More Concentration pieces!

Well first of all, here is a better quality image of one of the pieces: 

And here is the one that needed to be photographed

That's all of them so far! More to come very soon. 9 finished, 1 halfway done, 2 to go!

Concentration Pieces!

I've already posted two of my concentration pieces, and now here are 6 more:

I still have one to photograph, one to photograph better (the second to last one) and one halfway done for a grand total of 10 Concentration pieces.

Adam's Concentration

What is your adopted art student's concentration? How are they developing their concentration? Critique whether the works - compositionally, artisitically, and technically (like our last critique).  

Based on what I have seen on Adam's blog, his concentration idea is that of portraying emotional exhaustion, using oil paints with other various mediums. He has 4 concentration pieces so far, and already I can see a wide range of concepts and risks taken. They all have in common facial and body expressions, but it's interesting because as he progresses, he shows more bodies and less faces. They are becoming more complex, more colorful, and also more expressive. Compositionally, three of the four are layed out the same way, but this potential issue (that I have as well) is alleviated with the fourth piece. Compositionally they could use the most work. Artistically, throughout all of his pieces (with the exception of his stencil works) actually, he shows a very defined voice, as in you can tell that they are his pieces. As a concentration though, there is a little bit of disconnect because two of the pieces are done in an expressive portrait style and the other two and full body nudes. He is missing a little bit of connection. Technically, Adam is a very strong artistic, although he could work on his encaustic techniques and on some of his color relationships.

Critique for Adam

Charcoal Series Figure1-23x30

1. List and explain how the artist used principles of design. Choose from: Balance, Emphasis, Variety, Harmony/Unity, Pattern, Rhythm, and/or Movement. -This piece displays a lot more elements of art than it does principles, but it does show movement and, to an extent, unity. It is an amazing piece because of its simplistic grounds and realistic face. Unity is shown through the fusion of the negative space in the background into tones for the face in the foreground, and also through the face coming forth from the simple charcoal rubbings and the way the charcoal then subtly goes off of the page. Movement is given by the direction of the charcoal smears and by the line in which the eyes are looking. The eyes of the piece draw the eye down towards the rest of the face and the negative space below, brought back up by the horizontal moving charcoal lines.  
2. What do you think the artist is trying to say with this piece? -Based on the title, I do not think this piece had a true purpose, but perhaps the goal of it is to reflect an emotion into the audience. Maybe he was trying to say that simple thing can be intricate, and that beauty may come easily if worked properly, all the while serving the purpose to emote a sense of despair.
3. What is working in this piece?  -The facial proportions and overall technical skill is amazing. He did not overwork the piece, nor did he leave it too bare.
4. What needs to be improved on? -The overall composition could use a little work to add interest. Also a little nuance that bothers me is that the smears at the bottom are not completely straight and the one on the right causes a diagonal line on the cheek to the right which takes away from the piece's overall realistic qualities.

Blog Adoption.

I have chosen this blog: http://artworkbyadamamram.blogspot.com/ to adopt. Adam is ridiculously talented and provides a good source for finding interesting ideas and inspiration.

Second Concentration Piece: Fragility

First Concentration Piece: C. Washington