Self Portrait |
|
Title: Self Portrait 2017
Size: 91.44 cm x 91.44 cm (3ft x 3ft) Medium: Acrylic on canvas Completion: December 2017 Self Portrait 2017 was inspired by the paintings of Berthe Morisot. She painted in a style called "En Plein Air", which translated from French means "Outside". The way she painted her figures in a 'genre painting' look also inspired this painting. The portrait is meant to look like a real moment in time captured on canvas through the significance of facial expressions and positioning rather than a head-on, purposeful pose for a portrait.
|
Critical Investigation Research:
Berthe Morisot
La Coiffure, 55 × 46 cm (21.7 × 18.1 in), Oil on Canvas, 1894 . On the Veranda, 81.2 x 100.2 cm (32 x 39.5 in), Oil on Canvas, 1884 "About Berthe Morisot". Artsy. https://www.artsy.net/artwork/berthe-morisot-the-artists-sister-at-a-window-1
|
Berthe Morisot was a French Impressionist and "En Plein Air" painter born in Bourgees, France in 1841. She is best known for painting scenes from her daily life and portraits of family and friends. Morisot learned how to paint under the painter Camille Corot at Barbizon School.
I was inspired by the way Berthe Morisot painted her figures not as though they were purposefully standing there, but as they were doing actions one would usually do in their daily life; brushing their hair, reading a book, sitting, lounging, etc. |
Inspiration:
"The Milkmaid (De Melkmeid)", Oil on canvas. 1657-1658, 1′ 6″ x 1′ 4″.
|
"Peasant Wedding", Oil on Wood Panel, 1567, (16.4 m x 11.4 m).
|
Genre Painting: Genre painting is described as painting realism or painting scenes from everyday living.
"Art History 101: The Difference Between "Genres" and "Genre Painting"."howtotalkaboutarthistory.com.
Ellen Oredsson And How To Talk About Art History, 2016. http://www.howtotalkaboutarthistory.com/art-history-101/art-history-101-the-difference-between-genres-and-genre-painting/
Ellen Oredsson And How To Talk About Art History, 2016. http://www.howtotalkaboutarthistory.com/art-history-101/art-history-101-the-difference-between-genres-and-genre-painting/
Planning:
When I found my inspiration, which at first was Genre Painting, I wanted to have an image of myself as if I were in a position that resembled the people in genre paintings.
I wanted to see which position of my face I could to paint and how I'd pose to make it look as if it were a "genre painting" self portrait; I took several pictures of myself. I decided to choose the one I took of me looking to the side smiling because to me it looked the most likely to be ordinarily seen in real life. I didn't want to use a photograph that would depict me purposefully posing for the camera, I wanted it to be a self portrait that depicted "genre painting". At first, my plan was to make my painting look exactly like the photo of myself, but I realized that the background was pretty plain and boring and later tried to inspire my background off Berthe Morisot's paintings. I painted the background from a grey to a blueish white. I was also going to add tree branches with snow covering red leaves on the ends to symbolize the time of the year in which I was born just to make my self portrait a little more personal. |
Process:
Building the Canvas: To begin we had to build our own canvas using four 3 ft wood beams, a roll of canvas, and a stapler gun.
Gesso & Outline: After the Canvas was completely made, it was time to start creating art.
|
- Finally, after the second layer had dried, it was time to outline. Using a level to make sure my lines were straight, I made a grid on the canvas and tried to keep it as close to the grid I created on my reference image as I could.
Chuck Close
Phil, 1969, 108 in x 84 in (274.3 x 213.4 cm), Acrylic on Canvas Berthe Morisot The Artist's Sister at a Window, 23.1 in x 18.2 in (54.8 x 46.3 cm),1869,Oil on Canvas |
Painting: My sketch was finally finished and now it was onto painting. At first, I wanted my painting to look exactly like the photograph of me; even with the plain looking background because I was only inspired by the positions that Berthe Morisot used for her figures and not the style of her brushstrokes. The style I most wanted to duplicate was a style like Chuck Close's portraits; hyper-realistic. After awhile into my project, I soon realized that this painting would turn out kind of boring, so I wanted to change my background to model Berthe Morisot's impressionist style. I did not create a background however, but I decided to keep the background a light blue to kind of give my portrait sort of a stylized look; a side profile against a color that could describe their mood or an attribute about the person. In my case, I wanted the light blue to symbolize the weather around the time of my birthday, late fall, early winter, and also a physical characteristic of mine that is the color of my eyes which is a part of my face I did not paint.
|
Beginning of Painting:
- At first, I started painting the curtains on the left side of the canvas.
- To duplicate the photo grid by grid, I printed out the image onto printer paper to use as a reference as I painted. I used blue and black for the drapes and a little bit of white when I needed a highlight from the light source coming from the right side of the photo.
