Part 4 Project 6 Research point 2

Famous artist self portraits

Most artists seem to use themselves as models and many like Picasso and Rembrandt do so throughout their lives. 

Rembrandt (1606-1669)

It is thought that Rembrandt completed almost a hundred self portraits.  Some show him at his easel, some at leisure and others dressed in theatrical costume.  In fact they document his life.

It is thought that Rembrandt painted this self portrait as an exercise.  It shows a very diffident young man as yet unsure of his skill.  He is looking directly at the viewer with his mouth slightly open. There is intense light that seems to come from below.

Self portriat by Rembrandt at 22
Oil on oak panel (1628) (1)

In most of the self portraits Rembrandt looks pretty sombre but this lovely image shows a happy, smiling young man:

Rembrandt laughing - self portrait - 1628 (1)

In the year of his death Rembrandt was still painting himself and this is a most familiar image.  In most of the portraits I've looked at there is very little context.

Self portrait at the age of 63 - (1669) (1)

van Gogh (1853-1890)

van Gogh also painted many self portraits but over a much shorter space of time.  I can't find a single one where he looks happy.  There seem to be none of him as a really young man either.  Here he is 33 but I think he looks much older.  In all but his final self portrait he is bearded.

Self portrait with pipe - van Gogh - Spring 1886 (2)

Over a period of just over three years van Gogh produced many paintings of himself and they show a rapid change in his mental state.

His last self portrait was given by him to his mother on her birthday.  It is in a very different style to the one above - much lighter both in colour and feel.

Self portrait - van Gogh - September 1889 (2)

The diagonal marks typical of van Gogh give this haunting portrait a sense of immediacy.  van Gogh was plagued by mental illness throughout his life and some of his most sympathetic work was completed in his last few months.

Picasso (1881-1873)

I think this self portrait resonates with me because I have used charcoal recently although with less effect.  It is very early figurative work.

Pablo Picasso self portrait 1900
Charcoal (3)

I think is a very assured drawing for such a young man.  The structure of the skull is indicated very clearly through the tones and the eyes seem to follow you wherever you are.

By 1907 the style is beginning to change and become much more expressionistic.  It still has the dark spaces and highlights needed to create a portrait with depth.  The eyes still have great presence.

Self portrait by Pablo Picasso - 1907
Oil on canvas (3)

As he neared the end of his life Picasso painted himself in a self portrait that took several months to complete.

Self portrait facing death - Pablo Picasso - 1972 (4)
Crayon on paper

This time the eyes look just as large as before but they look somewhat fearful.

It is interesting to see the portraits arranged chronologically and compare the developing techniques and the changes to the individual style.

Not quite on task but there is a self portrait of Norman Rockwell that is great fun:

Triple portrait by Norman Rockwell, 1960 (5)

My main task here is to look at the self portrait in contemporary art and it's suggested that I start with Tracey Emin.

Tracey Emin

Emin is controversial and provocative and her self portraits are no exception.  However as I am supposed to be dealing with the face some of the most explicit can be put to one side.  Emin says that she often doesn't remember making a drawing and that it "comes from her inner self" (2). This one was a portrait done looking through the bathroom mirror and is one of her favourites.

Self Portrait in Mirror by Tracey Emin (6)

This is far less about the image but much more about "trying to capture the fleeting instant of my naked core" (6).  I don't know for sure but I think that Emin looked through the mirror not at her paper to do this.

It is this that prompted me to draw my portrait without looking:

Not in the same league but I think  I should have pushed on a bit probably with a heavier pen.

Emin has done more conventional portraits as well:

Tracey Emin self portrait
Ink and wash on paper (7)

This is a more considered and conscious piece of work but for me it lacks the life of the previous one. I feel, however that it is still a very introspective drawing.

I have to be honest and say that I'm not a total devotee of Emin although I've said that of artists before and as my understanding has grown I've changed my mind.

Lucien Freud (1922-2011)

Lucien Freud is one of the most prominent contemporary portrait artists of recent years.  This portrait is one he drew as a young man.  It is in a style that I recognise from my own learning, with hatching used to create tones and expressive marks to indicate the movement in the hair.  Freud is almost glaring at the viewer.

