Self Portrait
Pandemonium
Size: 91 cm x 91 cm Medium: Oil on Canvas Date: October, 2017 Pandemonium is a self portrait inspired mostly by Edvard Munch’s “The Scream,” other inspirations include “Self Portrait” by Vincent Van Gogh and Untitled by Ivana Besevic. Similar to “The Scream,” the use of vibrant warm colors symbolize the chaos and anxiety within and my anger towards the way of the world. In addition, the deep blue water and my facial expression symbolizes my despondent emotions, specifically about the deterioration of our society and environment. |
Critical Investigation
This is one page from my sketchbook about my critical investigation
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"The Scream" by Edvard Munch
"Emotional Images." Scholastic Art. Dec, 1993: 3. Print. |
For my self portrait I knew I wanted an impressionist style, at least in the background. So I began by researching impressionist art to help with inspiration, and I came across Self Portrait by Vincent Van Gogh. This inspired me to do my self portrait completely in an impressionist style similar to Van Gogh's. However, while painting my piece I completely ditched painting my face in an impressionist style as it was too difficult for me. Instead, I decided to paint my face in a style that I was comfortable with while having the rest of the piece be impressionist. Nonetheless, Van Gogh's Self Portrait still inspired me to paint a similar portrait in regards that I used a similar pose that included my shoulders and with an impressionist background. Van Gogh painted self portraits because he couldn't afford to pay for models and didn't have enough commissions, thus he painted his own portraits which also helped him develop his skills. In addition, the background seen in my self portrait was inspired by Edvard Munch's "The Scream." I wanted to also use a similar background and color scheme as this piece because I used this piece as inspiration in a previous piece, which is why I wanted to use it again and because I thought the color scheme would go perfect with communicating my theme and message. The piece “The Scream” is perfect with helping to evoke my message, as the bright and intense colors were seen as radical and gloomy while the screaming figure represented Munch's anxiety and other troubling experiences. Furthermore, I researched more and came across the artist Ivana Besevic. She most often does digital portraits of female celebrities. The piece above by Ivana Besevic inspired me to paint my portrait with a similar pose and facial expression, because the pose seen above expresses anxiety, sadness, and exhaustion. These are similar emotions I wanted to express to aid with communicating my theme and message. When seeing this piece, it helped me figure out how to pose when taking a picture. I decided that I needed to look distressed and sad, in which covering my face with my hand would help.
Process
1. Take Photograph
I began by having a friend of mine take several photos of me, until I was satisfied with one to use for my portrait. I already knew that I wanted the background of my portrait to be similar that of "The Scream," thus I knew that the photo of myself should express sadness, anxiety, and/or stress. I tried taking photos of myself screaming to fit with "The Scream," however, I didn't like any of these photos and preferred to not paint myself screaming. Therefore, this is why I chose to do a more subtle pose. In addition, Untitled by Ivana Besevic also inspired me to do a pose like this that evoked despondency and anxiety.
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2. Planning
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Next, I sketched out my self-portrait idea. All I did was first sketch out myself to see of that was the position I wanted to go with. This way I found out that my right hand looked awkward to me in that position, so I decided to simply put the arm to my side. Then, I mapped out the sketch of "The Scream" in the background.
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3. Build Canvas
Next, I had to build my canvas. I did this by first putting the frame together, and stapling where they meet together with a staple gun to ensure that it would stay and keep its shape. Then, I took a roll of canvas and spread it onto the floor. I placed my frame on top, and cut out a square of canvas with about 6 inches away from the frame. I then folded over the canvas over each side of the frame one at a time, and making sure never to pull the canvas tight. On each side, I stapled the canvas about 8 times to the frame.
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4. Gesso
Next, I had to prime my canvas by applying gesso. This is a very important step as it helps preserve the paint, and it must be done right otherwise it can warp the canvas. Therefore, when I applied gesso I made sure to apply it evenly in one session. I also had to make sure to gesso the sides of the canvas, and to let it dry in a safe place where nothing would poke it or anything.
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5. Sketch on Canvas
I then had to somehow accurately sketch out my portrait onto my canvas. I did this by taking the photo I wanted to paint, and putting it full-screen onto a laptop. This way, I was able to connect a projector to the laptop and project this photograph onto the canvas. Then, I simply traced the image that was projected.
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6. Painting
This is one page from my sketchbook about my painting process
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This of course was the longest part of the process, and also the most challenging. I began with painting a pink wash in the background, as I thought this to be somewhat of a neutral color to help with the painting process so no white would show through. The pink wash was also kind of accidental, I wanted more of a brown with a slight pink tint to it. But I left it as I knew I'd paint over it anyway. I then started to paint the face and hair. I originally wanted to paint my face in an impressionistic style like in Van Gogh's self portrait. However, this wasn't turning out the way I wanted. Thus, I ditched that idea and decided to do what I'm most comfortable doing and paint my face in a Baroque style. However, I wanted the rest of my painting to be impressionist. I then moved onto painting my hair, which I did by using long brushstrokes of various warm colors to create an impression. Using a similar method, I painted the background while referencing "The Scream" as I wanted to use the same background in order to help express a similar mood of chaos and anxiety to aid with my theme and message. Then I painted my shirt by using the same method.
