Self portraits are simply defined as a "portrait of one's self." This leaves a whole open window on how an artist can take this. The approach I chose to take was a more abstract, expressionistic picture depicting how I see myself. As a dedicated runner, I chose the focus to be of my figure in a running motion with a sort of "runner's high" coming out of my brain, symbolizing the endorphins that are one of the many reasons why I love to run. The primary idea was to create a fine ink outline of my figure to transfer. I picked this position in order to reinforce the concept I spoke of in my previous blog post about how an accurate self portrait, abstract or concrete, can reflect self identity. Taken from roughly the waistline up, the image captured my profile at the side. I transferred the reference image by using 6B and 4H pencils at the full scale in order to just copy the basic hard lines, a technique that I had never used before. Next, I switched to a cooler toned watercolor palette work on that "high" cloud. The reason I picked watercolor as my primary medium is because I wanted to make this work messy and light, with an airy touch like an artist that inspired me named Agnes Cecile. Also, I chose this medium because I felt like it conveyed my image as I love the color blue and watercolor is my favorite medium to work with. I used some layering by using water and diluted color over top of harder, defined blossoms of color and cooler toned hues. During this process I also gained a lot of experience with watercolor techniques by making hard lines, watery blotches and waterfalls of splatter. I I have always felt more drawn to mixed media and so I made the leap of faith and decided to try out some acrylic paints for my figure form in a geometric, neutral arrangement in order to create an interesting contrast. This was definitely a huge risk for me as I am inexperienced with acrylic and the contrast was a lot more drastic than I anticipated. When I hit roadblocks I collaborated with my table who helped point me into different directions and perspectives. Eventually, Mrs. Maclay had to administer some tough love to further develop my acrylic and the background by emphasizing value and using gesso which made me nervous but ultimately pushed my growth as an artist.
Ultimately, I think that I took a lot of risks and frequently took a step back to reflect on my piece and collaborate with my peers on how to improve it. Things I think that could definitely be improved include the acrylic skills and increasing the amount of crazy splatter by bringing the back "line" up. I also think other directions I could have taken were by adding more details in the face and hair and continuing to layer the watercolor on heavier. But I think the piece is original in the sense that it is unique to my identity as I am super dedicated to running and it really is one of the cornerstones in my life and the risks I took really helped me develop and learn a LOT as an artist. I think the work really took shape and unfolded as I went which was a looser approach than I typically take to projects and I am excited to see how I further develop artistically in the next project. The challenges I faces via acrylic or background options really stretched my brain to new levels of thinking and problem solving.
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For me, the idea of self portraits have always had a connotation of old, Impressionist artists that all painted very proper people centered in their canvas with an aristocratic presence. While this is exceptional art, I haven't had much interest in making that. I feel like the best way to express myself in an artistic manner would be through a contemporary, modern theme, and my examples of self portraiture reflect this. In preparation for the Scholastic 144 project, I've been scanning the MoMA website as well as other art pieces online. With the theme "Expressive Selfie", it is described as an artistic challenge to "use different processes to create an expressive self portrait." Here is some inspiration I have found so far. Piet Van Den Boog.This example of a self portrait interested me because of its use of mixed media that I am not familiar with (oil paints and chemical corrosion). The texture is also visually appealing. I like the mix of geometric shapes with the different values and the play on color and interest with his brain and mind (Image courtesy of www.vandenboog.com) Vesa Aaltonen.These images of portraits particularly sparked my interest because of the use of space by picturing the subjects at different angles and centering techniques. The first portrait specifically inspired me because it really showcased the photographers' philosophy of self image, and made me relate to it as I am a runner too. The medium itself also inspired me to try out different types of media, as my experience with photography has been limited and I think exploring different types of systems and types of photography would really expand my artistic thinking (Images courtesy www.aaltonenvesa.com). Agnes Cecile.This series of portraits attracted me because of the light handedness the artist expresses. The light strokes of a hard pencil and the mix of watercolor inspires me. The play on the structure of the figure itself is cool because it is a departure from the traditional stature of a figure. One of my favorite characteristics of these pieces is the use of a splattering technique that I played around with a lot as a kid. The negative space also gives you another dimension to the art but also the person the art portrays itself.
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AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
October 2017
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