Student Evaluation

This is my evaluation using the 5R's for Alana Smith - www.wix.com/alana_pope/art1250


Component 1 – Reporting

The artwork presented by Alana Smith has been completed using a white sketch pad for her base, with a use of acrylic paint as her chosen medium. The use of basic hues is similar to what is viewed through the naked eye, green to represent a grassy area and also the children’s swing set which is set over towards the right, blue in representation for the water in the pool in the background, grey for the clothes line and there has been a yellow/brown paint used to represent the fence that surrounds the property.

Alana’s artwork is that of a view from a second story window looking down into a backyard. It is very abstract in viewing with no direct depth or texture associated within this painting.


Component 2 – Responding

Within Alana’s artwork there is a mixture of very firm bold lines which are intermingled with faint, barely seen smears of paint. The lines that have been used are very harsh looking and almost conveying a displeasing feeling within the art piece. With the use of a basic tonal range with no evidence of variation between light and dark there is an almost childlike innocence, which radiates from deep within. Alana has used primary colours with a mergence into tertiary hues also, within the techniques she has used, those being smearing the colours across the page. One could almost say it is what could be viewed from the bedroom window of a child.

While there are no direct emotional feelings which can be drawn from the viewing of Alana’s artwork, you can visualise that for a child it must be a place where many happy moments take place. Alana has kept a smooth texture within her art piece and when viewing there are no tactile or textural influences towards her work and it retains a very flat feeling.

There has been the use of rough colouring technique using the hue of blue it could almost be seen as the visual movement of the water in the pool in the background. The viewer can easily see that this is a representation of what could be an average backyard in suburbia. The colours highlight the usual visual factors that can be seen, the grass, a swing set, a hills hoist clothes line which is found in the foreground and the pool which is in the background and fence line which surrounds the property on two sides of the art work.  


Component 3 – Relating

On a personal level I do not hold any feelings that I can relate towards Alana’s art work. My place of residence is surrounded by rolling hills and many cattle. Our house yard while it also contains a hills hoist clothes line, it cannot be viewed from above as it is shaded by numerous trees which surround it. Alana’s art work when viewed by other people, they may be able to relate towards the caged in feeling of their own backyard. I can relate towards the viewing of the green for grass and blue for the water, the colours have been portrayed so that it is viewed as a definite image of an everyday scene from within suburbia. I do find that there is a feeling of lost childhood within this piece as it seems to be drawn through the eye of a child, and innocence lost perhaps.


Component 4 – Reasoning

The art work that was produced by Alana can be said to be what she may view from a second story window in her home. It is a basic landscape of what her back yard looks like. Alana’s art work has been composed as a bird’s eye view, it is basic in technique and while it exudes the innocence of what may be constructed by a child it also shows definite detail in the form of the swing set.

The colours that Alana has chosen to use to portray within her art work are true to life to the eye of the viewer. They do not have any particular emotional trait that can be directly linked towards what we as the viewer may see. It is instantly recognisable towards anyone who may be viewing Alana’s art piece that she has viewed a swing, a pool, a hills hoist clothes line, with grass surrounding these objects and a fence which has enclosed the whole art work.

With the use of the definite lines throughout the art piece and the more hazed smears of paint it has showed an abstract visual idea of the view which Alana can see. To the viewer there is no depth within the art work that can be seen and it does show quite a flat image.


Component 5 – Reconstructing

The detail which can be seen within Alana’s artwork would allow for a teacher to teach towards the mode of what you can see from above. It would allow students to have to visualise what an object may look like from viewing it from only the top. By allowing students to engage within this frame of work it could then lead on to viewing objects from one particular side and then showing a third dimensional form.

Alana’s art work, when I shared it with three of my children (aged 3, 5 and 6) only viewed it as a picture with a swing set; the visualisation of the clothes line or the pool didn’t perpetrate their thoughts. These objects are more tied towards a form of expressionism rather than realism. Even with the fence they didn’t see it as a fence but as a ladder. They thought it was a collection of objects which had been placed together not that of a back yard. Older children may see more within this art work of Alana’s and maybe able to see that it indeed is a portrayal of what can be seen from a second story window looking down.

As a future educator, it is important that students are encouraged to visually deconstruct their images and be able to freely construct art works of where their emotions take them. The use of careful and creative guidance is a highly essential skill that we must possess.


and the following is the evaluation given to me by Jodi Parker

Nicole Pomeroy has used a canvas for the base of her painting, however she has also cut out pieces of clothing patterns and glued them to the canvas for texture, she has then drawn an outline around the patterns in ink.  Nicole has then painted with three hue's to set her background, the hue's being light blue as the sky, light green as the land, brown on the left hand side as a large cliff.  Nicole then adds texture to her painting by drawing a girl plunging off the cliff, there are shades of white paint blotched onto painting, there is also the use of red, yellow, white and orange paint droplets across the painting, there are also in black ink letters like L, I , T in the cliff and on the land and in white there are also works like future, faith that are printed and cut into small pieces, Nicole has then glued these randomly across her painting.