Experimentation
This was my first time properly working with oil paint. Before when I worked with oil paint, I didn't use a paint thinner or mineral spirits, which made working with the paint quite difficult. But this time, I actually did work with mineral spirits to help thin out the paint when necessary. Because of using mineral spirits for the first time with oil paint, I had to learn how to work with it. I experimented with using a lot, a little, and a medium amount to see which ratio of mineral spirits to oil paint would be the most beneficial according to whatever I was specifically painting. In addition, I also experimented with using my hands to paint instead of a brush. In the upper sky, I grew tired of blending with a brush because it wasn't blending the way I wanted. This resulted in me ditching the brush and trying out my fingers to blend, and I actually found that it blended much more to my liking.
Reflection
Overall, I'm quite satisfied with my final piece. The use of vibrant warm colors symbolize the chaos and anxiety within and my anger towards the way of the world. In addition, the deep blue water and my facial expression symbolizes my despondent emotions, specifically about the deterioration of our society and environment. I feel like due to my choice of hues and my facial expression and pose within the piece effectively evokes this mood of anxiety, despondency, and frustration to communicate a personal message of my own but one that viewers can interpret. Furthermore, I'm very proud and satisfied with my blending throughout the piece. I like how I create movement and unity by the use of certain hues. However, I wish I would've been able to successfully paint my face in an impressionist style.
My final piece connects to my inspirations because of how I use a similar pose as Self Portrait by Vincent Van Gogh and Untitled by Ivana Besevic. Van Gogh's Self Portrait still inspired me to paint a similar portrait in regards that I used a similar pose that included my shoulders and with an impressionist background. In addition, there is a similar use of line within my hair as seen in Van Gogh's portrait. The piece by Ivana Besevic inspired me to paint my portrait with a similar pose and facial expression, because the pose seen above expresses anxiety, sadness, and exhaustion. These are similar emotions I wanted to express to aid with communicating my theme and message. When seeing this piece, it helped me figure out how to pose when taking a picture. I decided that I needed to look distressed and sad, in which covering my face with my hand would help. In addition, the background seen in my self portrait was clearly inspired by Edvard Munch's "The Scream." I used a similar background by using similar colors, movement, line, and texture as this piece because it is perfect with helping to evoke my message, as the bright and intense colors were seen as radical and gloomy while the screaming figure represented Munch's anxiety and other troubling experiences.
My final piece connects to my inspirations because of how I use a similar pose as Self Portrait by Vincent Van Gogh and Untitled by Ivana Besevic. Van Gogh's Self Portrait still inspired me to paint a similar portrait in regards that I used a similar pose that included my shoulders and with an impressionist background. In addition, there is a similar use of line within my hair as seen in Van Gogh's portrait. The piece by Ivana Besevic inspired me to paint my portrait with a similar pose and facial expression, because the pose seen above expresses anxiety, sadness, and exhaustion. These are similar emotions I wanted to express to aid with communicating my theme and message. When seeing this piece, it helped me figure out how to pose when taking a picture. I decided that I needed to look distressed and sad, in which covering my face with my hand would help. In addition, the background seen in my self portrait was clearly inspired by Edvard Munch's "The Scream." I used a similar background by using similar colors, movement, line, and texture as this piece because it is perfect with helping to evoke my message, as the bright and intense colors were seen as radical and gloomy while the screaming figure represented Munch's anxiety and other troubling experiences.
Connecting to the ACT
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
My inspirations caused me to use a similar pose as Self Portrait by Vincent Van Gogh and Untitled by Ivana Besevic. In addition, there is a similar use of line within my hair as seen in Van Gogh's portrait. Lastly, the background seen in my self portrait was clearly inspired by Edvard Munch's "The Scream" as I used a similar background by using similar colors, movement, line, and texture as this piece because it is perfect with helping to evoke my message.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Van Gogh painted self portraits because he couldn't afford to pay for models and didn't have enough commissions, thus he painted his own portraits which also helped him develop his skills. "The Scream" was created by Edvard Munch where he used bright and intense colors, as a way to express and represent Munch's anxiety and other troubling experiences by using a screaming figure with intense warm colors.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I discovered that artists use their surroundings and inner feelings as inspirations for their own or a way to deal with or express emotions. Due to how Munch's anxiety and other troubling experiences inspired "The Scream." I can also conclude that artists sometimes simply work on a piece of art to help better their skills.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my inspirational research was to depict and evoke Munch's anxiety and other troubling experiences, while Van Gogh's theme wasn't much but to help him as an artist but also show how it's okay to paint yourself if you don't anything else to paint. Lastly, Ivana Besevic created her piece to depict the pain that woman felt.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
During the time "The Scream" was created, I can infer that there was a change in art as Munch's use of bright and intense color was unconventional and encouraged expressionism. In addition, I can infer that Munch was going through a difficult time as the screaming figure can be seen as a representation of anxiety and difficult experiences. I can also infer that Van Gogh was a struggling artist as he painted many self portraits due to his lack of money for models and commissions.
Bibliography
"Emotional Images." Scholastic Art. Dec, 1993: 3. Print.
Marie-Eve. “Artist Spotlight: Ivana Besevic.” Haute Punch Magazine, 24 Aug. 2016, hautepunch.com/artist-spotlight-ivana-besevic/
“Self-Portrait - Vincent van Gogh.” Google Arts & Culture, Google, www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/asset/self-portrait/9gFw_1Vou2CkwQ?hl=en.
Marie-Eve. “Artist Spotlight: Ivana Besevic.” Haute Punch Magazine, 24 Aug. 2016, hautepunch.com/artist-spotlight-ivana-besevic/
“Self-Portrait - Vincent van Gogh.” Google Arts & Culture, Google, www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/asset/self-portrait/9gFw_1Vou2CkwQ?hl=en.