After each part of this module my tutor has assessed my work so far. Below are my assessments from my tutor and my own response to these assessments. Throughout this module I have tried to take on board any critique or advice that I have been given and I have tried to act on it. I understand that my best chance of improving my drawing skills is to take on board all advice given.
Below is my feedback from part 1:
I was given some excellent feedback for part 1, and this feedback has made me feel that little bit more confident about what I need to do and how I need to do it when embarking embarking on part two.
The main points I picked up on that I wanted to work on for part two were,
To write in more depth when evaluating and writing my own work and try to write more critically from a personal perspective rather than just descriptively. I can do this by researching a broader number of artists and also by writing down all of my thought processes rather than just what I think my tutor wants to hear?
The next thing I need to do is try to develop my ideas at length before starting final pieces. For part one I just ‘did’ the drawing I was asked to do without developing my ideas- or doing many/any preliminary drawings first. This is an area I will focus on in my next project.
I also need to expand my material usage. In part one I stuck to mainly just using very traditional materials such as charcoal, ink and pencil. I need to branch out further in this area for part 2.
I need to take better photographs of my work. This is such an obvious target and I am cross with myself for not prioritising this from the start.
Below is my feedback from part two.
The main points I picked up on that I wanted to work on for part three were,
To focus more on material enquiry, not just using different materials but using those materials in the most effective way I can, for example using different sized nibs to achieve different sized line in order to generate more depth. Also to experiment different with softness of pencils, rather than just working with the same one. And to try using oil or chalk pastels.
To extend my artists research and to look at artists who vary their line & tone in non traditional ways
To focus on what is needed in a drawing rather than just drawing everything that is in front of me. This was very evident in my ‘room’ drawings. Certainly in future I will think about what is necessary to draw in order to convey what I am wanting to convey.
My tutor felt that my final assignment piece had developed more into a painting rather than a drawing and even though it was full it looked quite flat. This is an opinion I fully agreed with. Using collage and paint will not be materials I experiment with further and instead I intend to concentrate on improving my drawing skills on flat surfaces and by using line and tone to create tone rather than paint.
Below is my feedback from part three.
The main points I picked up on that I wanted to work on for part four were,
Try to work in front of my subject as much as possible- I have noticed that when I draw from photographs my work does tend to look flatter! Working from life is not always straight forward but I will definitely try to make this a priority for my next project.
I was asked to use the Harvard referencing system. I did actually think I was doing this, as my information was coming from inline sources (due to the lockdown I am not able to access any books.) I thought I needed to include the internet link and date and author of webpage. But I will check further and as I am obviously doing this wrong.
To use a broader range of materials including less traditional materials, more colour studies and less biro. I will certainly try to avoid using my biro as much for my next project I do understand that I used it too much in this project. I am excited to work in more colour as this is an area I didn’t explore as much as I should have in this project.
To strive for more accuracy. I completely understand that some of my vertical lines in my building drawings were off slightly, this therefore made them look like they were leaning.
To vary my mark making and to take more risks- I am hoping by using a broader range of materials in my next project this should come hand in hand with being experimental with different mark making techniques. I will also try to challenge myself into taking more risks by working outside of my comfort zone.
I was asked to critique other artists in more depth and expand my knowledge of better known contemporary artists. It was suggested I can do this by purchasing the book vitamin D. However due to the pandemic and my husband loosing his job even a second hand version of this extremely expensive book is not possible at the moment. Therefore I will keep looking at the reading list and researching all of the artists my tutor has advised me to research on the Internet.
Below is my feedback from part four.
The main points I picked up on that I wanted to work on for part five were,
Continue to strive for accuracy- My tutor suggested that when drawing figures I should measure height & width against something else to ensure accuracy. I really appreciate this advice & will definitely try this with my next drawings.
Be economic with my marks and don’t be tempted to over work to get something right m. This is something I am certainly guilty of, this was especially true when I was drawing family members as I know their faces & bodies so well, I would get very paranoid if something looked off and would re work and re work it until I got it right.
I was again advised to use Harvard referencing correctly. I will contact my tutor for more details on this, as I haven’t actually used any direct quotations so I assumed a bibliography was enough to just show my wider reading around the subject? This is something I intend to rectify by the time I get to part 5. I also intend to go back over all of my work and reference correctly.
Overall I really believe that my tutor feedback has been instrumental in my development thus far. I will continue to take advice and critique and try to implement it into my drawing skills.
In order to prepare for my personal project it is important that I reflect upon my previous work and previous exercises and artists that inspired me. In order to do this I will begin by looking back at my work and revisiting my earlier notes where I carried out written self assessments of each of my previous assignments and add any new thoughts.
I started with assignment 1, below is my original self assessment of this assignment.
My main response to this project as a whole was how much my work has developed and improved since the start of the course.
My written self-assessment for this assignment was very brief and I don’t feel like I assessed myself at all! For this reason I decided to assess myself using the assessment criteria again. However rather than just assess the assignment I decided to look at the whole of part 1.
demonstration of technical and visual skills- materials, techniques, observational skills, visual awareness, design and compositional skills.
Part one mostly comprised of a selection of mark making and drawing skills exercises that were often on a large scale. At the time these drawings felt very challenging and difficult and I often felt uncomfortable working on such a large scale. However on reflection whilst some of my drawings are lacking in areas of accuracy or attractiveness, they do show energy, atmosphere, feeling and expression. There are also areas of technical and visual skills, particularly in my charcoal drawing with the two glasses and in areas of my final assignment drawing.
Compositionally I took into consideration viewpoint and angle throughout part 1, this is evident in the photos I took at the beginning of each drawing and the quick sketches I made of different angles and viewpoints before embarking on my final pieces. My drawings do show light and tone and I have experimented with a wide range of mark making techniques particularly at the beginning of the project.
I think on reflection that I could have experimented with a wider range of materials and techniques in this project, whilst I did experiment with some more unusual techniques at the beginning such as washing up liquid and sand, these techniques and materials could have been developed further into the project.
quality of outcome- content, application of knowledge, presentation of work in a coherent manner, discernment, conceptualisation of thoughts, communication of ideas.
The quality of my outcomes vary in part one with some being stronger than others, my drawing of the two glasses is one of my stronger drawings- I like my use of light and reflection in this drawing. I am also pleased with the composition and visual awareness of my final assignment drawing, however to me now, it looks unfinished and I feel like it needs to be worked into further in order to show tone and form more effectively.
I feel that my work is presented clearly in a coherent manner. My thoughts and ideas are documented both in my quicker drawings or photographs and in my learning log. However I do feel like these could be communicated clearer with a broader selection of ideas to start with? maybe in thumbnail form rather than just running with the first idea from a set of photographs.
Demonstration of creativity- imagination, experimentation, invention, development of a personal voice.
In my original self assessment I claimed that I was not able to be creative as the work set was so prescribed. However on reflection my imagination and creativity was more about the way I tackled my set tasks and I do feel like I have achieved this and this is evident in my outcomes. My drawings are expressive and where some areas lack in accuracy they seem to make up for in creativity.
I don’t feel like at this point in the course that I had started to develop a personal voice yet. For me, part one was more about warming up and getting me out of my comfort zone and learning.
I do feel though in order to begin to develop my own personal voice I could have used a wider range of materials and subject matter in order to make my work more exciting and expressive
Context reflection- research, critical thinking.
I tried to explain my thought process, ideas and work constantly and critically throughout this project.
On reflection my writing was probably more descriptive than critical and whilst I did look at the artist Odilon Redon and I did research his work and critically discuss this I didn’t actually contextualise my own work in relation to this artists enough.
To summarise my self assessment findings, my future work needs to focus more on accuracy in order for show form more effectively, I need to experiment further with both technique and materials in order to try to develop a personal voice and I need to use other artists more to contextualise, inform and inspire my own work.
For my self- assessment for my second assignment I couldn’t find it? It wasn’t uploaded on my learning log on my assignment so can only assume that I forgot to actually do it! Therefore rather than adding new thoughts to my original self assessment I needed to assess my self from scratch, below are my findings.
Demonstration of technical and visual skills- materials, techniques, observational skills, visual awareness, design and compositional skills.
Throughout this project I have displayed technical and visual skills which show my visual awareness.
This is mostly evident in my finished drawings that I spent longer on including my flower bud drawing from earlier on in the project and then my a2 kitchen drawing which I spent a considerable amount of time on. Some of my quicker drawings however, particularly some of the drawings in my house are lacking some accuracy in these technical and visual skills.