Lucien Freud self portrait - 1939
Pencil  (8)

Almost half a century later he painted this characterful image.  The mature artist has produced a mature painting and the tones (in oil) are used to indicate the handsome, aging face very dramatically. I can't get close up enough to see how the paint is applied but I feel it isn't as subtle as the finished work suggests.  This time the eyes are more downcast and reflective.  This painting touches a nerve and is full of  deep emotion.  Freud seems undeterred by growing older - rather he grows stronger.

Reflection (Self Portrait)  by Lucien Freud - 1985
Oil on canvas (9)

Andrew Salgardo (1982-)

I love the work of Salgardo because of it's apparent chaos.

Trust (self portrait) - Andrew Saldardo
Oil on canvas  (10)

The artist creates the image with small slabs of colour that combine and fool the eye into seeing tone. There are numerous drips and runs and that just adds to the power of the work.  Salgardo often uses an arm and in this way introduces another element to convey emotion.

I wondered what the portrait would be like without the arm so I cropped and straightened the image:

and immediately the context is gone and the emotional impact so much less.  Masterly.

I'm not sure whether this is a self portrait but I love it so I'll include it anyway.

The Opposite of Intention - Andrew Salgardo
Oil on canvas (10)

I thought this reminded me of the work of Jenny Saville (b1970) but when I checked it out Salgardo's work seemed much more flamboyant.

Self portrait by Jenny Saville (11)

Saville's self portrait is from a most unusual angle and the foreshortening makes her head look almost triangular and her shoulders very prominent.

In conclusion it's probably worth a thought about the purpose of a self portrait.

In the days before photography the drawing or painting was the only way of portraying an image.  An image of the face of the artist could be interpreted as publicity material so it was usually a realistic portrayal.  Now there is no such need so contemporary artists are much more free to be inventive or controversial.

I've really enjoyed this little excursion into contemporary self portraiture.  It's very inventive, provocative and lively.  I love it.




(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-portraits_by_Rembrandt

(2) http://www.wga.hu/html_m/g/gogh_van/16/

(3) http://www.wikiart.org/en/pablo-picasso/self-portrait

(4) http://arts.pallimed.org/2010/07/pablo-picasso-self-portrait-facing.html

(5) http://www.nrm.org/MT/text/TripleSelf.html

(6) http://artofericwayne.com/2014/02/13/

(7) http://www.artvalue.com/auctionresult--emin-tracey-1963-united-kingdo-self-portrait-1972226.htm

(8) http://www.wikiart.org/en/lucian-freud/self-portrait-1940

(9) http://www.wikiart.org/en/tag/lucian-freud

(10) http://www.andrewsalgado.com/work

(11) http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/paintings/jenny-saville-self-portrait-4976449-details.aspx

Part 4 Project 6 Research point 1

Research point 1

In this piece of work I'm going to take a look at how a variety of artists depict the face in different ways.  My starting point is two artists I know who work locally.  The first one is Pat Carrington who drew this portrait in pencil.

London Tramp by Pat Carrington - 2014

This man was photographed by the artists' son on a London street.  The fee was two cigarettes. The drawing was exhibited at Retford Art Society in Autumn 2014 and sold on the opening night.

It is finely detailed and the range of tone is what gives it its power.  It was fabulous.

Quite different is the work of Stephen Pursey.  I took these photographs at his  exhibition at the Gallery at St Martins, Lincoln last October:

Stephen Pursey - self portrait 2014

Estonia by Stephen Pursey - 2014

Pursey's work is in acrylic and has a sort of pop art feel with the tones meeting together harshly. This has less emotional impact and  I think  this is to do with the style.  It lacks the pathos we encounter in Carrington's work.

I can see all the elements I've been trying out; just represented differently.

My course notes suggest that I look at the work of Graham Little and Elizabeth Peyton.

Graham Little (b1972)

Graham Little creates portraits which are detailed and meticulous and take a long time to complete. This image is wistful and tender - it could almost be a photograph.

Untitled (Yellow mirror) 2014 (2)

This image, Tapestry Lady (2010) is executed in coloured pencil.  There is a softness to the fabric which is really textural and appealing.  The background is intriguing without being dominant.  The tones are very similar to the models' hair.

