Portfolio for Italy

The following is what I submitted in my application to New York. I can only include 5 drawings to Italy so I would appreciate any input. I will be including a poll which will allow you to choose your favorite five.

Thanks

Neal

Drawing 1. comes from a Barge Drawing; Baby Head graphite.

Drawing 2. is one of the few drawings from life. This was my final project for the Figure Drawing Class I took at BYU; Final, graphite.

Drawing 3. is another Bargue Drawing; Young Man's Head, graphite.

Drawing 4. is the only drawing in charcoal I have. It is also another Bargue drawing; Arm, charcoal.

Drawing 5. is another Bargue Drawing; Homer's Head, graphite.

Drawing 6. is one of the sketches out of my sketch book that captures the human emotion and one of my favorites; Precious Joy, graphite.

Drawing 7. is one of my LDS Temple drawings; Timpanogas, graphite.

Update on New York

I got an update on New York this week. They tell me I should know the status of my application the end of the first week in April. Although I would prefer to attend the Florence Academy of Art (FAA) in Italy I still hope to get into the Grand Central Academy of Art (GCA) in New York as well. The application deadline for Italy is the 1st of May. It has to be sent snail mail so I probably need to get it out the door soon. Right now I am narrowing down which drawings to include. Since I had a hard time narrowing down which drawings to use in the application to New York, which required 7 drawings and Italy only requires 5, I would love input on which drawings work best. I should have those drawings uploaded in the next couple of days. I have included in this post a couple of quick sketches out of my sketch book.

This sketch was taken from a picture of my niece who jumped on my back while we where rough-housing. She has a very unique and beautiful smile. I was very excited to capture it on paper.

I drew this from a plate taken from a famous drawing course by Charles Bargue in the 1840's. I drew this while attending dental assisting school for the Air National Guard at Shepphard Air Force Base TX.

This was a sketch from a photo taken of me riding a friend's horse. I am really happy with the proportions but need help with adding more value.

This is another drawing I copied from the Bargue Plates. It helped me further develop the ability to capture proportions and was one of the first drawings I added value to.

Value; n. what most people call shading

You're an... Artist?

Many of you know the story of when my wife first heard I was an artist. After hearing of my artistic talents my wife didn't expect much from my enthusiasm. I think from her past experiences with "artists" she thought my excitement was greater than my abilities.

Art holds a lot of intrinsic value regardless of whether what you produce is considered "good" or not. There is an enriching experience at being surrounded by things that have been made by hand. Several yellow aprons my mom made for my wife and daughter hang in our kitchen-they remind me of my mother and the experiences I had growing up. A quilt made by my wife's aunt hangs in our daughter's room. It is beautifully made with pink vibrant flamingos on the front. It reminds us of this particular aunt and the pink flamingo parties my wife's mother has thrown for the past 4 years every summer. In any case, these things remind us of human interactions and enrich our lives.

As my life takes a new direction, I find myself pursuing a course that will hopefully allow me to work as an artist, with my emphasis in fine art. I have enjoyed producing the temple drawings that I have completed, but more than anything I love drawing people. There is so much satisfaction in being able to effectively catch an emotion on paper. There are specific things I hold dear, values that I consider to be universal truths, such as the importance of kindness, hard work, compassion, patience, etc... These are things I hope to be able to express in my work. The schools I am applying to, I believe, do the best job in providing their students with the tools to capture the subtleness of the human figure in order to express that emotional side that tells a story. The following are a couple of sketches of mine that I think start to capture that human side.

"A Silent Prayer"

No name-Any Suggestion?

Application in New York

Thursday I finally completed my application to the Grand Central Academy of Art in New York City. The application asked for a personal essay and a letter of recommendation, both of which I feel accurately illustrated my love for art and enthusiasm to enter art school. I struggled to limit my portfolio to only seven sketches. As I will need to put together another portfolio for the school in Italy I will soon be posting the drawings I have. I have included in this post the temple sketches I have completed. Each sketch takes around 50 hours of work.

"Timpanogas LDS Temple"

My wife and I had a blast taking pictures of the Timpanogas temple. I felt this angle with the sky offered the greatest composition and beauty of this magnificent building. My youngest sister was married here.

"Jordan River LDS Temple"

My second oldest sister was married here. This was actually one of the more difficult sketches I have completed. The sky offered a new challenge that required a lot of work, but turned out well.

"Washington D.C. LDS Temple"

This was actually my second attempt. My oldest sister was married at this temple and although happy with the sketch I did in high school, was excited to see this newest version.

"The Hawaii temple"

This is where my brother was married. My sister-in-law asked me to do this and waited two years for me to finish it. Between school, work, and family it took a while.

The Salt Lake City temple is almost done and the Las Vegas temple is in the works. I am getting lots of pressure to complete the Las Vegas Temple because that is where my wife and I where married.