Self portrait
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Inspiration
For my self portrait I was inspired by Pablo Picasso's own self portrait during his blue period. This Self-Portrait, painted during his second stay in Paris in the winter of 1901, was the end of a series and marked the beginning of the Blue Period.
Throughout all of Picasso’s Blue Period, his paintings consisted of mainly dark depressing Blue hues with varying values as to simulate how he was feeling at the time. Human forms were elongated and distorted. Paintings had emphasis on the facial expressions of the people depicted in them because they helped convey the overall mood. It also helped that they were the most detailed part of all of his paintings, textures was varied from wrinkled and decrepit, to smooth and young, using shading to further emphasize the expressions, these features helped further cement the tone of each painting. What I tried to incorporate from his self-portrait to my own, was the primary use of blue hues and dark tones, with some exceptions like the hair and the sweater. I also wanted to paint my self as if I was considerably older, or at least worn out. Picasso was only twenty years old at the time he finished his portrait, but he appears considerably older in his piece. His face is drawn and gaunt from the hardships he has endured during his blue period. |
Picasso, Pablo.Self-portrait.1901
Pablo Picasso, Old Jew and a Boy, 1903.
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Process
First comes building the canvas frame. I grabbed 4 of 2 foot long stretcher bars with interconnecting edges. I connected them and then with a triangle ruler to make sure each frame corner has a 90 degree angle. When each corner is measured I used a stapler gun to staple the corners together. The canvas should be cut several inches wider than the dimensions of the stretcher bars, taking into account the width of each side of the frame, as well. I need this extra canvas to have something to get a grip on to be able to pull and stretch. Then I cut the canvas in the shape of my frames using a very sharp scissors. I centered my frame on the canvas. Laid the canvas out flat on my work surface, smoothing out and cleaning up the canvas as much as possible.
Starting with one side of the canvas and folding it in. I inserted one staple in the middle then along the side, then I rotated the frame and did the exact same thing except stretching it while stapling. Then repeated that process along the other sides and other frames. Now on all the corners fold the extra canvas and staple it to the back of the stretcher bar. Now that the canvas is stretched, I start to gesso the canvas in order to prep it for the paint. Once the canvas is prep I start to sketch out roughly the outline of my body onto the canvas.. after that I start painting the background a dark blue hue a mixture of blue and black, making sure not to paint over the outline of my body. after that I start painting my clothes and face. I'm not painting any details I'm just painting the outline and feeling in the colors or I will later pink detail and fix. I first star painting the details on the clothes and then I make my way up to the face where I use standard blending techniques and colors filtered with blue. after I'm done painting I go over it again fixing any Minor Details. |
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Experimentation
For my experimentation, I first had the background of my peice a darker shade of blue but then after painting the jacket an even darker shade of blue, I realized that the jacket and background blended together. They wernt distinked enough to defirentiate each other. so I painted the background again but with a lighter blue and the jacket I painted with the same shade of blue as the previoius background
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Compare and Contrast
Reflection
My self portrait is one of the biggest pieces I've ever done, and with that, creating it came with its own difficulties. For one I tried sketching my portrait free hand with my model next to me. I did this because I was confident in my ability to sketch accurately, but sadly I was not able to get the proportions of the portrait correct. For the painting process I found it hard to blend the right shades of blue for each aspect of the piece especially for the skin and its values, but I persevered with plenty experimentation with blue and various colors. I tried to have the same tone for my portrait as Picasso's own portrait and I believe that I've achieved that effect with the unnatural skin color and deep shading of the creases and indents of the face which gives it a worn, and tired look.
ACT Questions
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
The effect my inspiration, Pablo Picasso's blue period, had on my piece was the style and the over all tone of my piece.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Picasso attempted to visually demonstrate how poor and desperate people felt during the time of his blue period.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
One big conclusion I made about the people of the time, was how people who lived under poverty lived in depression.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?.
The central theme of Picasso's blue period was the depression Picasso was going through during his blue period.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
People under the poverty live in great depression.
The effect my inspiration, Pablo Picasso's blue period, had on my piece was the style and the over all tone of my piece.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Picasso attempted to visually demonstrate how poor and desperate people felt during the time of his blue period.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
One big conclusion I made about the people of the time, was how people who lived under poverty lived in depression.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?.
The central theme of Picasso's blue period was the depression Picasso was going through during his blue period.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
People under the poverty live in great depression.
Citations
Pablo Picasso Blue Period. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.masterworksfineart.com/artists/pablo-picasso/blue-periodPablo
Picasso's Blue Period - 1901 to 1904. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.pablopicasso.org/blue-period.jsp
Picasso's Blue Period - 1901 to 1904. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.pablopicasso.org/blue-period.jsp