Self Portrait in Colour (M5 Chpt 5)

Introduction

I spent  a long time avoiding this chapter as I couldn't summon up the enthusiasm to draw or paint myself again and I lacked a vision of what I wanted to achieve.  Eventually however, a way forward with the activity in the chapter dawned on me and I've been able to proceed. I enjoyed doing the work much more than I expected although it may not be quite what was expected of the chapter.

I've done two colour portraits and one in biro. All three are based on photographs of me, and all three include superimposing a photograph on another background. The first two are head shots superimposed on a background of fabric or wallpaper; the third is a rather cheeky superimposition of my head on a portrait of Gloriana herself. In the first two photographs I had problems disassociating myself from the composition and got hung up on painting myself. In the third however, I didn't see myself in the same way and therefore didn't have any hang ups about working with my own face. And there really is the key; to see and not see yourself at the same time. That was the most useful lesson I've taken away from this chapter.

As I wrote earlier the last picture is drawn with biro. This is possibly the most enjoyable drawing technique I picked up along the way trying out various techniques in Module 4, and it's such a cheap method!!!!! The first two portraits are done with wax or water colour crayon and non watersoluble colouring pencil I'm a great fan of Caran D'Ache. 

Portrait 1

Profile on early art nouveau background

My daughter took lots of photos of me, much hilarity all round. I edited these and selected one. I think I may have flipped it. Then I placed the cut out profile against a background and photgraphed it, sized and printed it:

I put grid marks on the picture to help me transfer it:

I added additional grid marks on the face for transfering the face details:

Transferring the picture background and most of the body was easy but the eyes eluded me:

So right from the start there were flaws in this portrait. I worked on the background first. In the last module I really enjoyed working in wax crayon with a colour wash and then going over in biro, and this was the technique I used for the back ground image.

The face was a mix of watercolour crayon and non soluble colouring pencil and the hair was completed in colouring pencil:

The second portrait.

Full face view on background of eigteenth century conversational fabric

The second portrait, harder than the first, was a more complex full face view and it was impossible for me to see beyond the fact that this was a picture of me. I wanted to let myself go but was somehow held back. If this had have been a picture of someone else I would have been more objective and less precious. Neither better or worse that the first picture.

Going in for some final touch ups around the face shape and neck:

Portrait 3
Me slotted into a portrait of Elizabeth 1st - Sieve portrait detail
I don't know where this idea came from and I absolutely don't have any ideas of grandeur, maybe more of a rebelious streak really. However I was able to compleltey distance myself from the idea of me. I thoroughly enjoyed working on this piece. Worked entirely in biro with a few touches of gouache.

After all the humming and haaing and procrastination that went on before starting this chapter, I did in fact end up really enjoying myself. But this is what I really look like most of the time.....