2014, Summer Art Project.Portraiture

The National Portrait Gallery- Inspiration

Duane Ells Portrait Study:This Study is based on a piece by Duane Ells, he uses charcoal, white and grey paints and collage to produce Side-Profile portraits.I am really pleased with the result of my study, I used a profile shot of my cousin, to get the outline and then used collage to hint at the shape of the chair that he was sitting on. I have also used a bit of charcoal to give a sense of shape and to add a dimension to what would be an otherwise a really two dimensional looking portrait.

Picasso Portrait: Practical StudyThe study that I have completed here is based on a cubist piece by Picasso, I have used Lino Printing, Collage and Watercolour, to create a really mixed-media effect, the colours are my favourite aspect of this work. I think they are very close to the colours used in the actual works. I have used a fine liner to add the facial features, but the lino print below it is what really gives the portrait a sense of shape, adding a further dimension. I have mirrored this with the watercolour aspect of the piece, I think that it could however, be improved by a further print in a different colour.

My Self-PortraitThe self- portraits that I have completed here are inspired by Picasso, I have taken a range of different photographs of myself, and then stitched elements together, to create a David Hockney esque self-portrait, I have then used this montage and looked at the intrinsic shapes and elements of my face. And created these two cubist style portraits.

This portrait has been painted using a wide colour palate, mainly consisting of very bold, bright, hot colours. It is a cubist work and is supposed to show a woman holding a baby to her chest. This work was painted in 1938, but it is, in my opinion, reasonably timeless, there is no hint of what era in which it was painted- there are no clues from the woman’s clothes or hair, and while cubism is a style that represents tis era, this image could still quite easily be a portrait of a modern day woman. The painting shows very little in terms of a subject, a plain white background and abstract style give few clues as to a subject. The mother is clutching her baby to her chest- there is no real subject to this portrait.