Self Portrait Project — Lily: Nova

For my 8th grade project, I decided to do a painting of my dog, Nova. From the start I knew I wanted to do something artistic for my project and that I wanted it to involve my dog because she is such an important part of my life. For as long as I can remember I have liked drawing, painting and basically anything involving art. In the beginning I wanted to do a paper-mâché sculpture of Nova. I soon realized that it was not a realistic goal because I would not be able to get the shape I wanted. I then decided to do a painting of her, partly because it would be easier to get the details I wanted and because it would be much easier to transport. One of the problems I ran into while painting was realizing that it would not be perfect. I had a vision in my mind of how I wanted it to look, and It took me a while to realize that I would not be able to reach that goal. At first, when I thought of doing a painting for my project, I wanted to do a very large painting, but I had to take into account how much paint I would need and how much time I had to do it, along with how long it would take me to do the painting itself. Once I sketched out Nova from a picture I had and started painting, I found it very satisfying to see it progress from a blank canvas into a finished colored painting. While I was painting it was easy to relax because I could do other stuff at the same time, such as talk to my family, listen to music or watch a movie. Because I enjoy painting and find it calming, time went by very quickly, which is why I loved doing this project.

See her presentation: https://youtu.be/zVBXlznGI1M