crazy. For the most part, this piece was meant to get even more acclimated to using watercolor paint. I outlined the waves in a dark brown to keep the piece light overall. A progress picture is to the right of this text, while my finished piece is found below.

The side by side of my work versus Katsushika Hokusai's The Great Wave Off Kanagawa.

I hope to continue working on more pieces between now and when classes are back in session, but I have enjoyed immensely working with this concept. I think it's a fun way to decompress after work, but also to express my creativity in doing something different from my usual routine.