For my assignment work my final mixed media drawing displays a huge range of materials comprising mostly of found two dimensional scraps that were mostly found in my recycling bin. It is also made up of both paint and biro that is used to highlight both tone and texture. This wide range of materials is also evident in my preliminary drawings leading up to my final piece including using textured cardboard in order to create an almost three dimensional effect and oexperimentation with tone and colour as well as different background surfaces.
Compositionally, for my assignment I experimented with drawing my objects from different angles before I decided on my final design. I tried to take into consideration the viewpoint and angle I was drawing from and in my final piece I tried to show light and tone within my work.
I do feel that the majority of my work manages to show atmosphere and energy and this is particularly true for my final piece.
Throughout this project I have tried to experiment with different techniques, including mark making and line with different materials such as charcoal, paint, biro, ink and collage materials including cardboard, pages from books, celephane, foil, and scrap fabrics. I have also tried to experiment with different tonal techniques, including using white ink on black paper with chalk, and experimenting with trying to produce tone by mixing materials, such as cardboard with paint and biro with charcoal.
Quality of outcome- content, application of knowledge, presentation of work in a coherent manner, discernment, conceptualisation of thoughts, communication of ideas.
Throughout this project and throughout this assignment I have tried to communicate my thoughts and ideas in a coherent manner.
I started my assignment by taking a series of photographs then from these photographs I completed a series of quick drawings around my recycling bin in order to realise the most effective viewpoints and angles. I then completed some experimental preliminary work which included experimenting with both materials, composition and texture.
These preliminary experimental drawings gradually led to and informed the development of my final piece.
Demonstration of creativity- imagination, experimentation, invention, development of a personal voice.
I really enjoyed being imaginative and creative throughout this project and assignment. I haven’t really experimented with mixed media or collage before so this work felt really exciting. I found that I worried less about making mistakes and more about being experimental and trying out new things. Looking back and reflecting on my work though I do feel like I could have taken this experimentation further, I could have aimed for my experimentation to be subtler? I could have used a wider range of materials or maybe even tried less collage materials and more line?
I am happy with the energy in my final piece, I particularly like some of the textural effects including the texture and tone of the water bottle next to my recycling basket.
Overall I am pleased with my work, I feel I have achieved what I set out to do. I have managed to hopefully demonstrate a growing understanding of colour and yet stay expressive and creative at the same time.
I am pleased with my observational skills and depiction of form however I am aware that this can still be improved further. Especially in areas like the soup can and some of the smaller areas.
Context reflection- research, critical thinking and learning logs.
Throughout part two I have studied numerous different artists. Earlier on in the project I looked at some of Picasso’s paper collages. This work has greatly inspired my final assignment work. Even though my work does not show influence from his cubism works, it was his exciting still life collages that inspired me during my initial thought process.
I was also inspired by Hockneys use of bold and bright colours and I drew inspiration from Van Goghs brush strokes and colour palette in his bedroom scene. I feel like my brush strokes appear even more pronounced when layered on top of textured collage materials.
To summarise my self assessment findings, I feel like my final assignment work was probably too collage based and this use of collage may have taken away from my learning and development of my technical and visual skills. Whilst I do feel like my experimentation was strong, on reflection this work may have been more effective if I had focussed more on a more traditional approach to drawing.
Below is my self- assessment for my third assignment:
When re visiting part 3 I remembered how I struggled with this section to begin with I found drawing landscape difficult, I didn’t know how to start; do I draw detail and if so how much? Do I just draw the vastness? How can I do this just using a pencil?
I wasn’t happy with any of my drawings and then suddenly I seemed to turn a corner? My confidence started to grow and gradually my drawings were not looking as bad as I thought they were. My technical skills appeared to be increasing and I was starting to develop some more visual awareness with each of my drawings. I was pleased in particular with my townscape and building drawings which appeared to show form, light and shadow. These drawings continued to develop into my assignment work where I focussed on showing texture and perspective and depth.
In order to develop further I think I need to develop my range of materials further, for a lot of this project my material usage was quite narrow.
Even though I looked at different artists who I took inspiration from , I don’t think their influence is immediately obvious in my work. I think, I therefore think contextualising my work more effectively in regard to different artists and movements may help to improve my work later on.
Below is my self assessment on part 4:
Part 4 was my favourite project and assessing myself was the last task I undertook. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the human form & researching other artists who also portray the human form.
I do think however that I can still broaden my use of materials for experimentation and I can further research more artists to learn and develop my own skills.
Demonstration of technical and visual skills- materials, techniques, observational skills, visual awareness, design and compositional skills.
I have demonstrated technical, visual and observational skills throughout part 5 with my wide selection of drawings. I have used a vast amount of materials and I have experimented with different ways of using them.
I have been inspired by different drawing styles from the diverse selection of artists I have studied and have experimented with the different techniques I have learnt. Including various ways of using line, different tonal techniques including using paint and colour and different ways of using expressive marks.
I have managed to develop my visual skills towards a final piece and I have explored composition through experimentation with style, angle and space. I have taken into consideration the viewpoint I am drawing from as well as considering light sources. My drawings also all show atmosphere and narrative.
I have really enjoyed drawing portraits whilst also exploring distortion and reflection and looking at the effects these have on the face and the sitters identity. I am pleased that firstly my portraits look like the people I am drawing and secondly that I have managed to show both reflection and distortion in my drawings. I do understand though that I still have a long way to go in the development of my portrait and figurative drawings.
Quality of outcome- content, application of knowledge, presentation of work in a coherent manner, discernment, conceptualisation of thoughts, communication of ideas.
The quality of my outcomes vary, however they all reflect the application of the knowledge I have learnt and they all communicate my ideas effectively.
Throughout this project I have presented my work in a clear and coherent manner whilst showing my conceptualisation of thoughts and my communication of ideas. This is evidenced through my brainstorms, the progression of my drawings and my learning log. I developed my own body of work in a logical format gaining inspiration from the artists I researched which led to experimental and preliminary drawings. These preliminary drawings gradually led to and informed the development of my final piece.
Demonstration of creativity- imagination, experimentation, invention, development of a personal voice.
Part 5 has really allowed me to be creative in every way possible. Through researching different artists I was able to take inspiration and mix it with my own creativity and imagination and produce and develop my own project and body of work culminating in a final piece and therefore developing my own personal voice.
I have loved experimenting with different media’s and techniques in the style of the various artists I have explored. I have thoroughly enjoyed taking on board these new drawing styles and experimental works and developing them further.
Context reflection- research, critical thinking.
Throughout this project I have thoroughly enjoyed researching a vast selection of contemporary and historical artists and learning how and why they have portrayed distortion and reflection in their own figurative work. I have tried to discuss their work critically and I have tried to put my own work into context by referring to the artists who have inspired me throughout this project. I have tried out new techniques and experimentations based on the artists that have inspired me.
I have used my learning log to record my progress throughout part 5. I have explained my thought process in my learning log in as much detail as I could detailing my ideas and observations.
For the final part of my project I intend to explore different ways in which a mirror can show reflection in a portrait in order to see the effects it has on the overall composition of the piece.
I was initially interested in looking at how a mirror has the ability to distort a portrait as the first part of my project focussed on distortion. However from researching artists who look at reflection I decided to look at more than just distortion within reflection. I wanted to look at meaning, identity and the idea that a reflection has the power to tell us more.
I have been inspired by many artists throughout this project and intend to show this influence within my own work. I intend to look particularly at both Jenny Saville’s and Degas’ drawing style who both explore expressive marks within their drawings and who both introduce subtle elements of colour that build upon tone and depth.
Through my work I want to develop my own style of drawing that uses expressive marks and subtle elements of colour. I intend to show depth effectively by focussing on tone and perspective and I will strive for accuracy of proportions when it comes to drawing facial features and body parts. I also intend to experiment with different compositions within my work in order to be able to make an informed decision about my final piece.
For inspiration I started the final part of my project by creating an image board of all of the artwork I have looked at so far.
In order to start thinking about composition and perspective I took some photographs of my husband Rob looking into a mirror. I thought about angle and light and I tried to make the compositions as interesting as possible.
When drawing from these photographs I wanted to think about composition and how I could make my compositions exciting. I wanted to balance the elements in my drawings and think about how the negative space would contrast with the drawings of my figures. I also wanted to experiment with expressive line and just a touch of colour drawing inspiration from Jenny Saville’s ‘Reflective flesh study’ and Degas’ ‘A standing Dancer, hands behind her back’. Even though these are two completely different images with completely different subject matters, the simple drawing style using charcoal to show line with just a touch of colour really inspired me.
