Ophelia's Death illustrations

"Ophelia's Death" Watercolor by McKenzie Clarke

I did this project for my English class when we were studying Hamlet. We were assigned to visualize or perform in a creative way one of the soliloquies. I picked the one that described the death of Ophelia.

FUTURE PLANS

I have more project which I'm working on right now. I hope that by December my portfolio may be filled with some great pieces. Currently I'm working on a painting of a girl playing the piano for a friend; I'm very happy with how it's turning out. the painting of, "The Lovely Lady," really showed me that I can figure out the right skin tones. I am getting more confident with color, and I'm LOVIN' IT :) I also can't wait to start working on portraits of a Samoan family. Their skin tones will be a new challenge to figure out. I am also learning to be more comfortable with illustrating. Watercolor is now becoming my second best friend.

Lovely Lady

"Lovely Lady"

Oil painting by McKenzie Clarke

So the painting was based off of a picture of my friend. She had no idea I was doing it, and she was so surprised when she saw the final product. I wanted to do this painting because first of all I love this lovely lady friend, second, I love her expression, and thirdly I needed to do a skin tone practice.

Meghan

"Meghan"

Drawing by McKenzie Clarke

So this was about a hour study of my friend, Meghan. I asked her to come over and let me draw her as she starred at a wall. Thank you Meghan. She looks younger in this picture, and after a couple weeks of looking at the drawing I figured out why. I made her chin too small. The more practice, the more I'll get better. Practice make perfect.

Modern Goddesses

MY FINAL EXAM:

"Modern Goddesses"

Pastel drawing by McKenzie Clarke

Now to understand this painting, I must go over my assignment in my art class. I was given one week to finish my final exam. We were assigned to do a rendition of a famous painting, but there's a catch. We had to change some of the elements of the painting to either modernize, or switch it up some how. So I picked "Art and Literature" by the world's one and only Adolphe William Bouguereau, who has captured the human complexion like no else. To modernize his painting I made his goddess models into the modern goddesses of today's world, Vogue model. So designed their dresses, changed the vase, and changed the background building into looking like the Smith Center. I really had fun with it. Out of the entire class, three people including myself finished their pieces....WOW.

Now of course I am just a humble artist, and can never render the style of the world's greatest artist Adolphe William Bourguereau.

Here is his original piece.

Vintage Still Life

"Vintage Still Life"

Pastel drawing by McKenzie Clarke

I was told by a girl in my class that this picture has a vintage feel to it. I really enjoyed this still life in class. Pastels can be a very fun medium to work with. The pot seems to be everyone's favorite part, and drawing the pot was a challenge that I happily accepted to conquer. My dad enjoyed the gradients on the bowl.

The Hand

"The Hand"

Charcoal Drawing by McKenzie Clarke

So the day my class started working on this, I walked into the classroom and found myself a space to sit. I noticed there weren't a lot of people around me, and later I discovered why. Nobody wanted to try and draw the pot. And YES, that pot was STINKIN' HARD TO DRAW, but I didn't let that stop me from conquering it. :) I love the creepy hand's lighting. The reflective light is so pretty. If I had more time I probably could have defined the glass more, although I liked how it turned out.

More Practice with Persective

"Perspective Practice"

Drawing by McKenzie Clarke

Some good ol' practice with perspective, gotta love them. I thought this one turned out pretty swell and accurate.

Platter of Food

So I was given very short amount of time to work on this still life of vegetables. So my teacher told us to work as much as we could on it and try to finish at least on fruit or vegetable. Luckily, I finished two items, the apple and the pepper. This was the class's first time using pastels, and he wanted us to work with colors that are similar to each other, but different to see what REALLY makes that green.

"Plater of Food"

Pastel drawing by McKenzie Clarke

Orange Lady

"Orange Lady"

Oil Painting by McKenzie Clarke

I finished this painting in a week. It was my spring break project. I was talking with a friend about this painting, and her thought were that I captured her natural beauty. I look at this painting, and I see a story being revealed. She seems like she is poor and working in a seamstress shop.

Rose

"Rose"

Charcoal by McKenzie Clarke

So I've already posted this drawing, but I got a better picture of her.

"Still Life: Music and Time"

Oil painting by McKenzie Clarke

I forgot about this painting from my painting class fall 2012. This was my final project, and let me tell you this canvas is HUGE. I only had about two weeks to complete it. I loved using the vibrant colors to make such a big contrast.

Skyline

"Skyline"

Oil Painting by McKenzie Clarke

I forgot about this painting. I did it in fall of 2012 for my painting class. This is based off of my own photograph of an actual sunset in Las Vegas. I love the colors that surround the clouds.