Tapestry Lady by Graham Little (2010)
Coloured pencil (2)

Little's figures often resemble fashion plates.  Foxglove Lady (2011) is an example.

Foxglove Ladt by Graham Little (2011)
Coloured pencil and gouache on paper (2)

Elizabeth Peyton (b1965)

Peyton came to prominence in the 1990's with her portrayals of friends.  Most were interpretations of photographs and painted in a highly stylised way.  These portraits of Liam Gallagher and John Lennon, show very youthful men, quite androgynous, but full of character and appeal.

Liam  by Elizabeth Peyton (1996)
Ink wash and pencil (3)

John by Elisabeth Peyton (1997)
Watercolour on paper (3)

Both of these portraits are painted from unusual and interesting angles.

Earlier I commented that I found London Tramp emotive and that has led me to think about other artists whose work affects me in the same way (and fits the critiera for this Research point).

I find Frida Kahlo 's self portraits very moving - they depict the same suffering that I see in London Tramp but in a style quite different:

Self portrait by Frida Kahlo (1941) (4)

Kahlo suffered a lifetime of physical ill health after childhood polio and a serious bus accident.  She was in constant pain that contributed to depression. This is graphically shown in her many narcissistic self portraits.  Almost all of Kahlo's work is about herself.

Self portrait with the portrait of Dr Farill (4)

The Broken Column by Frida Kahlo - 1944 (5)

The Broken Column shows Kahlo at her most vulnerable.  Her disintegrating body is held together with metal supports.

Most artists seem to draw or paint themselves from time to time.  Some like Picasso document the aging process through self portraiture.


(1) http://carringtonart.net/?page_id=28

(2) http://www.alisonjacquesgallery.com/artists/26/works/

(3)http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php? criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A8042&page_number=5&template_id=1&sort_order=1

(4) http://www.frida-kahlo-foundation.org/Self-Portrait-1941.html

(5)http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/frida-kahlo/frida-kahlo-room-guide/frida-kahlo-room-guide-room-11

Part 4 Project 6 Ex 2 My own face

My own face

I know that I've drawn the component parts of my face but somehow putting them together seems much more daunting.  I began by doing some quick sketches as I looked through a mirror.  I had given little thought to how difficult it would be just to recreate the pose as I looked down onto my paper then back to the mirror.  (I later read in the June edition of Artists and Illustrators that I should not move my head just my eyes and work to the side of the mirror.  Too late though)

Charcoal - 5 minutes each

Five minutes only gave me the opportunity to get down the essentials and no real room to correct my mistakes.  I don't really have a broken nose!  I found that I consistently get the features too far apart then end up with a head that is too long and thin.  The top image here is the better one from the face shape point of view.

Pencil - 5 minutes - looking down

In this pose I had my head tilted backwards and this changed the proportions significantly.  The nose appeared to shorten, the top lip was more obvious and the mouth turned down.  Scary image and again little time to do anything about the wonky nose.

The notion that I might look this grim is quite worrying.

Pencil - 15 minutes

I decided to take a little more time and I liked the way I could play with less pressure.  There are lines here that are too dark and I think the planes of the face need some definition but I can see my way to something that passes some resemblance to me here.

I have been wondering if water soluble pencils might work for the tone of my faces so I had a try with them.  I've only used them once or twice and not really liked them.  I have four, 2B, 4B, 6B and 8B and I experimented with them all.

I tried various quantities of water and both straight and stippling strokes with my brush.  I found that stippling gave a good opportunity to  move the graphite to where I wanted it.

Water soluble pencils

I only tried in my sketchbook but I expect the texture of the paper makes a huge difference to the success of these pencils. I think I'll try a sketchbook portrait in this medium and see how it goes. I'll experiment further if I decide to change my carrier in the future.

Working with new materials in my sketchbook gives me time to consolidate what I've learned about my water soluble pencils although I used  my ordinary pencils as well.  The water soluble was quite hard to control enough but generally speaking I'm happy with what I did and I will use them again.  I thought I'd be able to lift out highlights like with water colour but that wasn't so and  I had to use my putty rubber but even so I found it hard to get the highlights I wanted.  I also tried white pastel and chalk but they just looked grey.  Maybe the trick is to use the colour of the page and not introduce graphite to it.

