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This portrait is probably one of my favorites. Maybe because it is my first successful realistic one. Maybe because of why I made it. On Saturday mornings I take a sketchbook class at the Tyler School of Art on Temple's main campus in Philly. This past Saturday my teacher took my class on a trip to her studio. Her studio is in an old industrial building with an ancient elevator, long halls and big lights. She had us sit in different spots throughout the building and sketch what is around us. Throughout this session I had such an interesting emotion. Maybe it was being in a beautiful old building, maybe it was the music I listened to. My drawings showed the way I was feeling this day and I am proud of this.
After a couple minutes of sketching things, landscapes, still lives. I got bored. Me being me, I wanted to draw a figure, a portrait. I tried drawing my classmates one by one without being too much of a creep, but still this wasn't enough for me, I really wanted to make something beautiful that reflected myself and my feelings. It dawned on me that I had to do a self portrait and that's when I decided to draw one. I pulled up an old portrait I took on my camera and got to it.
I was proud after I finished It because it is a bridge between two classes, as well as an addition to my portfolio. It's also a great feeling to be connected to a place and time, through something creative, Having a product of this is a constant reminder of this connection and this is what art is all about.
Matt, these portraits are actually amazing. I've always envied artists, but I admitted a long time ago that I'm not actually one. A while ago, I started watching a youtube series called The Art Assignment that talks about contemporary art, and the curator/host said simply that art was supposed to evoke an emotion in the viewer. That was really important to me because it meant that I could very easily participate in art - whether on the side of creating or consuming. Since then, it's been much easier for me to actually appreciate and observe art because I just let myself react - and then maybe feel some more emotions. I can say that your artwork certainly evoked an emotional response: first, I was just stunned, but reading through your explanations gave me further appreciation. I paid more attention to the details and all the layers you worked on. I found myself empathizing with you through your art - either the happiness or the emptiness you described. I can't wait to see what you do next :)
ReplyDeleteThese self portraits are great. I found what you said about the strange feeling to be very interesting. I understand what you mean and think that the idea of emotion changing the way your art looked is very interesting. I have never been good at making art but I do enjoy and appreciate looking at art. I also wondered what differentiates realistic and non realistic portraits and what makes art "good" in your opinion.
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