Compositionally these drawings are mixed, but this was a great exercise in allowing me to start thinking about composition. I worked quickly and I used black pen, a graphite stick and watercolour paint. The black pen allowed me to experiment with mark making and line and I used the paint and graphite stick to hint at an element of tone and depth.
I spent about two minutes each on these drawings.
In order to give me time to experiment more with composition and technique, I completed a slightly longer drawing (about 15 minutes) using the same materials with the exception of adding in some yellow paint.
What I like mostly about this composition is because of the angle of the mirror I appeared in the background taking the photograph with my phone and I appeared upside down. This is one of the really interesting things about looking a reflection. If someone was to observe us in real life they would see me in my kitchen standing behind my husband taking a photo with my phone. However the second a mirror is introduced the scene is altered or distorted completely. Instead of standing behind him I am shown reflected upside down!
The other exciting thing about using a mirror is the angle of the image it reflects. My husband had positioned the mirror at an angle below his chin therefore the reflection looking back up at him was not the reflection that he likes to identify with. His face was distorted by gravity and he was given some extra chins, this was in his opinion a very unflattering reflection.
Even though this is a regular mirror the portrait was still distorted. It really made me think of Duane Michals work on distorted mirrors, and not knowing the reflection you will get depending on the slight tilt or angle of the mirror.
I wanted to experiment further with composition and try out some new poses with both my model and the use of the mirror. This time I experimented with two mirrors and I used my five year old son Teddy as my model. I asked Teddy to stand in front of the mirror holding a second mirror in his hands. I decided this time to experiment with a black biro.
I was pleased with the composition of this drawing and found the use of two mirrors really exciting. Not only did the mirror distort Teddy’s face by cutting it across his eyebrows but by using two mirrors the viewer is allowed to see Teddy from every angle. Thus allowing the viewer to gain a more intimate knowledge of Teddy.
With regard to my drawing style, I am pleased that I have managed to capture Teddy. I have however made Teddy wider and shorter than he actually is. I also struggled with tonal work on Teddy’s reflected jumper. I worked and re worked it but in the end it still just looked wrong. One of the main problems with using a biro was I couldn’t alter the mistakes I made.
I wanted to go back to exploring a more expressive use of line whilst adding a touch of colour for my next drawing, however I wanted to experiment with making it a bit different. I drew Teddy again, this time I laid down a patterned background from the inside of an old envelope. I worked again with biro but I also worked with charcoal and blue and white watercolor paint. I again wanted to experiment with Degas’ and Saville’s style of adding just a hint of colour.
I love the composition of this piece and how the use of mirrors show Teddy’s reflection multiple times, this allows my two dimensional drawing to become three dimensional and again shows more of Teddy then maybe a traditional portrait that doesn’t use reflection would do.
There are some areas of my drawing which need some more attention, his thumb holding the mirror for example has not been observed very well, it looks more like a banana than a thumb.
I do like my use of background paper on my drawing, I think the pattern on it adds to my drawing by adding to the tone and depth of the piece.
For my next drawing I wanted to again experiment with composition and new ways of using the mirror to show reflection. This time I drew myself. I placed my large rectangular mirror down on a table and on top of that mirror I placed two small circular mirrors, I then looked down towards my reflection.
I worked with a mixture of materials, including a black biro, oils pastels and charcoal. I worked heavier and darker this time with my charcoal.
Whilst working on the piece, I thought it was terrible! I couldn’t seem to get anything right and all of my proportions seemed off. However once I’d finished I realised it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was.
I like the composition of the piece and the way my face is reflected from a different angle in each mirror. I like the texture in my jumper, and even though I don’t like the look of my double chins, I like the way the angle distorts my face and alters the image of what I identify myself with. This angle that causes a distortion to my face reminds me of the work of both Wes Namen and Rut Mackel who both purposely distorted their work with glass and tape. I have used a much subtler approach of distortion, that can probably be argued is not actually distortion at all, but is instead just an alteration of the face I identify with.
I think the mix of materials I used was successful and I think if I had drawn the proportions of my face correctly to start with, this could have been a far more effective drawing. my features are all in slightly in the wrong places and they are all a bit wonky looking. My eyes are wrong and even though I did try to fix them I ultimately decided to leave it and start again with a new drawing as ‘fixing’ them was just layering charcoal upon charcoal and it was not working.
I have through this drawing really learnt about the importance of getting the facial features correct in the first place. That if these are not blocked out perfectly to start with then the drawing ultimately is not going to be successful.
For my next drawing I wanted to experiment more with Degas’ drawing style whilst continuing to explore the use of mirrors and reflection in composition. This time I drew my youngest son Bertie who is still a baby at just one. I again positioned a small circular mirror on top of my larger rectangle mirror. He just crawled over the mirror and wouldn’t allow me to pose him. But I did manage to capture some interesting compositions.
I wanted to continue taking inspiration from Degas in the way that I worked, this time looking at Degas’ ‘Three studies of a dancer’
I decided to create a background first rather than just work on white paper in order to reflect Degas colour scheme in ‘Three studies of a dancer’ and I hoped it might make my drawing more interesting than just working on a white page. I worked with a graphite stick, biro and white and blue oil pastel.
Overall I was pleased with this drawing. I used the oil pastels to try to highlight the light and reflections in the mirror and I think this worked. I am pleased with my use of shape and proportion, I do feel as though I have managed to capture not only the way Bertie looks but his personality too. I like the way the small circular mirror was drawn from such an angle that it not only distorted the shape of the mirror but of the reflection also. I am also pleased with the compositional style of using the circular mirror on top of the rectangular mirror.
I decided to be more experimental for my next drawing as I felt my work was starting to look a bit the same. I worked on an old piece of cardboard and I used charcoal and chalk. I drew inspiration from Degas’ the mirror room and this time decided not to add any colour. I also decided to keep my black lines simple like Degas in this piece.
This time I drew Rob holding the small circular mirror in his hand, looking into it. I really like the composition of the piece, with the hand holding the face, however I am not pleased with the actual drawing. I don’t think working on such an uneven surface helped my drawing, this is something I have experimented with again and again and I can never get it to quite work. I also think I have drawn robs fingers too wide which makes his hands look unrealistic. I feel like my tonal work looks a bit cartoony, maybe this is because of heavy outlines? I felt like my drawing was looking a bit flat so added some chalk to show some lighter tones. I am not convinced though that this actually helped.
I am however quite pleased with some elements, I like how the circular mirror has distorted and made the beams above Robs Head round. I am also fairly pleased with my efforts on Robs face, whilst not perfect I do feel like I have captured his likeness and his face doesn’t look as cartoony as the rest of the drawing seems to look. Even though the mirror is not a convex mirror like Eschers or David’s the circular shape of the mirror still appears to distort Robs head and background.
I think if I was to do this drawing again, I would work on a flat surface and use Eschers ‘Hand with a reflecting sphere’ as inspiration for how a hand should be drawn.
ARTIST STATEMENT
The Exploration of how the mirror can be used in portraiture.
To conclude part 5 I will produce a final drawing that brings together my research and exploration throughout this project.
I started my project looking at distortion and how distorting a portrait can explore identity. This led me to look at the role reflection can have in both distorting a portrait and exploring the sitters identity by allowing the viewer to see different versions of the sitter and their surroundings.
Throughout my exploration of reflection I have researched and experimented with different ways in which a mirror can show reflection in a portrait and I have looked at the various artistic effects of reflection in different compositions.
After culminating my research, exploration, experimentation of different techniques, preliminary studies and compositional ideas together, I had a good idea of where I wanted to go for my final piece.
My aim for my drawing was to create a portrait that uses a mixture of mirrors to show reflection in a way that allows the viewer to see more of the sitter.
In my final drawing I wanted to focus on scale. Large drawings have always been a challenge for me, I am far more comfortable drawing on a small scale. Therefore I decided I wanted to challenge myself by completing a large scale drawing.
Not only was it important that my drawing was large in scale but it was vital that my drawing included all of the different elements that make a drawing successful. For example I wanted my drawing to show depth by using tone effectively and I wanted to show perspective through the use of foreshortening. I wanted my drawing to have an exciting composition that balances both drawn elements and negative space. And most importantly I wanted my drawing to be accurate. I wanted my proportions to be correct and for my portrait to look like the person I was drawing.
