Charity
DECONSTRUCTED SELF PORTRAIT
acrylic, oil, satin, paper, wood, metal, beads, on wood and canvas
Usually I
am intimidated by Self-Portraits, but this deconstructive portrait excited me.
I liked the idea of tweaking the normal planes of the figure and the space. As
an artist, I tend to admire realism with a twist and I really wanted to do a
piece unlike anything I had done before.
Self-Portraits
tend to be difficult because how do you choose the parts of self to portray?!
Finding the balance between interesting and overwhelming can be tricky. After
painting my portrait I realize that I went with how I am feeling at this point;
adrift, small in a large existence, beautiful and fragile and lonely. I
incorporated things I love, such as scripture, roses and antique-feeling
objects. The colors I chose for my flesh and hair were realistic yet vibrant,
contrasted by the murkiness of space and time. This portrait is a snap-shot of
feeling at this stage of my life rather than personality or age.
I love the way you deconstructed your self portrait. One thing I find especially interesting is that you've added a separation between the panels. I enjoy the paper/letter side of you; because the rest of your painting has depth and such great shadow, I would like to see some more depth on the paper side as well. It's obvious that you really enjoyed this project because of all the details you have added.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love how smooth and blended you create all your paintings. The value shifts in the face and how you rendered the universe is remarkable. The contrast of your painted side of your body and the text side really narrates the message you're trying to get across from feeling beautiful and fragile all in one. I agree with Amanda as you could maybe add a little bit of detail to the right side of the body to just make it pop more and seem more dimensional and not as flat.
ReplyDeleteGood job with breaking frame! The painting part of your piece came out so good. It's definitely a lush piece with dreamlike quality being in space. Conceptually I don't really understand the different elements without an explanation. Visually I think that different elements in this painting work together in a surreal way.
ReplyDeleteI think the figure came out so well in this, its a great leap from your last one. I remember talking to you about your idea when it was in the early stages. I really liked it but wasn't sure how it would turn out with all these different elements, I was afraid it would become overwhelming. But I think everything works really well with each other and they are well placed. It's a nice touch to add in all these little things that are important to you and that you feel are a part of you. The scripture, dress(fabric), the little charm pieces, the old with the new. It all does a good job of representing who you are.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy all of your conceptual ideas and I feel like they come across stong in the duality of the painting. There is beautiful rendering of flesh next to fragile paper wich is concrete yet for ever as we are all temporary. I like that you play with the idea of feeling dwarfed by the universe, but still so important is what I'm reading as the figure glides through the galactic sky.
ReplyDeletereally cool how you incorporated your painting style with the collage aspects. fro your explanation I think it is very successful and pleasing to look at. although the idea of the hand protruding outward is really cool I think the painted part doesn't look much like a hand which is misleading due to the technical greatness of the rest of the painting. overall really nice unique piece
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorites from the deconstruction project. I think you were very successful in deconstructing yourself in terms of what is important and how to break them up ni the image to showcase each one. The juxtaposition of items is really great and the painting does not feel disjointed as I thought it might when I first heard your concept. Well done!
ReplyDeleteI think your rendering of your self is very good, and I like the dichotomy of having the painted versus the paper you. I think it was a good choice to literally break the frame in just about every direction, and you have done so in a way that is very active, but not chaotic. You have managed to pull off a very technically complex and visually engaging piece very well that is successful at deconstructing both frame and identity.
The way you rendered yourself was fantastic (especially with the bible pages), and the night sky looks so vivid. the border of the image is very effective even though it does not completely circumvent the image (which was actually the better choice for deconstruction). The only thing i think could have been done better was your hair (more detail and with a greater variety of tones).
ReplyDeleteI feel like this figure is falling away from moments of her past. Since the flow of her hair makes it seem like she is flowing down, and barley hanging on to the past. i think that knowing you the objects in this portrait represent your interests, it changes the meaning of what someone would see if they hadn't read your artist statement. I love the way it draws that out of the viewer. Do I see what I want to see or should I see what the artist wants me to see? Beautiful work! I love the green fabric and hints of sparkle in the sky and trinkets. I think the dead roses are the perfect touch, because to me they represent the past.
ReplyDeleteBetween the materials and way that you used frames I can see that you really followed your instinct on this piece. I find following your instinct will produce artwork that is not very alike anything other piece that is around. A favorite part of this for me is that you rendered half your figure as paper which kind a portrays a few discussion a couple fo which im not to sure if that is the point.
ReplyDeleteThis painting is beautiful! A huge step up from your previous pieces, and can definitely see the effort put into this. I'm glad you stuck to your guns throughout the entire piece, because it turned out really well. The effect you have created with the fabric is really beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI am in awe of your piece. it seemed so obvious as a deconstruction, yet you approached the material in a way that nobody else thought of. I like the idea of being adrift. I guess I just want to know more about the deconstruction. why the scripture? add it in your artist statement and expand on what it means to you. the thing about incorporating things you love is that people want them to symbolize something. the audience wants to put meaning into everything. why antique-feeling objects? are you feeling wise or fragile? if so -put in in the statement.
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