- Experimenting: At first, I made a separate blue color which was lighter than my original blue in order to make the highlight and the form of the curtain, but I found it easier to just put a streak of white on the blue curtain and to just blend it out going up and down to create the value. I used a lot of paint on my brush and applied it onto my painting in a up-down motion to get the look of the curtains. It became very difficult after awhile since my paint would not spread very far with the curtains when I tried to make a straight line of blue. So, I would start painting from the middle of the curtains, trying to match the same color and form as the bottom but it would turn out a shade to dark or too blue and the shading of the folds would not be a straight, consecutive line.
- For the background, I tried to duplicate the color of grey that the wall had in the photo but the grey I created was more blue than it was meant to be; the grey I was trying to make was more yellow.
- I began to mix colors for my skin tone; I used a lot of white, brown and a little bit of yellow and red to create my skin tone. When I started to apply the paint onto my face, I realized how tough the blending was going to be. In this stage of my process, and the second, were very uncomfortable since I worked on the floor when there were no more easels left to use for the art students. I would put newsprint down in case I accidentally dropped paint onto the floor.
Second Stage of Painting:
This stage was mostly done at my house rather than at school. At this stage of my process, I decided to take out the curtains because of the lack of symmetry in the piece and because it just seemed out of place.
- I painted over the dark blue curtains with a darker shade of grey.
- Next, I finished painting the front of my face including my mouth, teeth nose and eyes, however, I did not include my glasses in the portrait.
- It was not as difficult as I thought it was going to be, I just had to change and manipulate my skin tone every few seconds as I painted and looked at my reference. At some times, I would add more red to my skin tone and other times where I'd add more brown in order to get the right value to make my face into a form.
- In some spots of my face, the paint would be thinner and the texture of the canvas would show through more than other spots; It was very difficult for me to even out the layers of paint for one smooth texture.
Repainting the Background:
At this stage of my process, I painted over the dark grey background, and changed it to the blue white background. I would flip the canvas over when I needed to get around the hair and shirt carefully.
- The blue changed the mood of the piece completely; The dark grey gave off a solemn, hard and depressing mood while the light blue gives off more of a calm, peaceful and cool feeling.
- This light-blue color was also personal to my self portrait since it could be associated with the time of the year I was born in, December: cold and snowy, but also it's the color of my eyes which I did not paint on my face.
Reflection:
In my opinion, I should have planned this project out better. Once I had an idea, I stuck to it but didn't have any time to keep searching for more inspiration. I was inspired by the positions of the figures in Berthe Morisot's paintings but I should have also based my painting style after hers also.
I really did not like using acrylic paint; it would dry out very fast when I was trying to blend colors together and I would have to use a lot of paint over a surface just to cover up the white gesso underneath. In some spots of the painting, the texture of the canvas is visible from underneath the thin coat of paint. The reason why it was thin was because it was an area where I attempted to blend and spread the colors but as I did, they would thin out and dry up. When I tried to add water the color would change and the canvas texture would emerge. |
Another problem that I will reflect on now was the size of the painting. I did not have the motivation to paint a 3 ft by 3 ft portrait of myself, so it was hard coming up with creative ideas of what I could do with this project.
I was disappointed but happy at the same time with the way my self portrait came out. I was disappointed by the way the hair looks and frustrated at the time because I could make the texture of the hair. It was surprisingly easier for me to create the colors I needed for the painting, but making the right paint strokes was difficult; The only colors that were hard for me to figure out was the highlights of the hair. I was also disappointed with the background of my piece because I forgot to add the detail I planned to do in the beginning and I feel it still came out boring and plain-looking.
If I were able to redo this project, I would make it on a smaller scale maybe 1 ft x 1 ft and I think I would use a different painting method other than acrylics. I think I'd a find different inspiration for it also rather than genre painting.
I was disappointed but happy at the same time with the way my self portrait came out. I was disappointed by the way the hair looks and frustrated at the time because I could make the texture of the hair. It was surprisingly easier for me to create the colors I needed for the painting, but making the right paint strokes was difficult; The only colors that were hard for me to figure out was the highlights of the hair. I was also disappointed with the background of my piece because I forgot to add the detail I planned to do in the beginning and I feel it still came out boring and plain-looking.
If I were able to redo this project, I would make it on a smaller scale maybe 1 ft x 1 ft and I think I would use a different painting method other than acrylics. I think I'd a find different inspiration for it also rather than genre painting.
ACT Questions:
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
The style of my inspiration affected the way I painted my portrait. It's very hard to identify because I didn't start using Berthe Morisot's style until later in the project.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author gave an informational biography of Berthe Morisot's career and training.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
Most of my research saw Berthe Morisot's paintings as having a common theme of genre painting of women's' lives.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I inferred how many artists in France during Berthe Morisot's time jumped on the new impressionist style and helped make it popular.
The style of my inspiration affected the way I painted my portrait. It's very hard to identify because I didn't start using Berthe Morisot's style until later in the project.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author gave an informational biography of Berthe Morisot's career and training.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
Most of my research saw Berthe Morisot's paintings as having a common theme of genre painting of women's' lives.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I inferred how many artists in France during Berthe Morisot's time jumped on the new impressionist style and helped make it popular.