Inspiration: This piece was inspired by Claude Monet's Self Portrait with a Beret. The piece is originally oil on canvas and the forms are blended. Outlines are not visible and the piece has a lot of movement. I picked Monet because I wanted to leave an impression of what and how I was feeling at the time of this painting. I wanted color to represent and convey emotion. Most of all, I was enthralled with the idea of Impression that change is always occurring. Despite everything going on around me, I have to keep on moving forward. I also took another major Impressionist painter as inspiration. Degas would have his famous dancers cut off at the edges of the painting. I recreated that with my body off to one side and the cut off hair.
Process: I was not planning on doing the Impressionist movement. I was lost on what to do. However, a recent event in my life brought emotions that I wanted to convey through my art. This was a lengthy and an arduous process. I did not have access to a projector so I drew a 8x8 4.5x4.5 in. squared grid on which I transferred the image by hand. I had only realized too late that I did not apply a background color over my gesso. I was wondering if I should go over my sketch and then I will start over but that seemed like too much work. After the sketching was completed, I made a gray that I applied to the background with short brushstrokes. As I was applying the gray, I realized it was too dark and I asked myself "What are you doing?" I hated this piece. It had started off to a bad start.
The Complexion: Definitely the toughest part of this painting was getting the right complexion. I know for a fact that I spent more than an hour blending colors together. It did not help that I had cheap paints that were thinner than water. Eventually I would get the correct skin tone only to place it on the canvas and it would look terrible. I applied many brushstrokes and this way I could create value and eventually get it right.
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Title: Forward
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Size: 91x91 cm Date: December 2015 Exhibition Text: The Impressionist Movement is explored in this artwork. Short brushstrokes with the disappearance of form through blending are attempted. The emotion given off from the dark colors represent a terrible bleakness. The facial expression is blank as a barrage of emotions has left the boy expressionless. The movement created with the brushstrokes give movement to the piece, hence the title. 'Forward' shows the boy to the left of the piece, slightly cut off, as if in movement.
Technique: I looked at the painting and observed what the technique was. I did see the short brushstrokes and the blending was apparent. After a while, I started painting meticulously but I was only on my t-shirt. I had implied lines where the black was intense and in areas where it was not so. I used a 1/2 in. brush to give my work detail. The technique seemed to leave a lot of bare spots of gesso showing through for me and I disliked that very much. It was at this point in this that I realized, I had messed up. Big time. Monet's painting was in oil paint and here I am painting in acrylic. This painting was going even worse than before. I continued to paint however, setting goals for myself each day. When I got to the hair, I mixed a slightly large quantity of dark black that I would use for the bases of my curls. I applied that paint anywhere I saw it on my picture and then I made a lighter black, a grayish color. I used that to create the highlights where the light hit my hair and showed the texture of colors. The bare spots where my hair was short and showed through to the skin, I kept white till I started working on the face so I could blend it together with my complexion. I was liking how the hair was turning out.
My Work: I was successful in this project. I feel like the piece overall shows the detail I wanted and envisioned. The complexion could definitely use more help and more detail never hurt anyone. If I am to talk about the Impressionist technique I believe I did not do such a good job. It may be that I was not working in the correct medium but still, it needs a lot of work. I like how the face becomes the main focus in the piece due to all the other dull and dark hues. The skin tone by comparison is the lightest and that should catch the viewer's attention. I want a question to arise on the facial expression. "Where is the boy looking?" or "What is he feeling?" If those two questions make their way into the viewer then I am content.
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