High-School Art Assignment 3: Pop-Art Oil Pastel Drawing

The Pop-Art Oil Pastel Drawing Assignment, was based on an in-depth study of Pop-Art paintings and silkscreen prints by Wayne Thiebaud and Andy Warhol.

The Art students were required to create their Pop-Art drawings with oil pastels on large A1 size papers, while their drawings either had to imitate the style of Andy Warhol or Wayne Thiebaud.

‘Imitating’ an art style refers to the way in which an artwork looks visually. ‘Style’ refers to the manner in which either Warhol or Thiebaud portrayed their individual subject matters and how they expressed their own individual visions, versions and interpretations of Pop-Art. All of these stylistic elements are defined by the individual choices made by artists, as they compose their artworks. ‘Composition’ within these artworks, refers to the layout and visual arrangement of objects in the foreground, art elements –or principles of design.

Although the Art students were required to imitate the style of a specific artist, it did not in any way grant them permission to directly copy an image /or design from another artist and to merely redrew it. Therefore, all reference images used by the Art students had to be combined in a new and creative way, so that they were able to create their own, unique Pop-Art Oil Pastel Drawings.

Some characteristics of Pop-Art refers to the study and glorification of mundane everyday objects, while simultaneously investigating and questioning the importance of materialism. Bright, contrasting colours are often associated with Pop-Art, while subtle blue, grey and brown undertones are seen within some of the shadows illustrated, contributing to the illusion of 3-dimensionalism.