I'm missing class today! But I'll be by tonight for studio. I hope you guys don't mind if I throw up some thoughts about your term project, which I'm very excited about.
The self portrait is a time-honored tradition amongst artists young and old. One of the first things you learn to draw is your own reflection in a mirror. It is a benchmark to measure yourself by; to see your own growth, in appearance and in ability.
Now, in terms of art history, when you're introducing self-portraiture, there are a couple painters that just need to be touched upon (in my outdated and amateur opinion):
We might start with Van Gogh, who (in addition to being a badass) painted pictures that have literally made me swoon. His brush strokes are still ripe with feeling and energy, to this day. In the words of Doctor Who: The Doctor: Between you and me, in a hundred words, where do you think Van Gogh rates in the history of art? Mr. Black: Well... um... big question, but, to me Van Gogh is the finest painter in the world, certainly the most popular, great painter of all time. The most beloved, his command of color most magnificent. He transformed the pain of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty. Pain is easy to portray but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world, no one had ever done it before. Perhaps no one ever will again. To my mind that strange, wild man who roamed the fields of Provenance was not only the worlds greatest artist but also one of the greatest men who ever lived.
To much of a pop culture reference? Let's move on.
Rembrandt, who painted dozens of self-portraits over the course of his life, folded into his rich brush-strokes a breathtaking warmth and honesty. From the darkest darks to the very whitest whites, his paintings contain a spectrum of light rivaled only by the spectrum of time they encompass.
Rembrandt, who painted dozens of self-portraits over the course of his life, folded into his rich brush-strokes a breathtaking warmth and honesty. From the darkest darks to the very whitest whites, his paintings contain a spectrum of light rivaled only by the spectrum of time they encompass.
And now, Frida Kahlo. THE AUTHORITY on expressive self-portraiture. Absolutely beautiful, poetic imagery. Her thoughts and feelings became brilliant colors, her life and her heritage fused to become her work.Now, I know these guys are just your standard set-up-a-mirror-and-paint-watcha-see kinda guys, and your term-project is more of a paint-what-you-think-and-feel-too kind of a painting. You guys are doing BIG paintings, which have want for BIG color, BIG ideas, BIG imagery. They also require a great deal of courage and a strong sense of self. And these are easy qualities to acquire, especially with a healthy helping of research and the collection of inspirational materials. So go get inspired! Read books, look at pictures, copy things you like, things that getcha going, into your sketchbooks. There are those who do just fine being cut off from the world, but when it comes to art, NO ARTIST IS AN ISLAND. The defining nature of our artistic era is its consistancy of being self-aware. So be honest, and follow your heart, and work hard.
