Dr. Diane Shields Spears, Spears Art Studio High School Art Survey© Unit Three - 23

art elements: line, shape, spacedesign principles: proportion, contrast/value, unity, harmony,art skills: drawingperception skills: edges, spaces, relationships, light/shadow,gestaltnational standards: 1a,b,c; 2a,b,c; 5a,

LESSON 17: SELF-PORTRAITSpage 1 of 2

OBJECTIVES: Students will• review the general guidelines for facial structure• review guidelines for using a grid for accuratereproduction of a photograph• create a self-portrait using a grid method.

UNIT THREE: SPACE AND VOLUME

• Copy this Scripture into your journal, meditate on it;write a brief response about what this means to you.• How does this scripture describe you?• What makes up the real you?

SCRIPTURE: 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17A

• foreshortening • pupils• nostrils • iris

Study faces of family and friends. Get them to posefor you and draw thumbnail sketches of just eyes,ears, noses, mouths, and hair. Begin with linedrawings and add shading/modeling. Do many.

VOCABULARY: Write these in yourjournal with the definitions (see Appendix).B

ART HISTORY - Go to the library withyour journal and sketchbook.C

SKETCHBOOKD

INTERPRETATIONS OF SELFF

Go to the Visual Memory Section and practice theexercises for this lesson in your sketchbook.

• Look for images by Rien Poortvliet (a remarkablecontemporary Dutch artist). His titles include, HeWas One of Us (my recommendation for this les-son), Dogs, Noah's Ark, Daily Life in Holland in theYear 1566, In My Grandfather's House.• Describe his technique. How does he use thelights and darks? What word describes this? Howdoes the artist achieve this "sketchy" look in hispaintings?

VISUAL MEMORY EXERCISESE

It is important to study facial features carefully,and even to know the names and labels. Forexample, the pupil is the darkest part of the eyethat becomes larger or smaller to adjust theamount of light entering the retina. The iris isthe attractive colored part of the eye. When youare able to draw or paint the eyes accurately,you will have made major steps toward captur-ing the essence of a personality and making theimage believable.

Self-portraits do not have to be photographic tobe believable. Many artists choose to symbol-ize or even to distort their likeness. Do someextra library research and find self-portraits byVincent van Gogh, Norman Rockwell, KathyKohlwitz, Chuck Close. A student, however,should learn faithful, life-like rendering just tohave the experience of doing it.

Some self-portraits include the whole figure. Inthese images there might be foreshortening inwhich a hand might be resting on the arm of achair, but is coming towardyou in the picture plane.A foreshortened image maygrow larger as it comestoward the viewer, and itwill have parts overlappingas in this hand. Thefingers come forwardas the palm recedes.Shading/modelingtechniques providehighlights andshadows to producedepth.

Dr. Diane Shields Spears, Spears Art Studio High School Art Survey© Unit Three - 24

LESSON 17: SELF-PORTRAITSpage 2 of 2

UNIT THREE: SPACE AND VOLUME

• pencils, #2, #3, #4, #6• erasers, kneaded and vinyl• ruler• good drawing paper• CHOOSE FROM THE FOLLOWING:

• 5"x7" or 8"x10" professional photo ofyourself, OR

• digital snapshot of yourself

SUPPLIESF

ACTIVITYGSince the artworks on this page were created withPolaroid cameras (now virtually "extinct"), it hasbeen necessary to adjust this lesson to the morerecent development of digital cameras, thereforeadjusting the size of the finished artworks.

PROFESSIONAL PHOTO:• Use an 8"x10" professional photo of yourself ifavailable. If you have only a 5"x7", have it en-larged to exactly 8"x10".DIGITAL SNAPSHOT:• Enlarge and/or crop the photo to obtain an8"x10" with your image taking up most of thespace.• Using computer photo software, erase or paintout objects at the sides of your image. You mayleave in, ignore, or paint out any objects directlybehind you.BOTH PROFESSIONAL AND DIGITAL IMAGES:• Make at least 2 black and white copies.• Use a very sharp pencil to draw a 1" grid overone of the copies. Be accurate in your measure-ments. The other copy is for reference whiledrawing, since grid lines obscure some details.• Draw an 8"x10" rectangle on good drawingpaper and measure a 1" grid in it. Draw lightly.• Begin with the image outline and draw lightly.Reproduce the same proportions in each squarethat you see in the photo squares.• Add shading/modeling, using the second blackand white photo as reference.• You may leave in or erase your grid lines on thefinished self-portrait.

SAVE YOUR BLACK & WHITE PHOTO GRIDFOR THE NEXT LESSON! Self-portrait, Solomon Ray Harris, 9th grade

Polaroid snapshots taken in class;cropped and enlarged on the computer to 7"x7";

printed black and white

Self-portrait, Israel Garza, 11th grade