I have been inspired by many artists throughout this project and intend to show this influence within my own work. Throughout most of my reflection drawings and experimentations I have drawn inspiration from the drawings of both Saville and Degas. In particular their expressive use of line and their small elements of colour that build upon tone and depth. This was a technique I was keen to develop further into my final drawing. I also wanted to draw inspiration from the drawings of Da Vinci. The precision and tonal qualities to his portraits are in my opinion, exquisite.
For practical reasons I decided to draw myself for my final drawing rather than one of my family members.
In order to start planning my composition I started by taking photographs. I decided to work outside because the light was better.
For my final composition, I decided to draw myself looking down towards a large rectangular mirror that was placed on the grass with two small circular mirrors on top. Whilst looking down, gravity brought the skin of my face downwards. This is in my opinion an unflattering angle, but I like how it distorts my face and it forces me to question my vanity which in turn makes me question my identity.
I also like how the small circular mirrors reflect different parts of my reflection, which again distorts my overall reflection.
I completed a quick a4 drawing to map out the layout to check that the composition worked. I drew quickly and used a mixture of biro, oils pastels and charcoal.
I was pleased with my composition and felt like my materials worked well together. However I did feel like there were some elements of accuracy that needed addressing in particular the facial features namely the nose and eyes.
Now I had my composition planned, my next step was to experiment with different materials and drawing techniques in order to understand the best approach for my final drawing.
I started with the face. I worked with charcoal and I tried to block out the basic shapes first. Once I was happy with my basic shapes and tones, I added some watercolour pastels. Whilst my use of shape and form on my face was not perfect, including my eyes looking in different directions, I felt like the charcoal and pastels complimented each other well.
I then experimented with drawing my hand. Due to foreshortening my hand takes up a large proportion of my drawing. Hands are something I have struggled with drawing throughout this course so it was essential I practiced first.
I experimented with laying down a patterned background, as this has been effective in some of my past experiments. I then worked on top of my drawing with charcoal and watercolour pastels. Ultimately I am not pleased with these drawings. My tonal work is clumsy which in turn makes my drawing look flat. For my final drawing I need to be more sensitive in my approach to using tone in order to create form effectively. I also won’t be using textured paper as a background for my final piece of work as this didn’t work in this experiment.
As my hand experiments were unsuccessful I decided to practice drawing my hand that was reflected in my small circular mirror. This was an added challenge as my hand was slightly distorted by the mirror. I again used charcoal and pastels.
When reflecting upon this drawing my tonal work was far too heavy, this in turn didn’t show form successfully. For my final piece it is important that I use more white areas and slowly build up elements of tone in order to show light and form effectively.
I also drew my circular mirror wonky, this really effects the overall drawing so I need to make sure I draw this accurately in my final piece.
One of the other things I did not draw well in this drawing was my cardigan sleeve and it’s knitted woollen texture. So naturally my next step was to experiment with this pattern,
I worked with a biro, then added watercolour on top. Whilst I did manage to draw the pattern what I didn’t do was show its shape or form by using tone.
It was then time to start my final drawing. Through experimentation I had a better idea of my challenges ahead and techniques I didn’t want to use.
I wanted to challenge myself by working on a large scale as previously my larger drawings have been less successful than my smaller ones.
I started my drawing using charcoal, and immediately regretted making things so complicated for myself with regard to the composition. I straight away felt like I would have been more successful if I had of just concentrated on one part of myself, for example my face.
I didn’t feel like my drawing was finished after just using charcoal. So I tried to add some depth by adding colour. I used some very watery watercolour and tried to build up more tones.
When looking closely at my photograph I noticed lots of tiny white flecks, I am not sure if this is dust reflected from my phone onto my mirror or what it is? But I felt like it needed to be included in my drawing?
I added a few little specks of white ink and a tiny bit of black ink and I think this worked really well.
I was pleased with this result so I added more. Unfortunately I went too far and feel like I have now ruined my work as I can not take it back!
The other areas I needed to work on were
1) My reflected face, my tonal work made my face look droopy, so I needed to fix it, using a rubber and some more charcoal.
2) I also needed to work on the the light and tone on my nose as the position of the light made my nose look wonky.
3) I found all of the hands difficult, and I am not especially pleased with any of them. I found I spent a lot of time working and reworking them.
4) The eye and lip areas.
Below are some of the very subtle improvements I went through to get to my final result.
Below is my final piece.
I am pleased that I managed to work on such a large scale as this is something I have found challenging throughout the course. I feel I have achieved the things I have set out to do with regard to reflection. I have shown how reflection can be shown in a portrait. I have been inspired by a number of different artists who have looked at both reflection and distortion who each in turn have helped me to reach my final destination. In particularly Saville and Degas whose drawing style greatly influenced the way in which I worked.
I have managed to show depth by using tone effectively and I have managed to show perspective by using foreshortening. My drawing is accurate in the sense that it looks like me. My features show the correct proportions and appear to be in the correct places.
My drawing however is not perfect and I understand I still have a way to go, however over the duration of the course I do feel like my drawing skills have progressed significantly.
Throughout this project I have been interested in looking at distortion and how a reflection has the ability to distort a portrait. However through research and from the development of my own project and body of work, I have come to the realisation that rather than distorting a portrait, a reflection has the ability to show more of the sitter by showing different angles and viewpoints. These different angles and viewpoints have the ability to challenge identity and allow the viewer to view the sitter in ways the sitter may not be familiar with themselves. Hence creating a form of intimacy between the viewer and sitter.
The Exploration of how reflection is portrayed in artwork involving the figure and the face.
For the second part of my project I am going to explore how reflection is portrayed in artwork involving the figure and the face. I am going to research how and why artists have used reflection in their work and what effects reflection can have on a portrait. I will then create my own body of work in response to the artists I will have studied.
I started this part of my project by brainstorming my ideas and questions around reflection,
I then created an image board of different art work that explores reflection. I was initially interested in looking at how a mirror has the ability to distort a portrait as the first part of my project focussed on distortion. However from researching artists who look at reflection I decided that I wanted to look at more than just distortion within reflection. I wanted to look at meaning, identity and the idea that a reflection has the power to tell us more.
I came across Dutch artist MC Escher and his famous 1935 lithograph ‘Hand with a reflecting sphere.’
This lithograph shows an extremely realistic, accurate and detailed drawn hand holding a reflective sphere against a dark background. The sphere shows Eschers reflected self in a room with chairs, bookshelves and windows. The drawing inside the sphere does not appear to be as realistic as the drawing of the hand, however I am unsure if that is the case or if it just seems to be the case because the room and all its belongings, including the portrait of Escher reflected in the sphere are spherical?
I find Eschers lithograph captivating. I love how realistic the hand holding the sphere is in comparison to the sphere itself. I am fascinated with the distorted reflection of the room in the sphere and how unrealistic it looks in comparison to the hand and I am intrigued at why the background of the piece is just plain and dark especially as the room seems so full of things?
In relation to MC Eschers ‘Hand with a reflecting sphere’ I discovered a painting called ‘Self portrait in convex mirror’
Like MC Eschers lithograph this painting also explores the distortion that spherical mirrors can create.
This painting shows a convex mirror lying on the floor. Reflected into the mirror is an artist painting in what appears to be his studio. The mirror appears to be placed on the floor at an angle rather than lying flat which is evident from the use of aerial perspective on the pattern of the floor and from the slightly tilted angle of the room that is being reflected.
I find Davids use of foreshortening in the mirror reflected image really clever. The artists legs appear massive in comparison to his tiny head which seems so far away. The windows, the wall and the easel all curve around the shape of the spherical mirror gradually getting smaller and smaller the further away from the mirror they are.
I love David’s use of light in this painting. The major light sources are from the windows and David seems to have really accentuated this light source by using a variation of blue and white tone bouncing of the floor and the walls.
Overall, I am fascinated by the distortion and extreme foreshortening that is caused by reflection in both spherical and convex mirrors.
This fascination led me to look at some historical paintings
from the 1400s by the artists Van Eyck and Petrus Chistus that also explore distorted reflections in convex mirrors.
Van Eyck was a Dutch painter born in the late 1300’s.
He famously painted ‘The Arnolfini Portrait’ (1434).
This painting depicts a man and wife, presumably Mr and Mrs Arnolfini, in their home. They are holding hands and in front of them is a small dog. Behind them is what appears to be a big red four poster bed. There is a chandelier hanging from the ceiling and a window which appears to be the main light source. Behind them on the wall is a convex mirror and reflected in this mirror are two more people.
