J.leigh Photography. Murdock/Longhurst Engagement

My brother and Jessica are getting married!! They asked me to take their engagement photos for them. Normally, I don't like to take portraits, but they were easy to photograph and I had fun. I did a much better job than I thought I would......maybe I should consider wedding photography......:)

These were taken in Nashville, TN in November. They are having a fall wedding, so we wanted to take advantage of the fall foliage that was occurring at the time.

I am very proud of myself. Most of these were tweeked somewhat in Photoshop, but some didn't need to be at all. I uploaded them all to a website so that they could share them easily with relatives and friends. I will be/am in the process of uploading my Charleston pictures. This website will be my photography website for now...until I can get my own domain. Here is the address:

http://jleigh_photography.photoshop.com/

Hope you enjoy!

-jleigh

Personal Projects....from the Summer/Fall.

So, I know it's like 6 months later.....but here are some of the personal projects that I did this Summer/Fall.

Here is a set of paintings that I did for my dining room. They are currently at my parents house, bc my dining room was turned into my living room, due to letting a friend stay with me.

It is just acrylic on canvas......(I can't wait til I take Painting class and can learn some techniques)

My dad built me a recycling center for my recycling bins. I hand painted the letters on them. I think it makes them look much more authentic.

I also made another name logo. This one is for my photography. While I love my orchid signature, I needed something a little more simple and classy. I made this in Illustrator combining two script fonts.

This is a picture that my Dad took. He wants to blow it up and put it in the guest bedroom. Again, he was the photographer (he is where I get my skills from)....I just edited it for him using Photoshop. Here is a Before and After.

Also, I helped my brother with his signature (Aaron Wade Murdock). This was completely HIS IDEA. I just put it together in Illustrator and showed him how to. He eventually did the exact same. I am in NO WAY taking credit for this. Just showing it as something I did/can do.

I didn't do too many personal projects this semester, simply due to my time constraint. I hope that with the more I learn....the more work I will make sure I have the time to do.

-jleigh

Drawing I: Still life with Anfinson

Drawing I was the one class I was most excited about this semester. I used to draw a lot at a very young age, but stopped once I broke my arm, and then got into Junior High. So, I was really eager to learn more and see where I was in my drawing skills.

The first few weeks of class were mainly dedicated to drawing still lifes. We used Vine/Willow Charcoal on Newsprint Paper.

In order for us to understand the meaning of contour and detail, Erin (my teacher) had us do a series of blind contour drawings. We had a few minutes on each drawing to study our hand, feet, and partner's face and draw the outline with the detail. Now the trick here was that we couldn't look at our paper and we couldn't pick our pen up. Meaning...it was one consistent line. All of ours looked really creepy and completely out of proportion, but nonetheless, it was kinda fun. This was done with Pen on Newprint paper.

We moved from that on to actually drawing in the contour lines to give a feeling of shape. This was done with Willow charcoal on Drawing paper.

I think the trickiest thing for me to learn was perspective. It's hard to just draw what your eye sees rather than what your brain is telling you is right. We practiced a lot on shoes at different angles. The hardest for me were the chairs. I still don't think they are right. These were done with Willow Charcoal on Drawing paper.

Next comes the part of the class that I was most excited and nervous about: Value. Erin did a really fun activity with us for the first value study. She completely blurred the picture (of the girl) and over about 6 slides unblurred the picture. It really helped me, bc it taught me how to pay attention to value rather than the picture as a whole.

This was my favorite drawing that I did. Just simply because I did so well on it. Now, I'm not normally a conceited person....but I did an amazing job on this. I was quite proud! I feel like during the process of this drawing, everything kind of clicked for me.

Then comes the part that I was dreading the most, but really wanted to learn how to do better....Portraits. I did better than I thought I would, but I know I have so much more to learn and am excited to do so in Drawing II.

This class was an absolute blast! I learned so much more than I ever expected to, and believe I am on a path to becoming a great artist.

-jleigh

3D Design Projects

I decided to post my projects from this semester a little differently this time. I organized them all inside of one picture, instead of having all of the pictures separated. I feel like this is a little less chaotic, which I like. So, first up are my 3d design projects. At the beginning of the semester, I was absolutely dreading this class, just because I knew I would be horrible at it. But, it quickly became one of my favorites, thanks to my classmates and my professor, who made the assignments fun. So, if you are planning on taking 3d, definitely sign up for Jarrod Houghton. He is awesome.

