Self Portrait
Medium: Acrylic Paint
Size: 91.44 x 91.44 cm
Date: December 2015
My intention for this piece was to create a self portrait on a scale I had never done before. Inspired by Andre Derain and his "Portrait of Bortolomeo Savona," I was able to produce my portrait utilizing acrylic paints. I utilized Fauvist brushstrokes in order to better imitate those of Derain, as well as by using my own techniques.
Inspiration
My inspiration for my self portrait was Andre Derain. Andre Derain was a French artist, painter, and sculptor. His painting style is mainly regarded as Fauvist. Derain, in fact, was co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse. The piece I chose as my inspiration for my self portrait was "Portrait of Bartolomeo Savona" by Andre Derain. The reason for choosing this piece as my inspiration was because I enjoyed the bright wild background colors Derain utilized.
Image Citation:
Derain, André. Portrait of Bartolomeo Savona. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. .
Research: Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2015. .
My inspiration for my self portrait was Andre Derain. Andre Derain was a French artist, painter, and sculptor. His painting style is mainly regarded as Fauvist. Derain, in fact, was co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse. The piece I chose as my inspiration for my self portrait was "Portrait of Bartolomeo Savona" by Andre Derain. The reason for choosing this piece as my inspiration was because I enjoyed the bright wild background colors Derain utilized.
Image Citation:
Derain, André. Portrait of Bartolomeo Savona. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. .
Research: Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2015. .
Planning
I began my planning process by searching for my inspiration, searching up artists and some of their most famous work. Most works I found did not catch my attention or I had utilized them in previous projects before, and I wanted to use a new one. Eventually I came across Derain and was intrigued by his Fauvist style in the portrait. I decided to use him as my inspiration and then began to decide how to incorporate myself into the piece. Whether to use only the background or just place myself within the work, I was not quite certain. Therefore I took a picture of myself and then used Photoshop to place myself in the painting by replacing Bartolomeo's face with mine. I liked the idea of keeping the suit as an element and therefore decided on what my piece would look like.
I began my planning process by searching for my inspiration, searching up artists and some of their most famous work. Most works I found did not catch my attention or I had utilized them in previous projects before, and I wanted to use a new one. Eventually I came across Derain and was intrigued by his Fauvist style in the portrait. I decided to use him as my inspiration and then began to decide how to incorporate myself into the piece. Whether to use only the background or just place myself within the work, I was not quite certain. Therefore I took a picture of myself and then used Photoshop to place myself in the painting by replacing Bartolomeo's face with mine. I liked the idea of keeping the suit as an element and therefore decided on what my piece would look like.
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Process
After having an idea as to what I was going to do for my piece. I stretched my canvas, covered it in gesso, and proceeded to begin on painting my background. I was about half way done with my background when I realized that it would be difficult to see my pencil outlines on green, therefore I decided to draw myself on the canvas before finishing the background. Once I had drawn myself on the canvas, I continued to paint the background, using wild brushstrokes since the piece was a Fauvist piece. Once I had the background done, I worked on the suit. I started off with a light blue base coat, then slowly blended in shadows using a darker blue. I tried to give the piece the Fauvist look by maintaining wild brushstrokes yet at the same time, controlled ones. Once the suit was complete, I worked on the hair. I used crazy brushstrokes and swirls to try and imitate that of my curly hair. Once my hair was complete, I created a base skin tone using yellow, white, red, and brown. I then coated my face in a layer of my base skin tone. Then I slowly went back in to add highlights, shadow, and blush. To finish off, I worked on my eyebrows and finally the eyes. |
Reflection
Overall, I was satisfied with the end result of my piece. I enjoyed creating my self portrait through the use of acrylic paints. However I struggled in blending colors together since acrylic paints
Overall, I was satisfied with the end result of my piece. I enjoyed creating my self portrait through the use of acrylic paints. However I struggled in blending colors together since acrylic paints