Large Self Portrait Painting in Environment

Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, oil paint on poplar wood panel, c. 1503-1517

https://www.leonardodavinci.net/

(Refer to the style/placement of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Albrecht Durer's Self Portrait, Age 26)

Due:
One month

Project
Draw or paint a large self-portrait from the waist up, using the medium of your choice. Include at least one of your hands. Integrate the figure into an environment for a strong figure-ground relationship.

• Three-quarter length self portrait (head, neck, shoulders, arm, down to waist)
• Three-quarter view (from side of head, both eyes, side of nose, one ear showing)
• Head, neck, shoulders, at least one arm and one hand fully visible.
• Environment
• Evident light source

Objectives:

• Improve skills with composition and design
• Improve observational accuracy
• Establish form via chiaroscuro
• Improve your ability to create a rich range of tonal value and color

Materials:

• Large Mirror (Bring in your own)
• Large (30 x 40") canvas
• Easel
• Acrylic paints
• Brushes, palette, water container, rags, and other painting supplies

Grading Criteria:

• Strength of Composition
• Figure Ground Relationship - figure and surroundings working together to improve the design
• Accuracy of Proportion
• Likeness
• Establishment of Structure - Planes of Face and Figure
• Establishment of Form -- Three Dimensionality through Chiaroscuro
• Three-Dimensional Space (Foreground, Middle Ground, Background)
• Nuances of Value and Color
• Technical Quality

References and Exemplars
See this Galleries page for examples of portraits by masters as well as by high school students.

Ian Factor, Burlington High School Alumnus:

• Quarantine Self Portrait Process (time-lapse video demonstration)
• Portrait Painting Demonstration (time-lapse video)

George Ratkevich

• Self Portrait in Studio (from college)
• Portrait series

Examples for student artists taking the AP Drawing Portfolio/Exam:

• Daily Art Magazine: 10 of the Most Famous Female Artist Self Portraits
• Artsy: 10 Masters of the Self Portrait
• Frida Kahlo
• Look also to other masters such as Abrecht Durer, Max Beckmann, Lucien Freud, and Kehinde Wiley

Examples for student artists taking the AP 2D Design Portfolio/Exam

• Alphonse Mucha (Art Nouveau)
• Gustav Klimt
• Egon Schiele (See slideshow below)
• Kehinde Wiley
• Alyssa Monks (recent works)
  • https://www.forumgallery.com/exhibitions/in-person?view=slider#11

Examples for student artists taking the AP 3D Design Portfolio/Exam

• Auguste Rodin
• Robert Arneson
• John Wilson (sculptor)

Art 21: Cindy Sherman (photographer): A contemporary approach to “self portraiture”

Some master portrait painters from art history and the contemporary art world.

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Work from Burlington High School students from years past. Most of the paintings above incorporate an environment. The artists of the self portraits below have worked out different ways to meet the challenge of including a hand.

Gam Dhliwayo's self portrait (below) incorporates design elements.

FIRST STEPS

Prepare:

• Bring in a large mirror and any objects/symbols you'd like to include in the painting.
• Decide what you'll wear. Should be the same each day.

Set up:

• Private space
• Must not block off access to exits
• Not blocking photography area
• Not blocking scanning area or sink
• Painting table with palette, water container, brushes, rags
• Mirror
• Canvas
• Easels (2: one for mirror and one for canvas)
• Must see almost all of yourself (at least to waist)
• Must be able to move arm from palette to painting without the rest of you moving too much.
• Must be able to see mirror and canvas without your head moving too much.
• Cover floor if there’s a risk of getting paint on it (i.e. hallway)

​Ground - Cover the canvas with a neutral ground (a thin wash of color - acrylic and water)

Block in - With the same neutral color as your ground, draw guidelines to establish placement of basic shapes - accurate proportion and placement