Self portrait in water soluble pencil and graphite

This is recognisably me but with a year of two shaved off.  My chin line isn't as well defined as I have shown I'm afraid.

I'm finding it easier to get the right proportions and these are fairly accurate - I'm sure it's down to practise.

Alongside this work I've been looking at self portraits of famous artists and I've noticed that most of them work from a similar pose to the one I adopted above.  I think this gives a softer, less intense perspective than a full frontal view.     However, there are only so many angles a portrait can be drawn from so I'll have to be inventive.

Self portrait in charcoal

This is the best likeness I've managed.  The ultimate test was asking my four year old grand daughter who the picture was of and she said "Grandma".

I struggled with the new proportions created by the change of position; the ear started off way too small.  The eye is hardly visible (though not closed as it appears) yet it has a definite presence.  There are lots of shadows and I'm quite pleased with this, humps, hollows and all!  People have recognised who the last two drawings are.

Throughout this exercise I've concentrated on monochrome drawings and found my confidence increasing with regard to tone.  There's still a long way to go before I'm where I'd like to be.  I think my best results were with charcoal - it's very easy to manipulate and very forgiving.  I find that I'm not so afraid of the "darks" if I know I can get rid of anything too intense.

I had practised the facial features quite extensively including my own and I think this helped with the self portraits - I had already made myself familar with my own face.  Initially the proportions gave me problems as I combined the features into a whole but the final two somehow dropped into place.

I want to experiment with different materials but there's a risk factor that I have to overcome first.

I've pretty well finished Exercise 2 now but there's one additional drawing I've done.

I have wanted to use ink to draw with but not really got on very well with dip pens.  I bought a cheap fountain pen with a similar result.  Yesterday I got two Lamy Safari pens (fine and medium nibs) and had a practise to see what I could manage.  The ink that came with the pens is blue and my black cartridges haven't arrived yet.  I guess anyone can have a blue period.

My new Lamy pens

Then I used my new pen (fine nib) to draw my face.  I propped up the mirror and didn't take my eyes off it whilst I drew.  I've had fun like this before so I knew I would get a surprise and in a strange way I can absolve myself of responsibility.

Fountain pen without looking

Another one with problems with the ears but I'm amazed that's all.


I've improved an awful lot with practise - I never thought I'd do a self portrait that bore any resemblance to me.

Part 4 Project 6 Ex 1 The face

The face

Eyes

In this work I'm going to practice the components of the face.  I need to understand how the structures of the face work as individual parts and together.

Some time ago I bought Drawing Facial Features with Gary Faigin from Craftsy and I've based my drawings around this.

My first drawings are of the eye.  I used smooth paper and covered it with charcoal then used charcoal and a putty rubber to create tone.  And yes, I know my drawings look rather like a duck!

This is more of a diagram than a drawing but it has enabled me to think of the eye in its bony socket and try to get a curve to the lids.

The first three eyes here are of young women and the fourth is an older woman.  Once again they are in charcoal.

I wanted to try using graphite:

The bottom image is the eyelid of a newborn baby.  It looks formless and fairly flat.

Mens' eyes

As I have soon to draw my own face I thought I should have a sneaky go:

My eyes

I am very fair and there is little sign of either eyelashes or eyebrows unless I wear make up.

This drawing is slightly awry because my left eye should be a bit bigger.

Noses

I have found drawing noses quite tricky.  Although they improved the more I did they started to look fairly ridiculous.  I put some surrounding features in to try to give myself some landmarks.

First I looked at the structure and how it changes throughout the length of the nose.  I used a mixture of pencil and charcoal.

Using Gary Faigen again

I have learned that men and women have slightly different noses.  Men tend to have larger nostrils and more bumps on the profile of the nose.  The noses of children develop as they grow but one thing I have become aware of is that noses continue to change throughout life and can become a very dominant feature in old age.

Using photo reference

My family have very distinctive noses and as a young woman I was very self conscious of it (still am if I'm honest).  I decided to bite the bullet and have a try on a charcoal background.

This is me in charcoal and chalk

These are a bit better than the early noses I drew but my tonal work needs improving.