This art piece is a excellent example of the element of art, with the use of different lines, texture, hue and shapes. Nicole Pomeroy has expressed a great deal of emotion in her painting, this art piece has expressed her fears about her new challenge in starting Tertiary Education.  Nicole's fears are projected in her art piece as the painting shows a young lady leaping off a cliff, when looking at this piece her fear is felt, however with the use of hue and textures Nicole's painting has a sense of uncertainty, the emotion can be felt beyond looking at the art piece.  At first glance Nicole's art piece could be portrayed as a cry for help, that there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

Analysing Nicole's art work at a deeper level, you can see the intensity through the use of  the different textures.  The texture Nicole has chosen to use is not smooth, the fine lines used in the cliff show every fine detail of the cliff. Using the fine lines throughout this painting in black ink, helps show the definition behind the painting giving it the emotion and intensity. Nicole has used contour lines throughout her art piece.

Nicole's has used warm and cool hue's that define the emotion behind this painting, Nicole has used warm hue's mainly in the cliff, however the use of red, orange and yellow paint dolloped across the light blue sky has added character and emotion to Nicole's art piece.  Nicole has used cool hues for the sky and the grass and added different shades of light blues and light greens, which sometimes look slightly yellow.  Nicole has also painted random letters throughout her art piece, the letters L, j, n, m and T, some in capitals letters and some in lower case.  Nicole has also used white paper with words on them and glued them to her artwork, most you are unable to read at first glance, however the word leap is in red and the word future is in white, when you look closer at Nicole's art piece it reads 'she took a leap of faith'.

I am able to relate to Nicole's art piece as this is my first semester of Tertiary Education.  At times I have felt that I am about to leap off a cliff, Nicole's art piece is intense, however it is also also very calming and re-assuring, this in my opinion is due to the choice of hue's Nicole has used.  Nicole has an obvious talent as seen by her painting, the use of different, textures, inks, lines, hue's and the emotional expression she has shown through this particular art piece.

Assessing Nicole's art piece, Nicole has used both symbolism and visual metaphor.   Nicole has used hue's like yellow, which represents joy, confidence, it can also be used as a negative symbol, like cowardly, sickness or danger.  Nicole's art piece shows her fears, but also the confidence she has to tackle her fears. Nicole also uses Blues which represent calmness, sophistication. 

The use of colours have intensified the emotion of this painting.  Seeing this girl taking a leap off the cliff is frightening, however it is also exciting as she plunges towards her dreams.  Nicole's use of visual metaphor's is in my opinion used with colour, Nicole's uses a number of different hues in her painting, however the hues that reflect her emotion in this painting are Light Blue, Light yellow, and Brown. 

Nicole Pomeroy's art piece is about her personal experience relating to her future decision to attend Tertiary education.  Nicole's art work is describing to the viewer visually that she is “taking a leap of faith, spreading her wings and soared into her future.”  Which has lead her to painting this art work for myself to view.    However if this painting was in a gallery with no information around to support it, one could assume it was about a young girl feeling trapped and isolated and leaping off a cliff to end whatever pain she may have been feeling.

Reconstructing Nicole's art piece has given me the opportunity to look at art a different aspect.  Nicole has used the elements of art, which are line, shapes, colour.  The best way I could describe Nicole's art piece is, there is a young girl who is frightened about something, leaping off a cliff, however the hues used by Nicole as explained in Component 4 can have both a positive and negative.  Yellow represents joy, confidence, but it also represents cowardly, sickness and danger. 

Nicole's art piece represents a time in her life now where she made a decision to study at higher education level.  She felt that this was the right time to take this step.  Her feelings were it's now or never.  Nicole painted this piece of art so she was able to be open about her feelings towards her future decision.  When looking at Nicole's art piece, I was able to relate to her emotion within this painting.  I also started studying my Bachelor of Education, this decision wasn't taken lightly, as I have a young family at home to care for, I too felt as though I was jumping off a cliff as I hadn't studied for 15 years. 

Depending on the age of the child looking at Nicole's art piece they may only see the girl and the colours.  However if you were asking a child over the age of 10, they possible could explain it in more depth.  Children's personal aesthetics is when a child pays more attention to the qualities of artwork.  Children will appraise art, nature and culture and will respond to what is appealing to there own personal views.  My daughter is 4 years of age and all she saw was yellow, blue and a girl flying in the air, however I asked my 10 year old niece and she stated that she could see a girl falling off a cliff and that the sky was blue and the grass was different shades of yellow and green.  Children look at art through there own innocent eyes and make there own assumptions of what it is about.  As a educator it is our responsibility to teach them how to look at art in different dimensions.   As an educator you will teach them about the elements of art, the concepts.  By providing experiences and opportunity for our students, this will help them develop the ability to look and describe art in more depth.

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