I find this painting fascinating. Even though the convex mirror is small in comparison to the rest of the painting, to me it is the most important element of it. It is positioned in the paintings central position so it is the first thing that is looked at. However because it is such a small part of the painting my eye moved on from it very quickly. It was only when I went back and looked at the painting a second time that I realised how important it is. I am fascinated by this convex mirror mostly because it allows me the viewer to feel as though I am in the room, I am given access to a full room not just one viewpoint or angle. The two people in the reflection really open my eyes to all of the possibilities of other artworks too. To me a suggestion is made that we are only shown what the artist wants us to see. Without this convex mirror the viewer would be led to believe that this is a personal moment between just two people in their home. However the convex mirror opens us up to other possibilities, that this may not in fact be a private moment between two people in the intimate setting that it appears to be?
The fact that this mirror is convex is very important as it’s round shape allows the viewer an opportunity to see the entire room- a much busier and more complex scene than a flat regular mirror would allow.
The other artist from the 1400s that I discovered who used convex mirrors in his work was Petrus Chistus. His most famous works was ‘A Goldsmith in his shop’ (1449)
This painting shows a goldsmith dressed in red, sitting down at a table holding his scales in his small shop. Behind him are two eloquently dressed figures, a male and a female. They are surrounded by goods from the shop.
Like in Van Eycks painting there is a convex mirror. This mirror stands up on the edge of the table and faces outwards. Reflected into this mirror are two male figures standing outside on the street with houses in the back ground.
Like Van Eycks work this use of a convex mirror fascinated me. I feel like I am being given the opportunity to walk into this scene. I feel like I am being allowed to see beyond what a viewer is usually permitted to see. Without the mirror I would have assumed the shop was inside a small room. However I am pleasantly surprised to see the shop is actually situated outside. This convex mirror allows the viewer to see so much more detail and gives so much more context to the painting by extending the viewer’s line of sight.
From researching these four artists who use convex mirrors or reflecting spheres I have learnt how so much more information can be relayed to the viewer by using a convex mirror, much more it appears than a flat regular mirror would allow. I originally wanted to look at convex mirrors in order to explore how an image can be distorted, however what I have discovered instead is how an entire story or scene can be shown in just one painting by using a convex mirror.
I then found the photography series, ‘Dr Heisenberg’s Magic mirror of uncertainty’ by the contemporary American photographer Duane Michals.
These photographs are a series of six black and white images of a young woman looking into a large oval distorted mirror. They each show the woman from a slightly different angle, which in turn shows a different distorted reflection in the oval mirror.
Below is a copy of the photographs from the 1998 series,
The title of these works suggests a link to the German physicist Dr Heisenberg and his uncertainty principle. (With only VERY basic knowledge of physics theory’s, this theory (in very simple terms) explains that the position & momentum of a particle cannot be predicted together as the more precisely one is determined the less precisely the other one can be determined.)
I will therefore assume that Michals is trying to demonstrate this theory with the use of his large oval distorted mirror. With his models precise position being determined, but the momentum (or energy) of her reflection not being determined.
For my own project looking into complex physics theory’s is not the route I wanted to go down. Instead I was interested in this work as I wanted to explore the effect a reflection could have on distorting a portrait. This work demonstrates this perfectly. The way the mirror is distorted gives a completely uncertain and different reflection every time.
I find this work exciting! I love the fact that any hint of movement can completely alter the reflection. That these reflections are extremely different, from reflecting back two portraits to reflecting back just one large eye to reflecting nothing but white space. It’s almost like the reflection is the models energy moving and changing erratically while the model stands still, just like Heisenbergs uncertainty theory.
Wanting to explore how regular non distorted mirrors are used in art I came across the French artist, Edgar Degas’ 1870 painting ‘The Dancing class.’ I was drawn to this image firstly because of its use of mirrors and reflection and secondly because I have always loved Degas’ work. I have always found his drawing and painting of the ballet dancers he observed beautiful. So I was excited to delve into some exploration of his work.
This 1870 oil painting depicts a dance class at the Paris Opera. The young ballerinas appear to be warming up and maybe waiting for their dance class to begin? They appear to be dotted around the corners of the room chatting or stretching and are dressed in beautiful ballet costumes comprising of full length white tutus with corsets, clothing that would be more suitable for a stage performance rather than a dance class. There is a grand piano and an older man sat on a stool playing the violin. The two large mirrors at the back of the room make it appear like there are more ballet dancers than there actually are. These mirrors add atmosphere and energy to the room and allow the viewer to feel part of the scene. Like in Van Eycks painting the reflected images allow the viewer to see more than just what’s in front of him, instead the viewer is able to feel part of the bigger scene.
I love Degas’ use of light especially on the ballet dancers tutus. His use of white, blue and grey contrasting tones make these tutus sparkle in the light and gives them a magical illuminating feeling. The tones used in the room are quite dark and dull so this makes these magical tutus sparkle all the more.
Upon further research I noticed that mirrors appear frequently in Degas’ work. I am unsure if this is just coincidence as mirrors are a prominent feature in a ballet studio? Or if he was purposely including these in his works for another reason, maybe to look at reflection? Or to allow the viewer to see more than a traditional two dimensional viewpoint?
I came across his 1935 etching ‘After- The mirror room’ this was a different piece of work to the beautiful ballet portraits I knew Degas for. This etching rather than capturing the beauty and grace of young ballerinas was part of a series of monotypes inspired by Parisian brothels.
This etching shows a naked woman wearing nothing but one shoe and a necklace. She is slumped on a bed with a large mirror behind her. Unlike Degas’ ballerinas This drawing does not portray this woman as beautiful, there is no sense of poise or elegance emanating from this drawing. She has been drawn from an unflattering angle which accentuates a double chin and a soft belly. Degas has only used black tones which to me adds to the somber mood of the piece. The reflection in the mirror shows the back of the woman’s hair and her back. The reflection in the mirror is slightly more blurred than the rest of the drawing, emphasising that this is a reflection. This etching is mostly comprised of line, there is not much tone used, however Degas has shown some areas of shadow, particularly on the side of the woman’s body, on her back in her reflection and under her chin.
I naturally assumed that Degas’ brothel etchings were from a completely different time and were a completely different subject matter to his work on ballet dancers. However as I was reading about Degas’ work I discovered that rather than the two subjects being completely unrelated they were actually very closely linked.
I discovered that during this time in Paris, young ballet dancers tended to be from impoverished backgrounds and often supplemented their wages by performing sex acts on rich men during the ballet performances interludes. Also the reality for most of these ballet dancers after retirement was nothing more than a future in sex work.
The role of reflection is important in both ‘The Dancing Class’ and ‘After- The Mirror Room’ this is evident in the way the mirror has featured prominently in both works. In ‘The Dancing Class’ the use of mirrors have made the room look busier, due to the reflections of the dancers. Also observing the ballet dancers from another viewpoint allows the viewer to see the dancers from every angle, thus allowing a more intimate access to these beautiful movements made by the dancers. These reflections allow the viewer to be in the same room as the dancers.
As for ‘After- The Mirror room’ the mirror gives a different feel or mood to the piece, it seems to emphasise the loneliness and quietness of the room by showing that the lone woman is indeed the only person in the room. Like in ‘The Dancing Class’ the viewer is allowed to feel a more intimate connection to the sitter, only this time because the sitter is alone the connection is stronger.
For the final stage of my project I am going to explore how reflection can be portrayed in my own artwork involving the figure and the face. I am going to create my own body of work in response to the artists I have studied culminating in a final piece. I am going to discuss the development of my work and the artists who have inspired me in the form of an artists statement
Part 5 is my opportunity to consolidate and build on what I have learned so far.
After re self-assessing all of my previous work and after responding to my tutors assessments of my work so far I was asked to select one of the previous four assignments as the starting point for my personal project.
This was an easy decision for me and I straight away choose ‘The figure and face’. This was the project I enjoyed the most during the course. I find the human form fascinating and I thoroughly enjoyed focussing on the face.
Before starting my work I thought it would be useful to brainstorm my initial ideas. I had lots of ideas and questions in my head and I felt like I needed to get it all down on paper so I could organise my thoughts.
Even though my brainstorm may not make sense to other people it definitely helped me to start to organise my thoughts. This brainstorm was a way for me to put down ideas about a subject or theme but equally it allowed me to ask myself technical questions about style and form and materials, media and lighting as well as thinking about how I might like to work.
When thinking about ideas for a subject or theme, based around the figure and the face, I realised I was again quite restricted as to where I could take this project due to the pandemic and not being able to see anyone outside of my home. I was quite interested in documenting the ageing process but decided this would not work without having access to anyone else. The other idea I was interested in was experimenting with foreshortening and how foreshortening can distort the figure.
