Reflection | The Art of Tears

THE ART OF TEARS An Artist’s Reflection

- Shevon Edwards, Visual Arts Major

During my break from this assignment, I watched several videos and gathered pictures that I could use as references. When I was through I decided to give it another try, the pallet had more water this time so the colours blended better and I was more satisfied with the results. A video that I had watched, demonstrated the proper technique to create the tears and I was now able to revisit the tears with a new idea. I had positioned the tears in the left eye incorrectly in the right eye and so I had to relocate it closer to the tear duct to the corner of the eye.

The image below shows a close up view of the new eye and tears.

I wanted to give the eyes a swollen look to convey the idea that Peter had been crying for a while. I revisited the skin with a dry brush to add highlights to the bridge of the nose and forehead. I also spent a lot of time on the eyeballs to create and render the form and add the crucifix to the pupil. After several hours, I was able to see what I wanted to see. I then added the necessary details to the eyebrows and attempted to represent some pores using light black and white dots.

Challenges

The main challenges I had with this assignment were getting the skin tone and achieving the form of the eyeball. Overall, the assignment was not too challenging as I had a general idea of how to manipulate the paint and my brushes. Once I saw a video of what to do everything became easier. The main limitation was losing my paintbrushes, slowing progress for days.

Benefits

I have emerged from this assignment with a new skill; the ability to do water droplets or tears. I also gained confidence in my skills and myself as a painter. The experiences I gained from this assignment just showed me that the possibilities are endless when it comes to art and the abilities of artists are immeasurable. The only boundaries are the ones present in our minds that tell us we can or should not. It is an exciting thing to know that there is always something new to learn in the arts and always something to wow you whether you are student or a teacher.

Imparting my skills to my students will be a joy, as I will show them that it is ok to make mistakesas they can learn from them.

The problem in art is not making mistakes but understanding how to fix them.

Conclusion

There is stillroom for improvement but I have surprised myself once more with the results that Ihave achieved. I am very proud and very excited to see that I have not scratched the surface of myabilities and I cannot wait to see what else I have up my sleeves.