SELF PORTRAITS

Ben Farren

Joy Montague

Last night the class made self portraits. Again the drawings were started by copying a skull projected on the screen. The skull drawing was then reworked with the portrait drawn over the top. Ben's drawing is a stylized illustration complete with reverse quote on his t-shirt. The real beauty of the drawing is the manner in which he has drawn the hair. It appears as a solid mass with overlapping light and dark accents.
Joy's drawing is very well proportioned to the page. The advancing and receding planes are very well defined. In addition, the features address all the key elements discussed in class; curvature of eyes and mouth, darkness of upper lip, etc.

HOMEWORK #8: Self-portrait

With the aid of a mirror, draw a self-portrait on 18 x 24 in drawing paper. You may use any media.You may create a traditional portrait (below) or one that is more narrative based as in the drawing at the bottom. Be imaginative.

FRI. 5/3 Self-Portraits

Marina Avila

Students drew self-portraits yesterday. Marina's drawing above is a good example of how bone structure and planes influence value and gradations. Depth is achieved by establishing a strong core shadow on the left side of the face. More importantly, there are alternating dark and light areas moving vertically down the face starting with the forehead to the eye sockets then the nose, under the nose leading to the mouth and under the lip and lastly the chin and the neck. It is crucial to address these "peaks and valleys" within the topography of the face in order to create a three-dimensional, volumetric portrait. There are no flat areas on the face; the surface is constantly changing.

WED. 5/1 Self Portraits

Steven Freebairn

Students completed work on their self-portraits last night. First, we did warmed up with two skeletons drawing them from different angles every couple of minutes.
Steven's drawing above exhibits a good sense of the underlying bone structure illustrated in the subtle shifts of value across the face. The hair is typically a problem area; usually getting "over-drawn". Steven has done a great job with his hair by laying down tonal areas and then working reductively as well as additively to rendering groupings of the hairs and highlights.

MON. 4/29 Self-Portraits continued

Colton Davis

Students began work on self-portraits in the method and medium of their choice. In the drawing above, Colton has decided to work with colored pencils. His method utilizes long parallel hatch lines that follow the cross-contours of the face. The icy-blue color of his eyes is set of by the warm, reddish-orange accents in the flesh tones.

TUES. 11/22 Self-Portraits

We began with a planar analysis of the face.  Planes are important because 1. they reveal the structure of form and 2. they establish how and where values will be applied. The process for a planar drawing is to flatten all curved edges into straight lines.  Imagine what a face would look like if you constructed it out of pieces of cardboard or wood.  All the planes should be isolated like a puzzle.

Christiane Belle

Leah Leahy

After the warm-up students made drawings using their medium of choice. Although Christiane's drawing is unfinished, it is conceptually interesting.  It appears to be part of a series based on "See No Evil, etc." Leah's drawing like Christiane's fills the page well and exhibits a strong sense of volume.

Thurs. Apr. 28 SELF-PORTRAITS

After the slide lecture, students made self-portraits in their medium of choice.  Here is another incredibly expressive drawing from Alissa Griffin.  Strong mark-making, large scale and dark values make for a very powerful self-portrait. Krishna Chaitanya's drawing (middle) exhibits strong volumes and expressive tonalities.  The inclusion of the headphones adds a touch of the contemporary. Hollister Nadeau's drawing (bottom) presents you with a fairly typical frontal view.  Yet the interesting element in the drawing is the negative space and how she has omitted her shoulders.

HOMEWORK #9 Self Portrait

Draw a self portrait using any medium on 18 x 24 in. paper.  You may choose to take a humorous or objective approach to rendering your portrait. The two student drawings above illustrate a more subjective rendering of their portraits.  The tree with landscape is clearly a more humorous approach while suggesting a connectedness the artist feels with the world around him.  The second drawing with its reflection in the mirror supported by the braced hand makes a poignant commentary on the passing of time as well as some of the hardships one experiences with aging.

11/15 Self Portraits

Students made self portraits Monday night.  Kyle Colby's drawing reveals keen observations of the skull structure as well as the value patterns of the face.  This is especially evident in the exaggeration of the brow and the recession of the eye sockets.  Furthermore, the hair is fluid and dimensional without being overly drawn.

HOMEWORK # 10 Self-Portrait

For the self-portrait assignment you may create a traditional frontal or profile portrait or you may be more inventive.  For example you could include props or place yourself within a space.  The drawing at the top is a traditional frontal portrait but with the positioning and placement within the hand-held mirror and the inclusion of the sprained hand the portrait becomes much more visually as well as conceptually.  By placing the portrait all around the space, the drawing takes a more humorous and surreal approach to the portrait. Furthermore, the portrait becomes a motif that leads the "eye" throughout the composition.

This assignment should be drawn on 18 x 24 in. paper in any medium.

4/21 Self-Portraits

M/W class was dedicated to rendering self-portraits.  Class began with some "Mass" drawings.  If you recall from the beginning of the semester "Mass" drawings should emphasize a sense of weight and light by rendering the dark and light value patterns not details.  The rest of class time was for working on portraits.

Kate Picchi does an excellent job of capturing her "smirking" expression. The spiraling shapes in the negative space add a touch of depth and whimsy. Kate used pen and ink with a brush and wash sketch.

Megan Muller's drawing has focused on capturing the subtle value gradations and planar shifts across the volumes of her face.  Drawn with graphite and eraser.

Katie Bogner's drawing is tonally and texturally rich.  This was achieved by her use of additive and reductive drawing.  Katie's use of highlights not only emphasizes the bone structure of the face but adds depth and realism to her hair. Drawn with charcoal and eraser.

Justin Edwards has combined charcoal and pastel.  He too has established a strong sense of the underlying armature of the face with his use of highlights emphasizing bone structure.  In addition, his use of flesh tones and the blending of lights and darks is confidently rendered.