The mouth

Once again I followed my Gary Faigin course.  On this course he always works in charcoal so that's what I've done in the first instance for each feature.

The lips in repose

The smile (charcoal)
Looking downwards on the mouth (pencil)

My mouth

As previously I got better with practise.

Eyebrows

Eyebrows vary enormously and are bushier in men and as we age.  They run across the top of the eye socket and can be very expressive as they move with the muscles of the face.  My own eyebrows are very fair and hardly visible.  Frida Kahlo had famously prominent eyebrows meeting in the middle of her nose.

Ears

Ears are like fingerprints - no two are the same.  I found these hard to draw.

Ears

Hair

I think that a portrait could be perfect but ill drawn hair could make it a completely failure.  In my attempts at drawing hair I have taken the line that tone is the key to getting texture.  I have drawn hair going in the way it grows or is styled.

I think I might be ready to draw a whole face now.

I didn't want to offend anyone by drawing an unflattering portrait so I used a website called Portraits for Drawing (2).  Just as well really because this qualifies for the worst piece of work I've ever done! It's as though I made great effort to disregard everything I've learned about proportion.  Best consigned to the bin but things can only get better.  It's done in pencil in my A4 sketchbook in pencil.

I thought I'd better have another try and this time I went back to charcoal and it's better.  I used a little white chalk and dark graphite in the hair.

This time I took the precaution of making some guide marks before I launched into the drawing and it certainly helped.  With some trepidation I followed the manual advice and began with the features rather than an oval face and found it much easier than I had anticipated.

I find it more possible to get tones with charcoal

(1) http://www.craftsy.com/

(2) http://portraitsfordrawing.tumblr.com/

Part 4 Project 5 Ex 2 Groups of people

Groups of people

For this exercise I need to watch people and how they interact in different situations then I need to do some sketches to capture the moment.  

I'm still in plaster so a bit limited to what I can comfortably access.  I'm also a bit wary (and embarrassed)  about sketching people when they are unaware of what I'm doing.  I went to a large shopping centre and sat on a bench and tried to be unobtrusive.  

I found that no one and nothing held still for long so my sketch was a composition of various people who were never actually together as a group.  Calling them a group is not really accurate because they were either alone or in pairs and having little by way of dialogue.

I have scanned the sketch I made and this has cropped the image and I think it has made it more interesting.  This is because the woman on the right is walking out of the picture.  Out of the picture is a woman with a buggy and the friend of the young man on the left.  To get the atmosphere of the busy shopping centre I really needed to have the people closer together but still individuals.

I used a chunky graphite stick (6B) in my A3 sketchbook.

The next group took my eye because the people were all very separate but all engaged in the same thing - waiting patiently at the bread counter in a local shop. There is an expectancy that I'm happy to have captured.  As I type I can smell the fresh bread.  I worked the sketch from a photo because there was nowhere for me to sit.  I think it works better than the shopping centre sketch because I have people closer together; one behind the other.  I used the same materials as last time.  This took just a few minutes.

It is noticeable that I choose subjects looking away from me so I tried to change this by sketching this little group who were highly interactive.  The little boy was the focus of attention and no one seemed to see me drawing although I was very quick.

This is almost completely dependent on the attitude and expressions of the adults and because my rendering of faces is very weak I don't think I will be pursuing this right now.  However, in the future it has possibilities.

This sketch got pretty smudgy and messy because my hand was all over the place and I didn't protect the page but it gets the essence of what was happening.

Now I need to take one of my sketches and use it as an aide memoire to create a more finished image which includes colour.  I need to develop some atmosphere as well and show the movement of the people  It is like developing the sketches of Treswell Wood that I did way back in the winter; just different subject matter.

I chose the people in the bakers shop to make a more detailed drawing.  The challenge of creating movement combined with perspective was more than I could resist (only joking).  I wanted to make a picture that told a story.  I used my smooth water colour paper, pencils and pastel crayons.

In order to get the whole picture I've had to photograph rather than scan.  The colours don't look good I'm afraid. but it does indicate what I drew.

The baker's shop (photo)

I scanned as well but of course didn't get all the image.

The baker's shop (scanned)

In the past I've been told I overwork things so at the moment I've put the image on hold for a day or two to live with it then I'll see what I think.