Inspirational Artistic Styles

Paul Gaugin

Salvador Dali

However, I would like to keep my Self-Portrait Recognizable for the ones that know me but kind of Anonymous for the ones that do not, the style of Salvador Dali spoke to me, his eccentric style is quite stunning and he has a specific trademark, his moustache. He has an self-portrait that is extremely abstract, a mask that is slowly melting together and misforming, but the mask has his trademark, a moustache and for the ones that know him, the link is instantly made.

For the purpose of the Symbolic Self-Portrait I have researched and investigated some Self-Portrait Styles.



Paul Gaugin was one of the artist that caught my attention, his style reminded me of picasso, and it showed me that it doesnt necessarily have to be a boring pose Self-Portrait and that the Symbols dont have to be organized to the extreme, since in his case, the symbols look like theyve just been put there to fill the empty spaces.








I asked my fellow classmates what my signature trademarks where, and almost all of them answered my glasses, which are bold and strong, quite in the style of Buddy Holly, another trademark is the fact that my hair is always in a Ponytail, with a few strands hanging loosely framing my face.

In the lesson of 30-8-2012, I have drawn a simple outline of my face, in free-hand, then I decided to trace the shape of my glasses, to have them down as accurate as possible, before adding the strands of loose hair and the rest of the hair slowly falling on my shoulder.

I decided that, due to the fact that I want to remain quite anonymous, and the fact that I am absolute terrible at drawing, noses, faces and mouths, just take a look at the grid drawing I made of Taylor Swift.

I also thought about symbols I could add, I wanted to get across the fact that I was unknown to most of the rest of the school, and due to Anisha continously singing along to Cher Lloyd I googled her and the first shot that came up was a Police Style shot, also referred to as a Mugshot. Holding those black boards with the name and other information, which is a great way to get across the fact that I am anonymous.

Information On the Next Unit

MYPD Self Portrait

cover sheet:

MYP D Art

16 Aug- 13 Sept. 2012, five weeks

Date due: 13 September

SYMBOLIC SELF PORTRAIT

Unit Question: Who Am I?

Area of interaction: Health and Social

Work we will cover in this unit:

• Some history of self portraiture in art history and across cultures
• Anatomy and proportion
• Naturalistic drawing
• Symbols
• Combining symbols with naturalistic (realistic) images

Skills and concepts:

• Using or applying visual arts concepts from earlier in your IST career
• Using your Developmental Workbook to describe your process, updated weekly.
• Using the Creative Cycle (Design Cycle) as a framework for your write up.
• Giving and Using peer feedback (constructive criticism)

Goal: Make a painting that expresses who you are, or how you see yourself.

Describe and evaluate it in your write up.

List two earlier units that might be useful when designing this painting:__________________________________________________________________________

TASK SHEET:

Symbolic Self Portrait

Task Sheet

Painting due: 22 September

Final DW blogpost due: 28 September

Finish portrait/grid drawing to the extent that you can use it for your painting.

• Outlines only are ok.
• It does not need to be shaded.

Finish sketches and mind map of symbols which you combine with your face drawing

• Research one artist from history, which you think shows a self portrait that can be described both in realistic terms (does it look like him/her?) and in symbolic terms (what shapes, things, colors and techniques were used?)
• Can anything that this artist did be applied to the way that you do your painting?
• Include thumbnail sketches of ways of composing your painting.

Begin painting after you have prepared and organized your composition (transferred drawing/s, sketched colors, etc.)

Criteria Key

You will be graded with all criteria.

A. Knowledge and Understanding (1-8)

• Your DW blog should discuss the artist you have picked to research.
• What links can you make between this artwork/s and your own work?
• Any other research or inspiration for your portrait.

B. Application (1-10)

• The finished artwork itself and skills used.
• Preparatory work (sketches, drawings, ideally uploaded to the blog.)

C. Reflection and Evaluation (1-8)

• Following the Creative/Design cycle in your DW blog will help you with this.
• (Cycle: research, design, create, evaluate)
• Feedback (creative criticism from others) should be used and/or evaluated.

D.Artistic Awareness and Personal Engagement (1-8)

• How much enthusiasm you have.
• Risk-taking and creativity, openness.

• Make sure to make entries every week in your DW—what you did during class, and your thought developments.

SLIDE SHOW:

There are as many types of self portrait as there are artists. Here is a selection and recap of the slide show at the beginning of the unit.

This one by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo sets a very high standard.  She has depicted herself in a realistic way. In addition to her accurate features, she has combined several directly symbolic elements: monkey, panther, thorns, etc.

What  symbolic things might you combine with your portrait?

German artist Lovis Corinth has chosen to go more realistic, though his handling of paint is a bit looser perhaps.

It looks as if he has just painted himself in a mirror, using his studio and skeleton as a prop.

I like his double chin and glaring stare.

What makes this painting symbolic?

American artist Chuck Close uses the grid to an even more obsessive degree than I am asking you to do.

Spanish artist Salvador Dali has softened his features, to put it mildly.

Nonetheless, he is recognizable, mainly due to his distinctive mustache, which was his trademark.

Do you have any trademarks that you could use, which would allow others to know whose self portrait they were looking at?

Norwegian artist Odd Nerdrum is known to be fond of painting himself in showy poses. His old-fashioned costume, and old-fashioned way of painting, recall Rembrandt Van Rijn.

Not only the things depicted (old clothes) are symbolic; his very style of painting (Rembrandt's  1600s method) is symbolic. Why would he choose it, do you think?

Here's Rembrandt.

What about a costume for yourself--could you think of clothes that would have a significance for yourself?

And the other Dutchman, Vincent VanGogh.

Painted some 200 years after Rembrandt, he made famous a special style painting and color. The method of applying paint, and the bold use of colors could be thought of as symbolic, or expressive.

Despite this, his portrait is quite realistic and recognizable--very exact in a way.

What way of painting best expresses the way you are?

Summer's Over

Alright, the summer holidays are over and it's back to school. Ready to start a new year of art education, having picked up loads of experience over the summer break, visited the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam which was extremely interesting.

Then some relatives went to Australia and saw the phenomenon of staircase to the moon, which is when the reflection of the full moon creates stripes on the water due to the sand banks under the low sea level creating the illusion of steps, therefore named Staircase to the Moon.

So I decided to combine the rough edged painting style of Van Gogh and the moon and the reflection and painted this with oil based paint on canvas.

-M-