Burning Man project / Self-portrait

I am so enjoying this self-portrait I'm creating. I gotta admit that I was very lost at the beginning and didn't know exactly where i was going, what my idea was, and how the finished piece was gonna look like. I started with pencil and a piece of paper and now it has become a mixed media painting with vibrant colors and textures. 
I struggled a lot with trying to make the person look like me since it was a "self-portrait" and I am not really good at portraying things exactly the way they look. However, i think i did a fairly well job on that since people can pretty easily identify my drawing as me (or at least an Asian girl with a really sharp look). I wasn't satisfied with how the piece looked when I finished drawing the face(it didn't look like a finished project at all; with messy pencil marks and no color it just looked like something that should have only been in my sketch book), so I decided to re-create it using black mat board and white jelly pen just like how I have always done most of my drawings. Soon I got bored and decided to try something new. Somehow I came up with the idea to cut off the painting and stick it to a separate acrylic painting, so I got all the materials I needed and began working on it. The first question I asked myself was - this is a self-portrait, what colors are you going to use to paint yourself with? It wasn't hard to answer, of course I had to pick the most energetic, loud(aka obnoxious on occasion), and vivid colors, so I chose gold and neon pink (Ugh such good choice I know myself so well). The rest became easier once i made up my mind on the colors. House brush and clear plastic sheets (not sure if this is how people call them)are all new to me, but they made the project so much more interesting. Can't wait to finish it! Currently still struggling on how to stick the paper to the canvas, but I will figure it out by next Monday!
Also, every Thursday Liz and I work on our burning man project. We have made some really good adjustments and improvements on it. I am really glad that we gave up the idea of using bamboo sticks because that would have been so difficult and we would not ever finish it on time. With a precise sketch and model of what the finished project is going to look like, i am confident that it is going to make a attractive appearance at Spring Fest! Right now I am trying to figure out how we should "stick" canvas onto the seawolf. Also, we need to make sure that the seawolf can stand on its own and not fall when people draw and write on it. 

How My Theme is Working (wink wink)

Since my theme is focused on things that are UNNOTICABLE, I try to use black background, vibrant color contrast and patterns to bring out the NOTICABLE differences. I enjoy the process and have never ran out of ideas. Little things such as the patterns on people’s outfits inspire me on a daily basis, so it has not been a struggle to be inspired since I am always surrounded by fashionable people. My theme is neither too deep nor too shallow; it is simply an idea that interests me and keeps me motivated.

Recently I have noticed on my own that many of my ideas come from how I look at things. I tend to look at one thing/problem from different perspectives, which directly resulted in my endless ideas when it comes to combining different colors and shapes. Being able to look at one theme from different angles (literally) really inspires me. For example, my first piece is a piece of an entire body, the second piece which I am currently working on is a close up, and the third one which I am planning on doing will be one body part(most likely a wrist).

I never really thought about revising my theme, because I am pretty satisfied with the theme I am working on. However, I would like to emphasize the theme a little bit more on how accessories can show one’s personality (so really, more on the INDIVIDUAL than of the accessories). I think delivering personalities to the audience is more interesting and challenging than simply displaying a collection of accessories.

After I finish my second drawing, I’d like to stick with black mat because I have sort of created my own style using black mat, jelly pens, and gouache. I am going to draw a variety of different vibes that different personalities show wearing accessories that usually go unnoticed (such as a thumb ring, a flash tattoo, or a belly button ring).