"Self Portrait"
9" x 12"
Materials and Process: The base of the piece was 1/4" System 96 clear. A total of 6 firings and 5 different powders were used to create the piece. A full size photograph was used for reference. The first firing was black powder dragged into outlines using a rubber tipped wipeout tool. The second firing was on the same side and filled in some of the solid areas with more black powder. White powder accents to the hair were added for the next firing . The next firing was an attempt to add some color to the skin using sifted light amber powder on the backside of the piece. The piece was sandblasted to trim the amber and lip color was added prior to the next firing. The lip color turned out to be too red, and was sandblasted off. A mixture of red and pale purple powders was applied for the lips and some red accents were added to the ears prior to the final firing.
Content / Intent Statement: What I like about the piece is that I think it looks like me. What I don't like about the piece is that it looks like me. My asymmetrical nose and lip make the piece look wrong, so I was tempted to adjust it to make it "correct" as opposed to accurate. I opted for accuracy. I wondered what van Gogh thought about doing a self-portrait and if he would have used the side with his "good" ear.
I think the amber was too dark and would have chosen the paler straw if I tried it again. Also, the shading needs work. I rarely use powders, but if I were to try it again in the future, I would need much more practice.
All-in-all, I think the project was worthwhile. It gave me an appreciation for working with multiple firings to tweak and tune the piece.
7 comments:
Very nice self portrait!
JoAnn
I love it that the piece looks like you, and I'm glad you resisted trying to "correct" it, because it's not wrong. Applause.
Hi Tony!!!! What happened to the "Naked Wonder Boy!!!! No really , this is superb and well executed. Congrats.
I love the "realness" of this. The gaze looks like a person who is listening to something important. Marty P
Tony, I've never met you but after seeing your portrait, I feel like I now have. It screams personality. Sounds crazy I know, but I like it. Stan
Photos are always make things look a little different but I think you did a great job on the colors. Skin tones are just the hardest - why can't we have blue skin? This is wonderful it makes me feel like your looking out of my monitor.
Tony, I feel your pain. I had similar issues with my charcoal self portrait. I thought it was hideous, but I realized that it was a perfect rendering of an imperfect being. It's like we have 2 faces, an idealistic image that serves as our window to the world, and the realistic image that stares back at us in the mirror. Somewhere in the middle lies the truth of human nature. It takes guts to see yourself as the world sees you, be proud. In an art world that's filled with idealistic imagery, it's refreshing to see a glimpse of reality=8^)
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