I decided to complete another brainstorm this time focussing on foreshortening as my starting point.
Very quickly my starting point of foreshortening moved on to looking more at distortion and various ways in which the figure or the face can be distorted.
My next natural step was to research artists who distorted the figure or face in different ways. I decided to create an image board of work to help further inspire me.
I found some really exciting artists that inspired me and I found putting images together and physically in front of me really gave me a sense of where I could go with this project.
From my image board I decided to explore how portraits have been distorted in art and the reasons behind this? I decided to investigate artists who distort the portrait by physically altering their sitter before creating the art and artists who distort the portrait whilst creating their art. I wanted to ask the question how this effects the sitters identity and whether distortion allows us to see more of the sitter or less of the sitter?
I decided to start with my initial idea of looking at foreshortening. I wanted to explore how distorting the figure by making body parts larger or smaller depending on distance from the viewer can effect the overall impact of the portrait.
I started by looking at the work of Jenny Saville. This was an artist I had researched and explored in part four. I loved her large expressive oil paintings of fleshy female nudes who challenge society’s stereotype of beauty by using the technique of foreshortening to emphasise scale and mass of particular body parts in a sexualised way.
Below is an example on one of savilles works, ‘Studied for branded 1992’.
I then came across some of Savilles drawings, even though I love Saville’s expressive brushstrokes and fleshy colours, I was excited to discover her drawings.
Below are two examples, ‘Muse on Stool.’ and ‘Reflective Flesh Study.’
These beautiful drawings have been completed in charcoal and oil pastels. Like Saville’s paintings they use foreshortening to explore notions of identity, beauty and sexuality. To me they are even more exciting than her paintings. I love her use of expressive individual lines and marks in both drawings. Neither drawing shows the face, which forces the viewer to really focus on the importance of the body. This also takes away the sitters identities, and presents the sitters more as objects rather than people. These missing faces emphasise Saville’s unfinished look to her work, which just adds to the intensity of the drawings.
‘Reflective flesh study’ appears to have lots of layers, almost like lots of different poses have been drawn on top of each other. This in turn gives the drawing form and makes me feel like I am viewing the whole person. I love how when you look at a small section of this drawing the marks don’t make sense, they just look like smudges and lines, however observing the drawing as a whole, the lines, marks and smudges come together to form an exciting and dynamic portrait.
‘Muse on a stool’ looks more at tone than line. However there is still a strong sense of expressive line in this drawing that really gives the drawing energy. This drawing looks like it is made up of a mixture of
pastel and charcoal. Her skin tones are made up of soft realistic pastel tones that show both light and form, whereas her edges are made up of lots of expressive thin lines that don’t appear to be going anywhere. I love how these lines make exciting shapes that in turn show light. And how they contrast against the softness of the tones of the skin.
I then looked at the work of Duarte Vitoria who I also explored in part four. I was attracted to Duarte’s use of large brush strokes, bright colours and extreme contrast in exaggerated sizes of body parts due to foreshortening.
Below are some examples of Vitorias paintings that show foreshortening,
I also came across some examples of Vitorias drawings. The drawing below appears to have been created from charcoal. This drawing shows high contrast between the dark tones of charcoal and the white of the page. I love how the white of the page has been used as the lightest tone to show light.
Unlike the drawings by Saville that I looked at, where her sitters faces have not been included, this piece by Vitoria, through the use of foreshortening really focusses on the sitters face.
The large face, particularly the eyes facing upwards towards the viewer compared with the comparably much smaller legs shows vulnerability. The sitter appears to be covering herself and her facial expression appears to be pleading with the viewer.
The extreme use of foreshortening in both Vitorias and Savilles portraits look at identity in different ways. In the two drawings I looked at of Saville’s, the faces of her sitters were not included thus stripping these women of their identities and forcing the viewer to really question what identity is? Vitoria however really explores her facial expressions and in the three images I looked at and her faces play an important role in each of them.
Both artists through their use of foreshortening to question society’s perception of identity, beauty and sexuality.
I decided to look further at how extreme foreshortening has been used in portraiture and to further explore the impact this use of foreshortening can have on identity.
I came across Salvador Dali’s
‘The Ascension of Christ.’ This too was a painting that used dramatically exaggerated foreshortening within his figure of Christ.
This surrealist works painted in 1958, depicts the body of Christ rising up to heaven. His hands are risen on either side of his body creating an almost triangle shape with his body.
His face and his facial features are not visible. (This I discovered, was a common feature when looking at more of Dali’s works on Christ.)
Dalí has managed to manipulate the space, depth and distance in his portrayal of this appearingly three dimensional figure of Christ by using foreshortening. His use of the technique of foreshortening is so dramatic it makes me feel as if I am looking at an optical illusion.
His feet, legs and torso are central to the piece, however due to foreshortening, his feet are double the size of his receding legs, body and head put together. As well as using foreshortening to show distance Dalí also uses Aerial perspective. Christ’s feet have been painted darker and as the body gradually recedes outwards the tones get lighter & lighter. This adds even more depth and impact to Christ’s body.
Even though Dali’s subject matter is surreal in this painting the way he has approached his painting style for his figure of Christ, is realistic. He has used realistic skin tones for Christ’s body and small realistic brushstrokes. Even though Dalí appears to have exaggerated his technique of foreshortening his painting of Christ appears to have been painted in a realistic format.
This painting style is in quite dramatic contrast to that of both Saville and Vitorias bold expressive and colourful portraits that also explore the technique of foreshortening.
As a historical contrast but keeping within the theme of Christianity I looked at Andrea Mantegna’s 1480s ‘Dead Christ.’
This is a realistic painting of Christ lying on a marble slab, presumably having been removed from the cross. Next to Christ are two figures who appear to be mourning him. Enhancing the effect of the realism is the paintings use of perspective, due to the effect of foreshortening Christ’s head and chest appear large and his legs very short and his feet very small.
The viewer is observing from slightly above Christ at the foot of his bed. This makes the painting feel very intimate and personal and makes me feel like I am also in the room mourning him.
The use of foreshortening in both of these paintings not only creates dramatic effect but allows the viewer to feel part of the scene. The positioning of both of these portrayals of Christ along with the artists technique of foreshortening allows the viewer to see Christ from a more intimate angle thus creating a stronger connection between painting and viewer and thus strengthening the identity of the sitter who happens to be Christ.
After researching Saville, Vitoria, Dalí and Mantegna’s differing approaches to using foreshortening and the effects it has on perspective and dramatic impact I decided to experiment with doing my own drawings. I wanted my drawings to explore identity and I wanted my drawings to allow the viewer to see my sitter in a more intimate way than a portrait that doesn’t use foreshortening would.
I started by taking some quick photographs on my phone of my seven year old son Leo. I tried to set up some exciting poses that use the technique of foreshortening but also express my sons personality.
Below are my results.
I then completed some very quick drawings of my son posing in these positions. I used a black pen and only spent a couple of minutes on each of these drawings. My son is unable to pose for too long so I had to be quick.
My next step was to complete some slightly longer drawings and to experiment with more materials. My next drawing probably only took about 5 minutes but it meant I was able to experiment with more materials, I used a mixture of pen, pencil and pastel in this drawing. I really focussed on making the feet the main focus of the drawing and really enlarging them. I positioned Leo on a table and I looked up at him from the floor. I was pleased with the expressive quick nature of this drawing. I think through my marks I also managed to show Leos sense of movement and how a split second later he was waving his legs around. I feel like this drawing shows Leos fun carefree personality, even when seated he is still moving and kicking his legs happily. I think my use of foreshortening with focus on his feet really expressed this.
For my next drawing I wanted to experiment with media again. This time I lay a background down of scrap paper from a magazine and I worked with a selection of crayons and some coloured ink. This was again a fairly quick drawing. In order to exaggerate the technique of foreshortening I put Leo in my very large dr Martin boot. I am pleased with this drawing however there are some areas where the ink has spread out and distorted some small details in my drawing.
For my next drawing, I drew on cardboard and I used a mixture of charcoal and chalk pastels. I positioned Leo with his fist pointing forwards and I exaggerated the size of his hand. Working on the cardboard I think was effective, the colour alone seemed to add depth to the drawing. Again this was a quick drawing so maybe a longer study using the same materials could be more impressive?
For my next drawing I asked Leo to put his hands together, I bent down slightly lower than he was sitting and looked up at him slightly. This gave the foreshortening effect of very large hands in comparison to his face and arms.
