"Liana beheads Liana. The self portrait" acrylic paint on canvas 3 ft x 3 ft April 2019 EXHIBITION TEXT: My intention with this piece was to create a visual representation of the saying ¨beauty is pain¨ i also wanted it to be a self portrait. I was inspired by Judith beheading Holofernes and Pablo Picassos light drawings. |
Critical investigation
Judith beheading HolofernesGrant, J. (2018, August 20). Herb Williams Turns Crayons Into Iconic Dog Sculptures. Retrieved from https://getleashedmag.com/2018/07/20/herb-williams-turns-crayons-into-iconic-dog-sculptures/
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Pablo Picassos light drawing(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.worldofthreadsfestival.com/artist_interviews/082_marie_bergstedt_12.html
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This is one of my favorite paintings of all time. I love the expression of judith and how it contrasts that of holofernes. I wanted to mimic this 100% for my self portrait. I thought it would be a bit tricky to pull of a self portrait with two of myself but i managed. I also wanted to try my hardest to use the baroque style of painting throughout my own.
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I knew i wanted to use rope instead of a knife, I feel that the knife is too violent and i feel uncomfortable putting myself in that position. I also felt that a rustic rope wasnt pretty enough so i started googling ropes and strings. I ended up finding old pictures of my cousins and I playing with sparklers. Soon enough, i found pictures of Picasso doing something similar. that was my inspiration for the rope.
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Planning Drawings
This is my first planning sketch, I decided to go with this idea because there were no flaws in the idea that i could see. I was really excited to do this because i love caravaggio. I'm very glad that my first idea was the most successful
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This was another idea that I had for my self portrait. This was too basic for me so i didnt go with it. It was too "self portait" to me. It also followed the same theme of social media that i have already used for several of my previous works.
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This was my final sketch. Its not really a sketch because its not on paper but since i went with my first i dea i came up with, doing another sketch seemed pointless to me. I'd rather "sketch" out my color palette for my painting to make sure that theyd complement the others. I felt this was a very successful way to plan colors and i will be using this technique in the future. to do this technique, use the draw on picsart. |
Process, Ideas and Intentions
Process
First, I took photos of myself to use as a reference when I painted. I tried to get the best expressions and body positions so i don need to do a lot of work later. Just use the photos and be done.
Firstly, i laid out my fabric. I wanted the fabric to be multicolored so i used pinks, purples, blues and white hues in my fabrics. I didnt like my final product so I mixed different shades with a new pink paint i bought.
This was my reference and inspiration for the outfit of the standing version of myself. I wanted to simplfy it though. I also wanted my fur to be a tad bit more defined and less fluffy. Kind of like Cruella De Vile.
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Next i stapled the squared borders of the canvas and stretched the canvas. Then i applied the gesso.
These are the reference photos that i used for my fabric and jeans.
To make my fur, i painted striped of light hue pink and then painted a darker hue pink parael to the light one.
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Firstly I used a projector, projected the photos I took onto the canvas and traced them. I tried to trace as much as I could so later i wouldnt have to use much imagination to paint my figures and shadows. Next. I outlined everything in black paint, just like in my inspiration, Judith beheading Holofernes.
I redid the top drapery because I didnt use a reference orginally an di was unhappy with the result. I also used the darker shades as well for my new fabric.
For my skin i took a baroque style aproach. I did modify it though because I painted the skin tone first then added shadows and highlights.
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For the rope, I used watered down pink paint and used that to create the light and then added a center white line to define the light source.
Experimentation
I experimented with the colors of the clothes on picsart. I just used the drawing tool and colored in the clothing with hues i was interested in. This was way quicker than actually painting it and seeing if i liked it or not. i also make some patches to see what different colors would look like as the fur coat.
As I showed in my process, i redid my fabric and used a reference. You can see clearly in this photo the large change and progress i made by using a reference for my drapery. |
I also experiemented with my fabric colors and shading. As you can see in the image to the left. I was using different colors and I felt that they werent ¨pretty¨ enough so i decided that it was a must redo. |
Reflection
I have never painted a painting, nevertheless a self portrait this large before. It was a great progressor for me and i am very proud that I was able to complete this. I experiemented with many techniques, colors and painting styles. It was also really great to do a portrait of myself in a position i would never think to paint myself in. I was very worried i would be unable to do it due to the fact i like my art to be visually pleasing.
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Critique
I feel that i surprised myself with the results of this painting. I never would have thought i could do this myself. The critiques and things i could improve on are my realism of my people and my fur coat. They dont truly reflect a baroque style. Also, I do not look like myself in this painting. Lastly, in addtion to the portrait not looking like me, the skin tone does not match and i need to improve on that.
Compare and Contrast
Similarities between my piece and Picassos :
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Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and it's effect upon your artwork?
Each of my inspirational pieces had a effect on my work in one way or another. For example, Since i had been inspired by odees collages it had effect on my work by giving me the idea of and ocean for my foreground and background
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
So Odee was describing himself and how he describes his art.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas,culture,etc. While you researched your inspiration?
One generalization from Odee was that he didnt want to be associated with the typical artsy people and their sterotypes.
What is the central idea and theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea and theme around my research was to put feelings in my piece, from Salvador Dali and don't think about it too much, from Odee
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I inferred that Odee wanted to visually express himself instead of making art.
Each of my inspirational pieces had a effect on my work in one way or another. For example, Since i had been inspired by odees collages it had effect on my work by giving me the idea of and ocean for my foreground and background
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
So Odee was describing himself and how he describes his art.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas,culture,etc. While you researched your inspiration?
One generalization from Odee was that he didnt want to be associated with the typical artsy people and their sterotypes.
What is the central idea and theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea and theme around my research was to put feelings in my piece, from Salvador Dali and don't think about it too much, from Odee
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I inferred that Odee wanted to visually express himself instead of making art.
Bibliography
1.“I Create Digital Colleges To Express Myself Visually.” Bored Panda,www.boredpanda.com/digital-collage-art-from-iceland/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic.
2. “15 Things You Didn't Know About The Persistence Of Memory.” Mental Floss, 21 May 2018, mentalfloss.com/article/62725/15-things-you-didnt-know-about-persistence-memory.
2. “15 Things You Didn't Know About The Persistence Of Memory.” Mental Floss, 21 May 2018, mentalfloss.com/article/62725/15-things-you-didnt-know-about-persistence-memory.