Five: The Peaceful Landscape

Maria Nguyen

Pastel on Artistic Fabric, 2013.

     

          This drawing was inspired by the beautiful landscape in the Aboriginal countryside. This romantic drawing was originally painted by a talented Aboriginal female artist but unfortunately I've forgotten her name. My supreme mission was to recreate her masterpiece by using pastel on a special piece of fabric. There were a lot of pictures that I can choose to recreate but this one was the first that caught my eyes because of its peaceful setting and the radiant red dots on the tree that gave me a special warm feeling inside of my heart when I looked at it. 

     I am that person who loves bright and colourful colours as you can tell from my several pieces of art. All the pastels that I used for this recreation were very garish and eye-catching such as: red, yellow, blue and green. I focused on every little details as well as the ratio on the original version and tried to imitate exactly how it was drawn since I am a very accurate and strict person,. Everything I do must be 100% precise which means that 99% is unacceptable. 

    I started off with the ground. The brilliant ground was the most difficult part in this drawing because it combines a lot of different colours and each colour has a very unique shape. There are a bright area of red, yellow and green on the ground as you can see.I do not actually understand what it is but if I have to take a guess, I would say that those were the fragrant flowers that were fallen from the tree. The reason that I think so is because the scene looks like it was set in the Autumn. 

  A simple but extremely helpful tip that I used was to colour the dreamy lake and all the others background that are behind the tree first and then draw the tree on top of them. I added some  white little wavy lines on top of the lake to create the waves and water effect for it. The tree is the main element in this drawing and it took most of the space plus it has a lot of small branches if you do the tree first, it would be so tricky and hard to colour the background without getting mixed up all the colours.

   In the background, there were some secret mountains which I am not sure if you are able to see it. I tried to make the mountain vivid but I was disappointed after I finished everything because the tree was too big and it covered most of it so.... :(....

     Save the best for last, the tree was the last thing that I drew. For this part, I let my imaginary fly freely. I did not copy exactly all the branches. I also created some as well. I decided to use black instead of brown for the body of tree since I want it to stand out. The flowers and fruits on the branches were created by putting some main colourful circles together into groups and then use the same colours to add some dots on top of them. Finally I added some extra cute little branches to make it look more like a real tree.

     I had a lot of fun and beautiful memories doing this project. I am always happy with the final result that I get and this one is not an exception. Even though I copied this drawing from the original one but I really put my personality, my soul and my style into it so I hope every one would like it.

As always,
Thank you for viewing my blog and.....

:)

Four: The Ruler of the Sky

Maria Nguyen

Markers on Paper, 2013.

       This piece of art was inspired by the heroic Aboriginal culture and specifically the North Coast art style design. When we mention the word "Aboriginal", many people will automatically think about a stately eagle outstretching his mighty wings. From a long time ago, the Eagle has always been "the master of the sky" who also has the closest relationship with the Creator. Since Eagle has such a sacred and spiritual meaning to the Aboriginals moreover it is also the symbol of wisdom, swift and strength so I decided to choose it as my animal for this Marker drawing.

       My outstretched Eagle represents the friendly Aboriginals who always open their arms and hearts to accept and welcome other people into their lives which is fulfilled with love and happiness. The three main colours that I used throughout this project were red, black and white. Those three colours also appear on the Medicine Wheel and they create a balance combination that somehow looks very Aboriginal. This Eagle was created with some basic shapes such as form line, ovoid, S shapes and U shape. It is identified by its strong curved beaks, heavy body and clawed feet. His wings were formed by four identical U shaped feathers joined to a simple designed ovoid which holds a secret message that the Aboriginal people from young to elder all look toward one direction and together they build a strong, powerful and robust tribe that has existed from generation after generation. The reason that I did not want to make it too complicated was because there are already a lot of details on its face, body and wings so I wanted something not too elaborate nor meticulous in the middle to balance everything and it also helps the viewers not to get dizzy when they look at my drawing. His body is an abstract body which was form by two horizontal S shapes and one centre ovoid inside of a big U shape. I tried to focus on every little detail within the body because it is the centre of my Eagle. I especially love the two feet because I artfully put together all the shapes from formline to ovoid to S shape and rearranged them so that they can form into a foot and have a close connection between each other. If you take a closer look you will easily notice that the four feathers of the tail have the same elements and colours as the ones on the wings. The moon inside of his eye symbolize the sacred Creator and the Mother Earth that the Aboriginals always respectfully worship and look upon to.

     I have to say that this drawing was the biggest project which required a lot of energy and creativity that l have ever done. It took me only one day to draw, design, colour and everything. I was so excited and passionate about this project because this area was something brand new to me that I had never learned about. I love the Aboriginal people as well as their culture and everything else. I hope my beautiful viewers will love my mighty Eagle. My only wish is to hear a comment from a Native Aboriginal about this drawing but l wonder if my dream could ever come true...
:) :)....