I used pen and ink for this drawing and I tried to use just short sharp lines. I wanted to be expressive and I wanted to be experimental and try something new. Ultimately I found this difficult and I am not especially happy with my results. I feel as though I have achieved my main aim which was to create a drawing showing an exaggerated sense of foreshortening, however I am not happy with how I executed my idea of only using straight line. I feel like by focussing on trying to be expressive or experimental I lost my focus on trying to be accurate. I think Leos shoulders are too narrow and his eyes are too big. I also think my drawing ended up looking a bit flat? Next time I think I should vary the thickness of the lines in order to add more depth? Or spend more time trying to build the lines up in order to create tone so I can show form?
As I was unhappy with my drawing I experimented with adding more ink, however this didn’t improve the drawing it just made it look a mess.
I decided to move on from foreshortening and decided to look at other ways the figure or the face could be distorted. I came across Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘Studies of the heads of two warriors’ 1505.
I was initially attracted to this drawing as I loved the extreme expressions on the warriors faces. Being the mother of three little boys, ‘pulling faces’ is a common occurrence in our household. Sometimes these distorted faces show anguish or heightened emotions, sometimes they are pulled to annoy each other and sometimes they are pulled in moments of fun or silliness.
After some more research I found out that this particular drawing is one of very few remaining preparatory studies left from a missing Da Vinci painting called ‘The Battle of Anghiari.’ The title of the drawing and the missing painting tell me that Da Vinci probably wasn’t experimenting with expression or pulling silly faces but was instead showing anguish over war and battle.
I love the unfinished nature of these drawings, the quick marks that show a hint of the outline of the head and the shoulders and the much more detailed tonal qualities around the features. It feels like these warriors are coming alive as they are being drawn.
I later came across some other drawings of Da Vinci’s that do appear to be pulling silly faces.
Below are some examples of his works that I found,
These drawings show Da Vinci’s exploration of the mechanics of the face. All of these drawings appear to show unusual features and exaggerated facial expressions.
In part four I studied Da Vinci and I noted his idealism’s of beauty including his 1490 Vitruvian Man. The Vitruvian Man shows ideal and perfect sizes and proportions of the male body.
This drawing appears to be in direct contrast with the exaggerated features and expressions on the faces above.
I found out that Da Vinci was actually fascinated with strange and unusual features. So much so that he was known for following unusual looking people and then drawing them later.
Perhaps he did this to explore the mechanics of expression or of different faces or facial features? Or maybe he just created them to make people laugh?
I decided to experiment with distortion of facial features by asking my children to pull funny faces and try to distort their own faces. Below are some photographs of my results.
I then experimented with some drawings. For my first drawing I drew Leo distorting his mouth by using his fingers to pull his mouth apart. I worked with pencil and I used a selection of different softnesses within my pencils in order to try to emphasise tone and form. Overall I am pleased with my drawing. I am pleased with my accuracy and detail in this drawing and I feel like I have used my pencils effectively. I do feel however that areas of Leos eyes look a little over worked and also I could do with developing and building up some more tonal work and detail in his hands.
For my next drawing I drew Leo with his tongue out. I worked with crayon and ink and I drew quickly. Whilst I enjoyed being expressive with this drawing, using big strokes and working in a carefree manner, I am not overly pleased with my results. I think my use of colour is probably too obvious which makes my drawing look flat and like a cartoon character. However I did manage to capture Leos silly face and an essence of his energy and his silliness in my drawing.
I wanted to continue to be experimental for my next drawing. I laid down some scrap book paper as a background and I worked with charcoal and watercolour paint. I was pleased with the effects of my drawing, in particular the very watery watercolours. Even though my drawing doesn’t show much detail or tone I still feel as though I have managed to capture Leos fun personality effectively.
I found that my drawings of my children’s faces being distorted by them pulling silly expressions add a layer of intimacy to the portraits. The viewer gets to see a side (a silly side, a fun side, an important side) they wouldn’t normally see in a non distorted portrait.
I decided to look at contemporary artist Rut Mackel next. Rut Mackel is a photographer who has created works that show people’s distorted faces squashed against glass. Below are some examples of his photographic project ‘The ugly Truth’
These photographs of artificially flattened and disfigured faces explore and raise questions about identity and visual perception.
People tend to draw their identity from their faces. I myself identify myself and my loved ones firstly by our faces.
Knowing that these distortions are temporary I see them as nothing more than a temporary distortion, however I wonder if I would feel differently if these distortions were permanent? Would I feel distressed? Would I not be able to identify with these faces? On a second look at these images, I am faced with questions about identity and beauty and visual perception?
I decided to create some of my own work in response to Rut Mackel.
I found a beautiful face (my five year old son Teddy) and I distorted it by squashing it up against a window, I then photographed him in this position and then drew from my photographs. (He would not be able to stay still long enough for me to draw him from life.)
Below are my photographs:
I firstly worked with charcoal. I am pleased with my proportions in this drawing and I certainly feel as though I’ve transformed my beautiful five year old into something ugly. This drawing was fairly quick so in retrospect I could have spent more time building up tones and perhaps adding a hint to colour to try to show depth.
For my next drawing I used charcoal again only this time I added in some colour with chalk pastels. I feel in this drawing that some of my proportions are out slightly, notably Teddy’s nose, and in some areas my tonal work looks a bit flat. I am also not sure if it is immediately obvious that his face has been flattened with glass?
For my next drawing I used a palette knife and oil paint. I wanted to be more experimental with colour in this drawing and play around a little with texture. Whilst I am really pleased with my texture, my mark making and my expressive use of colour I again think that I have failed to show that Teddys features have been flattened and distorted by glass effectively. I also think my work is lacking in some smaller fine detail.
I then came across Wes Namens photographic work called ‘Invisible tape series’ these works show his subjects faces wrapped in tape.
These Photographs show a mixture of men and women within a similar age bracket (30s-40s). Their heads shoulders and upper torsos are shown and they all seem to be dressed up in unique and exciting ways involving bright colours or fabrics that contrast with each other.
Like Rut Mackel, Wes Naman appears to be exploring the temporary distortion of the human face, only Naman uses tape tightly wrapped around his subjects faces rather than panes of glass squashed against their faces.
I find it interesting that Wes Namen clearly dressed his subjects up in extravagant clothing making the effort to make all of his subjects look different to each other, to only go and then take away their identity’s by covering their faces in tape and distorting their features.
To me this just reinforces how valuable the face is in self identity.
To me these portraits, just like Rut Mackel’s works, really investigate how alterations to the face can change and challenge perceptions of identity.
These portraits really do make me question how I feel about the importance of the face. I don’t consider myself to be shallow or judgemental however these portraits definitely evoke feelings of discomfort in me. Even though I know these distortions are temporary I am forced to consider how my reactions might be if these were permanent distortions.
I am surprised how little it takes to distort a persons face so drastically that their identity is challenged. For feelings of discomfort to be evoked by the use of a small amount of tape really makes me question the fine line between what we as a society consider beautiful and what we as a society consider abnormal? And more importantly why we as a society put so much importance on outward appearances?
In response to these works I photographed my husband Robs face wrapped in tape. My intention was to draw from these images but on reflection I should have put more effort into the quality of my photographs. I should have considered both lighting composition and angle, even if I was just using them as a reference to draw from rather than a piece of art in itself.
Below are my photographs,
For my first drawing I used pencil and I worked on a3 paper.
I was pleased with my use of shape on this drawing and my proportions were accurate in as much as my drawing looked like rob with tape on his face. However I feel my drawing doesn’t have much depth? It seems quite cartoony. This could be improved with further build up of tone. Not drawing robs neck didn’t help my drawing as it looked like a floating head! I also wonder if my photographs were of a better quality could this have helped my drawing too?
I then experimented with drawing rob on some scrunched up brown paper. I used charcoal and coloured chalks and worked fairly quickly. I wasn’t especially pleased with this drawing. The scrunched up paper was difficult to draw on. I found capturing any sort of tone or detail difficult on such a bumpy surface and ultimately I don’t think it added anything to my drawing.
I then experimented with tape on my seven year old son Leo. I firstly tried his face but I was very aware of not wanting to hurt him when peeling it off. So these photographs didn’t work at all. I then experimented with tape on other areas of his body including his stomach and his hands. I wasn’t especially pleased with any of these images.
I decided to draw Leos hand. Below is my drawing.