The first project was dedicated to point. We were to use fishing line and seed beads to create a sphere, have a part of it missing, and to incorporate gravity into it. To finish, we were to build a 10x10 box to set it inside of.

Next, was line. For this project we had a little more freedom....very little. We had to use 1/4'' thick sticks, and create either full cubes or parts of cubes and then make a sculpture out of it.

Next, was using planes. This was probably the most fun of all the projects. We had to find a child's toy and replicate it into planes. I chose a Piggy Bank and to use radial planes. We had to use 1/4'' MDF Board, make it at least 24 inches long, and paint it white.

Last, was our Self Portrait assemblage. This was also pretty fun, and the easiest of the projects, which I was thankful for by the end of the semester. We had to incorporate a light source and that was pretty much the only restriction. Mine was meant to represent the "Stages of Life", which is why I built a stage. (that and I used to sing a lot....on a stage). But, not really the stages, such as baby, teenage, adult, and so on. But the parts of your life that happen, that turn you into the person you are today. So, my assemblage consisted of: some Zeta things, my camera, my quote book, Nate and I's letter book, a microphone, and my marathon medals.

Overall, the class WAS tough, but I feel like I learned a lot. Especially about wood and cutting and sawing. Which I think just added a little bit to my character and helped me grow some. And, I got a B in the course, which after many all nighters, I was perfectly happy with.

-jleigh

organization feels so wonderful

So, I have spent pretty much my entire day getting my planner organized and syncing my iPhone with my iCal with my Google Calendar. I feel very ready to start school now with this task over with. 

Now I just wish that I could somehow add my calendar in full view to this blog....

-jl

2D Design Project: Final Project: Self Portrait

As with pretty much any art or design class, there is always going to be a self portrait that you will have to do. I did these for my B & W Photography class (when Photography was my major) in the Fall of 2006:

(I apologize for the quality, it's a picture of a picture)

Well, one thing, I can definitely take pictures better than I can draw people. So, just a little disclaimer....no laughing bc it looks like a cartoon drawing that should be in a children's book.

(this is an overview of the whole painting)

(this is the top half. In her hair are the words:

 "Go on keep misusing and abusing me")

(the bottom half. Her hair reads: 

"i'll only be stronger in the end")

Explanation of Design: There is a part of my life that had a huge impact on me, in a good way and in a bad way. During my high school years and for a few after, I was in an abusive relationship. The whole situation took me to my lowest of lows. But, climbing out of that hole, made me feel stronger than ever. And I feel that instead of being ashamed of that part of my life, I'm kind of proud of it. Not of the fact that I got beaten by someone who said they loved  me, but because I was able and fortunate enough to get out. And go on with my life. Most women, when in that situation, don't ever leave. And, on the outside, it's easy to sit there and say, "Just Leave!". But, I know, that that move is one of the hardest steps for a woman to ever have to take. It got to a point where I was pushed up against a wall, nearly missing a fall down the stairs, and looking down to the bottom to realize that this man could kill me. And so, I left. And, that brings us to my painting...The girl in the upper corner signifies a girl who is being abused. She is hushed (no mouth) and has a bruise under her eye. She is blue, because she is sad and depressed, but yet she knows that one day she will get out. Hence, the words, "Go on, keep misusing and abusing me...". The girl at the bottom left, is a free woman. She is strong and has color back in her life. But, she still remembers, and often looks back on those times and is thankful she was strong enough and got out. The words: "I'll only be stronger in the end.", bc luckily, for my situation, that was the outcome.

-jl

2D Design Project: Stencil & Spraypaint

The next project that we had to do, was to make stencils and again, choose a complimentary color scheme. Which means:

Complementary 

Colors that are opposite each other on the color 

wheel are considered to be complementary colors

(example: red and green).

The high contrast of complementary colors creates

 a vibrant look especially when used at full saturation. 

 

I used Purple and Yellow. We had to look through magazines, pick out pictures we liked, put them together, and then blow them up so we could trace out our stencil using acetate. 

Explanation of Design: It's basically Good v. Evil. Bc, really, everyone has a good side and everyone has a side of them that they don't like people to see. I used purple bc it's basically the closest color to black, without actually being black. And yellow normally signifies happiness and good.

-jl