For this piece of the Course Project, you will submit your artwork choice along with a quick sketch of the art, your thesis, and outline as a single 1-2 page Word document. This outline will be a guide of how your paper will flow. Part of your grade will be determined by how well you follow this outline.

Once you have identified the work of art you want to write about, do a brief sketch of it. Make notes within the sketch about the elements and principles of design you see, and any other feelings and impressions you have. Take a photo of your sketch, to be turned in with your paper.

You will NOT be graded on your drawing skills for this sketch! This is just a perceptual exercise to help you really see the details of your chosen work of art. The process of sketching helps you see the work on a deeper level and will make the writing process much easier.

After your sketch is completed, begin your outline following the format below.

1. Introduction

• Title, artist, date, location, dimensions, medium of the work, and the name of the exhibition/museum in which the work is displayed.
• List brief descriptive qualities. For example, “Landscape of mountain scene, barn, cows.” Or “Portrait of woman wearing hat.”
• Thesis statement

1. Body

• List the Elements of Art and Principles of Design that you see.
• Name the medium the artist used and any obvious characteristics of the medium.
• Note the initial reactions, thoughts, and questions you had when first viewing this work.

1. Conclusion

• Wrap up the essay by summarizing your thesis. Note any new interpretations of the thesis that emerged.

Answer preview

1. Vincent van Gogh was a post-impressionist painter famously known for creating authentic artworks notable for their beauty, display of emotion, and color.
2. Van Gogh’s outstanding piece exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York is “The Starry Night,” an oil on canvas painting of 73.7 cm by 92.1 cm (Thomson, 2008).
3. The 1889 painting shows detailed observations of a night starry sky (Thomson, 2008).
4. While working in his ground-floor studio of an asylum, van Gogh spent hours painting a scene of an exaggerated starry night from imagination.
5. Thesis statement: Van Gogh’s painting captures several elements of art and principles of design that make the artwork unique with the deliberate stylization of subjects in the composition.

850 words