For this drawing I worked with pencil. I tried to depict the tape by leaving white areas on my page, I feel this worked well. I also tried to experiment with different pencil grades in order to show different variants of tone. I did try to show shadow however I didn’t do this very effectively. The shadow of my hand on the table looks wrong. Maybe I should have shown the texture of the wooden work surface under my shadow? Or maybe toned down the darkness and heavy outline? Shadow is definitely something I need to work on in the future.
I then experimented with an elastic band around Leos hand. I liked the way it pulled in the skin and altered the appearance of his hand. Below are my photographs.
My drawing in response to these photographs is made up charcoal, white chalk and brown chalk on top of a piece of brown paper. I am really pleased with this drawing. Often when I lay down coloured paper as a background it doesn’t work. However I feel like in this drawing it does work! It adds a new tone and colour to my tonal work which in turn adds more depth. I am pleased with my proportions and use of shape and my use of tone does start to show the form of the hand. On reflection I do need to continue with the wrist as this looks incomplete or unfinished.
Ultimately I feel like I did manage to distort both Robs face and Leos hand in my drawings. Both Wes Namen and Rut Mackel have opened my eyes to how easy it can be or what little needs be done to distort a face in order to provoke feelings of discomfort and to raise the question of why we as a society put so much value upon outward appearances?
I then discovered the work of contemporary Spanish artist Eloy Morales, a photorealistic and hyperrealistic painter who paints very realist portraits and self- portraits. Below are some examples of his work from his series ‘Paint in my Head.’ Painted between 2009- 2013 these paintings are self portraits of his own face smeared in thick paint.
When I first came across these images I naturally assumed they were a photography project exploring self identity and distortion much like Rut Mackels photography work with glass and Wes Namens photography work with tape. However when I researched a little further I discovered these amazing images were actually large scale oil paintings.
I find these paintings awe inspiring. The use of detail and tone is just incredible. These paintings are so detailed and so thorough the only way I know they are not photographs is because I have been told they are paintings. When this pandemic is over I would love to see these works exhibited, I would love to see the texture of the paint in real life so I can see for myself that they are indeed paintings.
Morales tonal work is exquisite, I can only imagine each tiny section of the face must be studied intently and each tiny section of the face must take hours upon hours to complete. Every facial pore and hair is captured and every speck of light is shown. The smeared wet paint on the faces capture even more light than dry skin would which in turn adds to the realism of these pieces.
I find the eyes in these portraits fascinating and I am immediately drawn to them. They are incredibly intense. The eyes alone appear to be made up of hundreds of different tones of colour. Zooming in on my screen I am able to see these pigments so I can only imagine how incredible these look in real life.
I wonder if the paint smeared all over the faces adds to this intensity of the eyes as they are the only part of the faces that have been left without paint? Maybe by distorting the rest of the features by covering them with paint, the feature that has not been distorted appears more dominant or intense?
In response to these incredible paintings I smeared my husband Robs face in acrylic paint, below are my photographs.
I then drew from my photographs, for my first drawing I used pencil.
My main focus was making sure I drew the features and shape of his face accurately with correct proportions so it actually looked like him. On reflection I am pleased that my drawing does actually look like Rob, however I do think I could work on the tone further in order to create more form and depth to his face as I feel this drawing looks a bit sketchy.
Below I experimented with different media’s on a section of Robs painted face.
I used a mixture of pencil, charcoal, biro, oil pastels, chalk pastels and acrylic paint. I am not especially pleased with these experiments, they all seem a bit flat and could do with being worked into further. I do however always find experimentation very beneficial even if it’s to just tell me how not to do something.
For my next drawing I used charcoal and I worked quickly, this time I focussed on the mouth area.
I then decided to do a painting of the entire face. I used acrylic paint and I worked into this using a fine liner to show detail.
Whilst I do quite like my drawing/painting. This is not quite what I was aiming for. The fineliner pen makes my painting look like a cartoon which is not the style I was aiming for. Also my application of paint does not show enough variations of tone or light which makes it appear quite flat. The paint on the face I think especially looks flat. When comparing the paint on Robs face in my drawing to the paint on Eloy Morales faces, the main thing I notice is Morales use of light whereas on my drawing I have not showed light at all. Also Morales has clearly spent time building up tonal areas on the paint that emphasises how thick it is whereas my painted areas show little to no tone at all.
I decided to try to paint Rob again. This time I tried to show more variants of tone. Below is my painting.
Overall I am pleased with areas of this painting, by using more tone and variants of colour I have managed to show shape and form quite effectively. However there are certainly areas for improvement, including the eyes that look unrealistic and flat. This is because there is no variant of tone or light in the eyes. Maybe because the rest of the face has been distorted by paint this intensifies the importance of the eyes, and as I have not done a very good job with the eyes then this is even more obvious?
Looking at the work of Eloy Morales has certainly inspired me. I love the way he distorts his features with thick wet paint and I am completely amazed that he is able to make his paintings look so much like photographs.
I then came across the work of Mathieu Laca. A portrait artist who distorts his portraits faces on the canvas using the paint he is painting with.
Below are two examples of Lacas works, Ernest Hemmingway & Franz Kafka
Laca is a contemporary Canadian artist who is known for painting historical figures and artists. He applies thick textured oil paint with an impasto technique and distorts or blurs part of his faces with the paint. To me this distortion of the face makes me think of more than just a portrait of the external person it makes me think about what may be going on in the subjects mind. To me Lacas’ portraits show personality and flair and appear to delve into what’s on the inside of the sitter. The smeared paint distorting the features of his portraits allows the viewer to delve inside the sitters mind. I love Lacas use of colour. The backgrounds and clothing of his sitters are often dark and dull tones, then from his sitters head and faces come these great swathes of colour like an explosion of personality coming to life.
Unlike Eloy Morales who paints photo realistic paintings that depict the models exact external faces, Lacas’ work is more expressive in that he tries to show more than just the outer layer of his sitters.
Perhaps because Laca studies historical figures whom he probably never had the opportunity to meet but probably did have the opportunity to know their works or thoughts or beliefs. Perhaps this is why his portraits express more than just their external shells?
In response to Lacas works, I painted a section of a face. I tried to capture Lacas impasto style by using thick oil paint and a palette knife. I thoroughly enjoyed experimenting with this style and a wide variety of colours.
I then came across Adam Caldwell who, like Mathieu Laca distorts sections of his portraits faces with paint.
Adam Caldwell is a contemporary American artist whose works combine realist portraits with elements of distortion and abstraction.
Caldwell’s portraits like Lacas appear to question identity and blur the lines between the mind and the body. They evoke feelings of conflict in me. I seen anguish and tension when I look at these portraits and I find myself questioning these subjects identity. Who are they? What are they feeling? I am forced to look beyond their external selves and I find myself wondering about their minds.
Both Laca & Caldwell’s portraits inspire me to think more about who I am trying to represent and why rather than just being concerned with the physical attributes of a persons external appearance.
In response to both Mathieu Lacas works and the works of Adam Caldwell I drew my parents, unlike Lacas works they are not historical figures however I do identify my parents with what’s on their insides rather than their external appearances so I thought drawing them would make a nice change to drawing my sons and husband. I obviously had to work from photographs as I am not allowed to physically see anyone outside of my household, however Laca too must have worked from photographs as many of the historical figures he painted were dead by the time he painted them.
I decided for these pieces of work I would experiment with Caldwell’s realistic painting style and try to distort my faces in a similar fashion to Lacas style.
Below are my paintings of my Mum and Dad.
I experimented with colour on both of these paintings. I tried to be expressive and use colours I wouldn’t usually use on a portrait. I also tried to focus on shape and form so my work actually looked like my parents. But mostly I wanted to blur the lines between the mind and the body. I wanted my work to question identity and to look beyond my parents physical selves.
On reflection I am pleased with my paintings. I feel like I painted my parents accurately yet distorted both of my parents faces just enough to question the importance of their physical appearances. However if I was to create these paintings again I feel like they would be more exciting and more dynamic if I experimented with Lacas impasto painting style.
So far I have explored different ways in which artists have distorted portraits. I have explored reasons for this distortion and I have looked at how this distortion has effected identity. I have also looked at whether this distortion has enabled the viewer to actually see more of the sitter by distorting certain features or body parts?
One of the areas of distortion that I haven’t yet explored but I did include in my original image board and brainstorm is reflection. I have therefore decided for the next part of my project I will look at reflection.
I will start by looking at how reflection can distort a portrait but I will move on to explore how reflection is used in portraiture, the reasons why reflection is used in portraiture and the effect reflection can have on a portrait. I would also like to question if like distortion, reflection can allow the viewer to see more.
Caitriona 