The the two words I was assigned to use for the subject matter was family and layers. My first thought of family was a cheesy family portrait. I was stuck on that idea for awhile and became discouraged because I wasn't sure how I would represent family without it being cliche. After talking to Amy, she suggested that I should think about the meaning of the word family and how it can mean many things. The word family can have a meaning that involves biology and species, relationships, and familiarity. This brainstorming helped me come up with the idea to use the concept of mother and child. From this point, I thought about family trees and the circle of life, which I brought into this piece. It also talks about family roots with "Roots" being the title. As I drew this piece, I thought about the struggle of birth and survival in life.
The word layers comes into play with the layering of charcoal and ink washes. Ink was the medium I was assigned to use, so I chose an ink wash because I find them very freeing and loose in comparison to a tight, charcoal drawing.
During the critique, the class definitely had the right idea about what I was going for. People made comments about movement, motherhood, the circle of life, roots, and struggle. This is exactly what I was going for. One thing I was unsure about as I went into the critique was if I should have pushed the value more in the figure, or maybe if I should have done more with the background. I had the intention of making this piece soft in color and shading because life is fragile. This is also a very feminine piece and I was hoping to keep the colors light and soft for this reason. Now that it is finished, I wonder if it would look better if I had pushed the value a little bit further. It was mentioned by some that I should push it a little further, and some students liked it the way it was. This leaves me undecided for the time being, though I am leaning toward leaving it be since it was my original intention to keep it soft.
I like your soft coloring and at first I thought that the background needed something more. Now that I have looked at it again I think it's just fine without any darker value or added background. Since your point came across through your work I would say its just fine the way it is.
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