Self Portrait
The Side You Don't See
Size: 3ft x 3ft Medium: oil paint on canvas Completion: May 2020 Exhibition Text: The Side You Don't See represents how I always try to fake a smile and seem calm, when on the inside I was stressed and sad, but I wouldn't let it show. My inspiration for this piece was Rene Magritte's The Mysteries of The Horizon and The Double Secret, where both pieces create a sense of unknown. |
Planning
Inspiration:
My inspiration for my self portrait was René Magritte. Magritte was a Belgian Surrealist artist who created many thought-provoking images and tricked the viewers perceptions of reality. Surrealism focused on the representation of the thing, not the thing itself, no matter how realistic it was. The two pieces that inspired me were The Double Secret, this painting was trying to figure out what was hidden under the human figure. The Mysteries Of the Horizon also by René Magritte is three identical men all wearing similar bowler hats, which is seen that the three men have identical personalities that are undefined. The idea I have for my self portrait is to create the "inner me" that I felt throughout January-March of 2020. I want to represent this by using two versions of me, one being realistic or what you see on the outside, and the other one being blue that implies how I've felt down about not being able to express how I was feeling. |
Planning Sketches
I really liked this picture that I took, the lighting was nice and the background was clean. There wasn't much going on. I wanted to add a person to the right of me to show how I was feeling on the inside. A couple things kept me from choosing this one. It was very minor and I could've photo shopped it out or just not care about it while I was graphite transferring my picture to my canvas. I didn't like the tag so much on my shirt and wish I would've placed it somewhere else when I took the pictures. However, the thing that made me really change my mind on this was the smile, it isn't bad, I just wanted it to be more fake-looking. Having a representation of faking it till you make it. |
This was another one that I liked a lot but, I wasn't sure how I felt about the smile once again. I still wanted a fake smile, and this is more candid than I intended it to be. I was also leaning on a wall which later on I realized would be very awkward to place on my canvas or even if I were to get rid of the wall, it would put me in a weird position that wouldn't work out. In the planning sketch if I were to add the "inner" me, I think it would be hard to place.
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Sketch number 3 is the one that fit my expectations for my self portrait. In the middle below is my reference picture and I wanted to include the background and I really liked this brick wall behind the striped shirt. I was also giving a more fake smile in this picture and it wasn't candid. I also liked this picture because it felt the most like me because it's my usual position that I stand in when I talk to someone. In the sketch, I added the picture of myself that I added to represent the "inner" me. I took another reference picture which is shown on the right, when I had the idea of adding another person. I like this idea the best because I fits well in the center and has a good balance.
Process
Experimentation:
This piece was my first painting using oil paints. In the first picture below (on the left) are the colors I used in my painting. I knew that oil paint didn't dry as fast as acrylic, so I had to take my time on the painting and section each part so I wouldn't mess up anything. I also wanted to use little containers that I could close and come back to the next time I painted. Using the containers were a good idea because you had the same color however there were some flaws. I thought this would be a good idea especially with the skin color because over time I would have to go back into it. Also painting the "inner" me all blue (blue paint pictured in second photo below) would cause me to go back and take my time on it. I soon realized that after one to two weeks, the paint in the container dried up and it was no longer good to use. Another thing I thought I would be able to get away with was not painting the white in the striped shirt. In the third picture with the stripes, this was before I noticed it looked very messy. So after a couple days when the paint dried up, I went in with white and then later on black to fix it. In the fourth picture, it shows an after of the stripes with the white paint. It looks cleaner than the before, but it could still be better. The last thing that took some experimentation was the background or the bricks. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do the bricks very simplistic or if I wanted to do the bricks realistic. In the fifth picture, is the before or what I thought I wanted to look like. I thought the simplicity of the bricks would make a nice contrast between the blue. However, While I was painting it, it didn't look very good. In the sixth picture it is a little noticeable in the corners, but then I made the red/brown color darker and and then made white lines to separate them as bricks. After feedback from my family and friends, the white stripes didn't work out. As shown in the sixth picture was a comparison of the realistic brick and the simplistic brick with a white outline.
This piece was my first painting using oil paints. In the first picture below (on the left) are the colors I used in my painting. I knew that oil paint didn't dry as fast as acrylic, so I had to take my time on the painting and section each part so I wouldn't mess up anything. I also wanted to use little containers that I could close and come back to the next time I painted. Using the containers were a good idea because you had the same color however there were some flaws. I thought this would be a good idea especially with the skin color because over time I would have to go back into it. Also painting the "inner" me all blue (blue paint pictured in second photo below) would cause me to go back and take my time on it. I soon realized that after one to two weeks, the paint in the container dried up and it was no longer good to use. Another thing I thought I would be able to get away with was not painting the white in the striped shirt. In the third picture with the stripes, this was before I noticed it looked very messy. So after a couple days when the paint dried up, I went in with white and then later on black to fix it. In the fourth picture, it shows an after of the stripes with the white paint. It looks cleaner than the before, but it could still be better. The last thing that took some experimentation was the background or the bricks. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do the bricks very simplistic or if I wanted to do the bricks realistic. In the fifth picture, is the before or what I thought I wanted to look like. I thought the simplicity of the bricks would make a nice contrast between the blue. However, While I was painting it, it didn't look very good. In the sixth picture it is a little noticeable in the corners, but then I made the red/brown color darker and and then made white lines to separate them as bricks. After feedback from my family and friends, the white stripes didn't work out. As shown in the sixth picture was a comparison of the realistic brick and the simplistic brick with a white outline.
