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1st Critique: B.F.A Student Savannah Jones
For my first critique I decided to ask a B.F.A student to review my work. I asked Savannah Jones to critique my wood burning of the raccoon. Initially she thought the piece was adorable and she loved the facial expression of the raccoon. She then turned her attention from the subject to the background. She said that the muted colors of the flowers added more warmth and happiness to the piece.
I asked Savannah if she had any negative feedback or suggestions. She said she felt as though the work was contradictory. She explained why by telling me that she thought the piece was about all the good found in nature and by using a wood burning tool I was essentially destroying nature. She said “why would you use a tool that harms the wood to depict a scene that is about the abundance and goodness of nature? This makes the work hypocritical.” However, I disagreed with her reaction to the materials I used. I think perhaps the piece was interpreted to literally and I do not think my piece is a reflection of the destruction of nature. I did not cut down a tree by making this piece and the use of a wood burner does not harm the wood it simply marks it.
Savannah also mentioned that the piece came off as crafty. We went back and forth for awhile with this word. I am not disputing the fact that wood burning is considered a craft, however I feel as though the word “crafty” it is used to negatively describe my piece. I asked Savannah what she would do to change or enhance this effect. She said if I had a dozen of these wood pieces it would be much better. I think most people would agree with this statement. With that in mind I do think that perhaps more wood pieces might enhance my raccoon piece, but I do not think that it is absolutely necessary.
Overall Savannah and I had a really nice critique of my work. I think we both agreed that the piece comes off crafty, we just interpreted the meaning differently. I came to the conclusion that although I enjoy the color in the flowers, I think it would have come off less crafty had I not used the prisma colors. Even though we disagreed in some aspects I really valued Savannah's honesty and criticism of my piece.
Second Critique: B.F.A student, Nikki Smith
For my second critique I asked another B.F.A student to critique my work. This time I chose my expressionistic cow painting. Nikki began by telling me that she was automatically engaged by the presence of the cow. She said she loves animals in art and really liked how I abstracted the cow. She said when she looks at the painting the colors and marks act on their own. However, when she looks at the entire picture it forms a recognizable animal.
Nikki continued by saying that the gestures from the paint brush give the piece life, while the dark colors in the background make her feel as if the cow is coming forward. She says the vivid colors make the cow seem almost as though he is interacting with the viewer. I then asked Nikki what her interpretation of the work was. She thought the cow alluded to animal rights, or consumerism. She also said that the work suggested violence because of the mark making colors palette.
I asked Nikki if she had any suggestions or criticism of the work. She wondered how the piece might change if the background was not abstract. She suggested I try a more realistic setting next time. I agreed with this, I think it would would have changed the nature of the piece but it would have have added more content. I asked Nikki what she thought about the composition of the cow. I personally feel like I should have cropped the cow instead of having him straight in the middle of the painting.
Nikki responded by saying that she didn’t mind the composition, but she would have maybe added something in the right or left hand corner. I also asked her if she thought I should varnish this piece. She said it was a personal preference and she liked it either way. Overall Nikki and I had a wonderful critique of my work. She offered great feedback and it was really nice getting advice from a former B.A student
