Marcus has been working with BYA since summer 2019. Below “Team Marcus” shares what they are working on this session, their inspiration, and changes in their artwork from previous sessions!
Artwork by Marcus H.
1. What are you noticing about your artwork in this session so far, and how are you feeling about it at this stage?
What I'm noticing about my artwork this session so far is that I have come a long way in my art form which I started a few years ago. I take my time in the creative process to really come up with a solid idea for what I want to create. I've also noticed that what I envision for each piece turns out totally different in the end. That's one thing I really appreciate about art. I'm feeling great and the most positive at this stage in my art journey.
2. What areas do you feel confident in, and what areas are you working to strengthen or refine? Please briefly describe.
Using Procreate is the area where I feel the most confident. The thing that used to be my biggest weakness has now become one of my favorite tools for creating art. The area I'd like to work on and strengthen and refine is animation. During the winter session, we learned a little bit about animation. I really loved being able to see my artwork come alive and move. I would love to be able to take the little I have learned so far and really build on it and refine those skills and take it further.
3. Did you have any specific thoughts or feelings behind the artwork you created during this session? If so, please explain why.
The first pieces I created focused heavily on animals. Particularly endangered species. Due to the importance of that topic, I wanted to make sure I addressed it. Recently, I've been creating pieces of art that focus on black hair. Though it wasn't my intention, I call it a happy accident. One of our assignments required us to recreate an album cover. I decided to recreate a Billie Holiday cover. As a result of that experience, I began creating pieces about black hair. I have come to really enjoy and love the pieces I have created so far.
Please share your artwork and what your inspiration was!
I wanted to create a piece that was bold, loud, and colorful. I chose bright colors and a puzzle-piece design. To make the sloth the focal point, I had it in black and white. I just wanted to create something fun, bold, colorful, and loud while also drawing attention to the sloth. I created the piece with the black woman and butterfly with black hair in mind. Especially the hair of a black woman. As much as possible, I wanted the hair to accentuate the picture. The butterfly most people symbolize as beautiful. My intention with the hair along with the butterfly was to show that yes butterflies are beautiful but so is black hair. I really wanted to emphasize the fullness and the shape of the hair.
In the image with the woman's profile and silhouette. It was kind of a play on the other piece but instead of just half the body, I wanted to create the full body. I was aiming for a 70's aesthetic. I created a bold bright background and wanted that 70's look and feel to it.