Process:
- The first step I took was making my 3ft by 3ft canvas (Picture 1)
- For my planning sketches, I used the graphite transfer method with the pictures I took so that it would be a clear drawing and accurate for the most part. (Picture 2)
- I also picked out the picture I wanted to use for my self portrait. Once I had this picked out, I propped my canvas onto the wall and projected my picture onto my canvas the way I wanted to have it. Then I drew myself onto the canvas. (Pictures 3-4)
- Before I started painting, I mixed my colors specifically for my skin tone. The colors I used were titanium white, hansa yellow, napthol red, burnt umber and very little prussian blue.
- After I drew myself onto the canvas and mixed some colors, I started to paint. I first painted the face because I figured that it would be the most difficult to paint and I also just wanted to get it out of the way. (picture 5)
- I decided after I painted the face, I wanted to add the second person to represent the "inner" me. (picture 6)
- After painting the two people, I started to paint the bricks. I thought if the bricks were simple, they would look nice and wouldn't draw a lot of attention from the main subject.
- However, I changed my mind and painted over them, and started to paint the realistic bricks. I used a mix of napthol red, burnt umber, and burnt sienna for the bricks.
- After I finished the bricks, I painted the city skyline with ivory black, and I was finished with my painting.
Reflection
Overall I'm very satisfied with the final product. During the process of creating my piece, I had some mistakes that I had to fix up. It was my first huge piece that I've done, I've never painted on a 3ft by 3ft canvas. It was a little challenging and time consuming especially with the use of oil paints. Throughout the process of painting my self portrait, I was able to work on my technique, but there's still more that I need to improve. I focused on trying to make the face and hair realistic while using realistic blending. This was my first time since sophomore year when we painted a baroque piece and had to paint it realistically. I remember I had a difficult time mixing flesh tones and blending the washes for the skin tone. This time, it felt much easier for me to tackle, but I was very hesitant because I was scared to mess up. I worked a lot on painting realistically, as well as using one color, that wasn't a skin tone and creating light and dark washes. While I was painting, I started to get very excited because I was bringing more unity into the piece and I think with the "inner me" being a bright blue color, it added emphasis to the piece. Despite the challenges and mistakes I faced,I think my painting turned out very nice and I'm very proud of the time and effort I put into it.
Compare and Contrast
Similarities:
-Both my piece and Magritte's Double Secret both show what goes on in the inside and create the illusion of what you see on the outside isn't what is going on in the inside.
- The Mysteries of the Horizons and my piece both are oil paints, however The Double Secret is not specified what kind of paint is used.
-Visually represented that in Magritte's work The Mysteries of the Horizon and The Double Secret, he uses two or more people in his painting to create juxtaposition that forced the viewer to reconsider things normally taken for granted. Mine is shown with an "inner me" and refers to the phrase "never judge a book by its cover" because you don't always know what's going on the inside.
Differences:
-Magritte uses a lot of blue hues, whereas I used contrast of red and blue hues.
Magritte used consistent characters such as the three men in bowler hats shown in The Mysteries Of the Horizons and how they had identical personalities. I used the same person (me) but with two different personalities and I changed the appearance of both.
-Both my piece and Magritte's Double Secret both show what goes on in the inside and create the illusion of what you see on the outside isn't what is going on in the inside.
- The Mysteries of the Horizons and my piece both are oil paints, however The Double Secret is not specified what kind of paint is used.
-Visually represented that in Magritte's work The Mysteries of the Horizon and The Double Secret, he uses two or more people in his painting to create juxtaposition that forced the viewer to reconsider things normally taken for granted. Mine is shown with an "inner me" and refers to the phrase "never judge a book by its cover" because you don't always know what's going on the inside.
Differences:
-Magritte uses a lot of blue hues, whereas I used contrast of red and blue hues.
Magritte used consistent characters such as the three men in bowler hats shown in The Mysteries Of the Horizons and how they had identical personalities. I used the same person (me) but with two different personalities and I changed the appearance of both.
ACT Responses
1) Clearly explain and describe how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork. My piece and Rene Magritte's piece both use color and unity. The extra characters bring the piece together and give an overall meaning to the piece.
2)What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration? Magritte used juxtaposition to have the viewer rethink things the were usually taken for granted.
3)What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration? I learned more about surrealism and the focus for surrealist artists and what they want to convey to the viewer.
4)What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research? I wanted to explore the idea of feeling alone even if you're surrounded by multiple things. But feeling alone because you're hiding your feelings.
5)What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research? It is seen that Magritte probably studied the world around him and how people acted towards different things and he changed their perspective.
2)What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration? Magritte used juxtaposition to have the viewer rethink things the were usually taken for granted.
3)What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration? I learned more about surrealism and the focus for surrealist artists and what they want to convey to the viewer.
4)What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research? I wanted to explore the idea of feeling alone even if you're surrounded by multiple things. But feeling alone because you're hiding your feelings.
5)What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research? It is seen that Magritte probably studied the world around him and how people acted towards different things and he changed their perspective.
Bibliography
"The Mysteries of the Horizon, 1928 by Rene Magritte." Renemagritte Web. 15 Sept. 2020.
https://www.renemagritte.org/the-mysteries-of-the-horizon.jsp
"René Magritte: The Secret Double (Le Double Secret) (1927)." Artsy. Web. 15 Sept. 2020.
http://www.rene-magritte.com/double-secret/
https://www.renemagritte.org/the-mysteries-of-the-horizon.jsp
"René Magritte: The Secret Double (Le Double Secret) (1927)." Artsy. Web. 15 Sept. 2020.
http://www.rene-magritte.com/double-secret/