As always,
THANK YOU for spending your valuable time to view my art work. <3 And..

:)

Three: The Fragile Aboriginal women

Maria Nguyen
Linoleum print on Cartridge

 Throughout the Aboriginal history, the piteous women have been treated poorly. They have experienced violence and abuses. Some are mysteriously gone missing. They also have been murdered cruelly and pitifully but unfortunately no one has ever said a thing about it. This piece of art was made as a sincere voice to show strength and resilience toward them. For this project I unhesitatingly chose rose as my choice of flower. Every kind of flowers have its own beauty but I especially love roses because they will help me to convey a significant meaning in this project.  

     Roses are the most beautiful flowers with variety of brilliant colours and a special, unique and sweet fragrant. Each colour has a very different meaning. Possessing a captivating and attractive beauty, they have always universally represent women, the fragile humankind on this planet. The stem of this rose is in a curved posture like a slender and charming woman. When the viewers observe my flower, they will find a combination of three colours in it. Yellow roses represent friendship, admire, joyful, gladness and delight of a woman which conveys a message that all the Aboriginal women have the right to enjoy these factors in their life. Red roses have a colour language of love, respect and courage. Us, frail women in general and Aboriginal women in particular deserve to be loved, to be protected and to be respected. Blue roses have very special colour compare to others. They symbolize peace and liberty which shows that the Aboriginal women should be free and live in peace instead of lamentably having to face with violence and mistreats. When the linoleum was carved out to form this beautiful flower, it created some white negative space between the colours. White is the colour of purity, innocence and reverence in the Aboriginal women who are totally worthy to be treated gently just like the way people cosset and take care of these flowers.   
      
          This was my first time using the carving tool to create this linoleum print so I was not very professional at it. However, l am still very content and happy with the result that l have got. l hope that people will understand the message that this flower holds after they have read my blog. Sincerely thank you :) !!! And...

:)

Two: Majestic Eagle Mask

Maria Nguyen
Majestic Eagle Mask, 2013 

Acrylic on Clay

 This particular piece was inspired by the Pacific Northwest Coast Art in general and Haida religion Art in particular. Haida professional artists put everything they've got into their masks and bring them to life with
 their extraordinary skills. These masks comprise particular elements such as formlines, ovoids, U shapes and S shapes. Depends on different coast, these shapes will have distinctive characteristics. Animal masks are very recognizable through their special and unique teeth, ears, tails, and many other elements. For this project, I decided to choose Eagle as my animal. From a long time ago, the swift and mighty eagle has always been the ruler of the sky. It strongly symbolizes the Aboriginals and also has the closest relationship with the Creator. 

        
        The three colours that I repeatedly used throughout the process of making my mask were black, red and white. Black as the first colour on the Aboriginal sacred Medicine Wheel which represents the West, physical and earth. Adjacent to black is the colour white which is the symbolization of wisdom. The third colour is red, a very strong and powerful colour in the Aboriginal culture which is also the symbol of innocence and trust. The last colour on the Medicine Wheel, which I did not choose for my mask, is yellow (gold). The reason that this colour does not appear on my mask is that even though it represents Eagle but it is a very garish and eye-catching colour so I think that it will not create a perfect and balanced colour combination if it goes with the other three.

       I wanted the features on my Eagle mask to be obviously noticeable so I decided to choose white as the background colour or the skin colour so that red and black can be responsible for the attracting the viewers part. The mask was formed by using some main shapes such as form-line, U shape, S shape, and ovoid with a statuesque and noble design. The special thing that I love about my mask is that it is side view instead of the popular front view. The reason that I decided to make it like this was that it would be longer in length so it can have more space for more ''ingredients'' (details) which will help it to not end up looking incomplete and empty.
       
       My mask is a semi-realistic design. The first unique characteristic that helps to identify the Eagle is the strong curved beak. "The mouth" has been formed as the S shape so that it helps to clearly express the strictness and augustness of the Eagle. I added a thin white line between the internal red part and the outside black part to brighten and balance the colours because the mouth would look dark if black and red were beside each other. I used the same technique for the little ovoid nose and the other two pieces, which I call them "decorations", as well. The most important element on the mask which is also the centre of attention is the eye. The eye is an ovoid shape with two pointy ends which help the Eagle to evince his cleverness and insidiousness. I purposely placed the eye slantingly in a particular direction to increase the wily look of it. Finally, the last piece that I want to analyze is the dark, angry eyebrow which is not the main element on the mask but does have a great impact in term of the face's expression. Since the eyebrow is also slanted in the same direction as the eye so when the viewers look at the mask, the irate, enraged look of the Eagle will be vividly and strongly conveyed through it. The final step of this process was outlining the edge of the mask with black paint. It really helped the mask to look more clear and neat.

