Portfolio and Viva Voce
This domain tests how you present and defend your work. The portfolio is a curated argument about your learning, and the viva checks whether you can explain process, choices and context without relying on memorised labels.
Portfolio logic
Select a small number of strong works that show range and development: observation, composition, media experiment and a resolved final piece. Include sketchbook pages, thumbnails, colour studies and annotation showing decisions, corrections and references. Label title, medium, size and date. Sequence work so the viewer sees growth. Keep digital files consistent in colour and orientation.
Viva method
Answer with claim, evidence, reflection: what you intended, where it is visible, what you would change. If asked about an influence, name the tradition or artist only if you can point to a specific formal link.
Worked example
A candidate presents a watercolour street scene. The viva question is why the focal point sits at the right edge. A weak answer says 'for balance'. A strong answer says: the receding street lines and the dark awning direct the eye to the right; the left side carries large calm sky as a counterweight; I cropped the edge to suggest continuation. The reasoning connects composition principles to the actual marks.
Traps
Do not include only polished finals with no process. Do not claim a tradition you cannot explain. Do not present unfixed charcoal or unlabelled digital files. Do not argue that a work is finished if it has unresolved edges. Do not answer with taste alone; use visual evidence.