Finally Finished!!! :D

(still need to post picture)

Final Project (step 7)

Time to Paint!!!

(need to tansfer pic still might need some help doing it in class today)

Havin fun in Class!!

Over the past few days in class we had fun learning about other people's project. We enjoyed lots of different activities from playing football with Braden to making tie dye shirts with Leeanne.We also learned about how Rosie would survive in the wilderness and build a cabin all by herself; she also brought a little teacup pig named Razer to show us. He was way cute, except when he peed all over the floor......But overall the past couple of days have been fun and very eventful! :)

Final Project (step 6)

Transfered my image to the canvas.

 

 

Final Project (step 5)

Gridded my 2 feet by 5 feet canvas with two inch squares.

AM Stockhill

 

“Texture is a critical element of my work. In working with multiple layers of media, I am attempting to portray the passage of time. In this age of technology, it is easy to forget our roots and the simplicity of knowing that where we began has a place in who we are. It is for that reason that I try to express spirit and emotion, rather than the horse itself.”

These are the words of AM Stockhill and how she explains the reason and symbolism behind her beautifully flawless paintings. She specializes in very textured paintings and warm earthy colors. She also talks about how many of her paintings require twenty to thirty individual glazes of pigment in order to obtain the luminosity and emotional impact that she wants. And that by using so many thin layers of paint it allows the painting to glow from within and create a sense of depth that draws the eye.

I couldn’t agree with her more! When I saw her art for the first time in person I was blown away by her talent and the amazing ability she has with a paint brush. Her art has definitely inspired me to become a widely known artist myself.  In a resent utube video I watched about her she talks about how her career started. She had never picked up a paint brush till she started school at the University of Montana. AM Stockhill’s first intensions were to do photograph but found her talent instead with painting using acrylics. From there her art career took off and she started trying new techniques.

One technique I found interesting was the way she used book pages as the background to her paintings.  She discovered the books when she visited a book store after they had just received a donation of old books. She noticed a stack of books off to the side with damaged covers and bindings. She then asked what they planned to do with them. When they told her they were going to be thrown away she decided to salvage them. Not knowing what to do with them at first the old books sat in her studio for a good six months before the idea of incorporating them into her paintings pop into her head. After Stockhill’s canvas were stretched and sealed, she then applied the old book pages using acrylic medium to bind the pages to the canvas. Stockhill uses books that are at least eight to one hundred years old with missing pages or damaged bindings that no long have their intrinsic value. She prefers them to have a western theme to compliment the horses and other animals that she paints. Stockhill feels that by doing this she is rescuing pieces of history by incorporating it into her paintings.

Below I have AM Stockhill's websit home page and a great utube video of her explaining her art. I really enjoyed it and you will too! :) 

http://www.amstockhill.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4bmCQCnMIY&noredirect=1

Field Trip

Today we went a field to a ranch outside of Dillon. It reminded me a lot of my ranch where I grow up. I also took some pictures while we were there.

This is an ally built for calves so they can be brand on the green table top a the end. The calves heads get caught by a head catch at the end of the shoot. Then the table flips over on it's side so the calves can be branded. Essentially it looks like a giant taco.



 

 

 

This is a loading ramp used for cows and calves to load them on stocktrailers.

 

 

This is a picture of round bails that ranchers use to feed thier cows in the winter months.

 

 

 

 

This is one example of how ranchers feed the round bails to their cattle. The tracter is used to pull the red feeder behind it as it spins leaving a trail of hay behind it in the field for the cattle to feed on. 

 

 

 

This is some of  the holding pens used to put sick or bottle calves and there mothers during calving season.

 



 

This is just a picture of some  of the calves at the ranch.

 

 



 

Art Walk! :)

Last Friday I experienced my first art walk. I wasn't quit sure what to expect but was glad I attended it by the time I was done. There were only two Art Gallaries that had the art I enjoy most, western art. The first gallary I  walked through was "The Freshwater Studio", which had three artists that interested me the most; Kristin Haakenson, LeAnn Boyd, and A.M. Stockhill. Haakenson and Boyd paintings were mostly wildlife with beautiful landscapes. A.M. Stockhill's art mostly consisted of horses with an abstract affect to them that made them stand out. She also did a lot of layering with her paintings and sometimes put old newspaper or old book pages in the background of her paintings giving it a unique look that was pleasing to the eye. The other art studio I walked around was "The Gallary", which showed the art of Chris Owen of Billings. His art was something I would love to put in my own home someday! His horse paintings were amazing and deffinately inspired me to become a western artist even more.

TED TALK PODCAST COMMENTS

The podcast I listened to was "How can Fourth-Graders Solve World Problems". It is about a teacher, named John Hunter, who brings his class together and makes a game of fixing 50 of worlds top problems. All the students become different leadership rolls and they have to work together to fix the worlds problems. Some of the problems they solve are social, economic, or war-fare. Some of the students have came back 20 to 30 years later to talk to their old fourth-grade teacher, John Hunter, and tell him how his class still had effect on them and eventually directed them to their careers. I thought this was a very cool idea and that more schools should try it out in their own classrooms!

Final Project (step4)

Finished transfering the internet image to the bigger piece of paper! :)

(there is supposed to be dust where the back legs are missing)

What did the war paint symbols on horses mean??

http://horsesoftheearth.wetpaint.com/page/Indain+Horse+Markings

Great websit I find that tells a lot about what the war paint on horses!

Final Project (step 3)

On the third step I began transfering the internet image to the bigger piece of paper. Instead of drawing the halter on the horse I decided to put war paint on the horse using Native American symbolism and added feathers.

(helpful hint: Number the sides so that you don't get confused on what square your on!!) :)

Final Project (step 2)

For my second step I cut out a piece of paper 12inches by 22inches. And made a grid on it also; the squares being 1inch by 1inch.

Final Project (step 1)

To begin my final project I found a photo of a horse that I liked. Then I printed it off and drew a grid on it. The size of the squares are 3 centimeters by 3 centimeters. 

 

Whats going on for my Final Class Project!! :)

 

 

For my final project I first choose to do a mural but unfortunatly I could not find any mural proposals near my area. So I compromised and decided to do a painting for my mom's office. My mom works at MEA-MFT (Montana Education Association and the Montana Federation for Teachers), her office is right across form the capital building in Helena. In her work place there is a lot of western and Native American artwork. So I plan to do something similar but with my own twist. Most of the paintings they have are all realistic and my plan is to create something similar by doing a running horse with Native American symbolism and making the horse colorful using bright colors similar to the horse paintings I posted earlier. The painting will be 3 feet x 6 feet. As I work I will post my progress and the steps I take to get to finish my final project.