          "Majestic Eagle" was the first phrase that ever came to my mind when I was thinking about the title for my mask. I love it because the adjective is like a perfect combination of a ton of words which describe exactly all the distinctive characteristics of an eagle so I decided to go with it. :)

           This is one of my all time favourite project that I ever did in my Native Art Class. I think that I could have painted the mask nicer and smoother if I had more time since I spent too much time focusing on the shapes and details of the face. But in general, I tried my best and put everything I've got into it so I hope that every one will love my final product :)! Thank you.

:)

One: Freedom

Maria Nguyen
Mixed Media on Canvas
16 x 20 inches

For this art piece, I was inspired by the artwork of an Aboriginal artist, George Littlechild. Littlechild likes to use bright colours such as yellow, red, pink and blue to paint his masterpieces on a canvas. I love his style because it is unlike any other professional artist. His creative art has a perfect mixture of children style and artistic style. The objects that he paints do not look realistic like what most artists nowadays try to do, but it looks creative and artistic in a dreamy way that when you look at it, you would forget everything else to enter another colourful world. As Pablo Picasso, a Spanish painter said: “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”  

    

    In my "Freedom" art piece, I specially chose bright and radiant colours such as red, yellow and pink to express the wonderful feelings of liberty. This abstract painting was mostly decorated with circle decorations to bring up the strong Aboriginal culture. The eagle head symbolizes the magnanimous and majestic soul of an eagle inside every Aboriginal person who will use the "Wings of Freedom" to fly over all the fences of stereotypes and also breaks all the chains of racism. Besides that, the star at the right bottom is the sacred star of hope that will  guide the Aboriginal heroes on their way of finding justice. The dream catcher originally has a very meaningful meaning to the Aboriginal people. In my painting it also has a significant importance that it will help them accomplish their eternal dream of getting back their human rights. The colourful background behind the tent conveys a beautiful message that behind the dark-looking tent of the Aboriginal people, you will discover a very traditional and mighty culture that has been passed on from generation after generation. Lastly, the most important element which is also the main focusing of my painting is the "Wing of Freedom". Blue is the colour of the immense sky and the deep ocean which has a sacred meaning to the Aboriginals. It symbolizes trust, honesty and loyalty. Its most well-known representation is peace. That's why I chose it as the colour for my wing. Also, when the viewers look at my painting, the peaceful colour will catch their eyes first since it is the darkest and the most powerful colour in my painting. With a colourful background and the stand-out blue wing, I believe that it will create a perfect mixture and balance between the colours in my painting.
      

       After a while of guardedly thinking, I finally decided to name this art piece "Freedom" because the man in this painting, who represents his Aboriginal tribe, is using his majestic "eagle wing" to fly over all the walls of racism to seek out for peace and liberty.  My title is only one simple word but if the viewers take a closer look and think deeper they will find that this word "Freedom" comprises all the little meanings of every single element in this painting that I wanted to convey through the powerful communication of my artwork. 

:)

About ME :)

   Hello!! My name is Ngoc Nguyen (I bet you are now trying to pronoun it but you can't :>) but people always call me Maria :) I just turned 14 years old last Christmas. I am a grade nine student at Madonna Catholic Secondary School. Native Art is one of the four courses that I've taken in this first semester. In this wonderful course, I've gotten to do a lot of cool projects that involve in the Aboriginal cultures. I've also learned about their heroic history as well as the stereotypes that they have to face with. 
      

      I've surprisingly discovered some characteristics and also some bad habits that are always deep in my blood but I just had never realized before. :) I've loved art ever since when I was a kid but I had always been arrogant. I thought that I was intrinsically gifted therefore I did not have to practice and I can just set that talent aside and use it whenever I want to. Until now, I start to realize that I was totally wrong because everything takes practice and persistence. As Albert Einstein said: " Genius is One Percent Inspiration, Ninety-Nine Percent  Perspiration". 
Art has always been an inspiration for me in my life but sometimes I feel like the passionate flame inside of myself just is suddenly extinguished into nowhere.....

Deadlines are the motivation that push me to do the art work that I've been assigned. I'm that type of person who lets the grass grow under my feet first before I start doing what I'm supposed to do. On the other hand, if I suddenly want to paint or draw something I would forget to eat or sleep and 100% concentrate on the art that I'm working on until I finish it. :)

      Throughout this art course, I've found a valuable treasure under the deepest ocean which is filled with priceless knowledges, useful experiences
and precious lessons that will be the keys which will help me to unlock the successful doors on my future path. :)

   A SINCERE THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart TO MS. LENARDON, the one who has always been there to help me throughout this WONDERFUL art course :) (I bet you are either smiling or smirking or giggling or laughing miss.)

In this portfolio, you'll open a magical door which leads you to discover my land where I will showcase you the five main art work that I've done throughout this semester. 

         LETS START THE ADVENTURE!!!