More self-portrait -_-

This is yet another post about the self portrait. I've become pretty tired of looking at myself for these. I didn't really put up a totally finished version of it, but here it is. I am less than happy with it, I was expecting it turn out much differently. Enjoy!

Metals \m/

I always love looking at what other people have created during the metals portion of the year. It is not my favorite thing to do, but I am having a much better time than I was last year. I was able to decide on a design that I really like. It will most likely be a pin and it is a bit compass inspired. Though I don't have pictures of it just yet, I am hoping to put some up soon once I accomplish a little bit more!

Identify

As much as I love mixed media, this collage has given me quite a bit of trouble. I couldn't find the right images or media to portray what would be considered my "identity." After a few pieces and processes that left me unhappy, I finally started and finished one that I like and feel fits me pretty darn well.

Edgar Degas

 Edgar Degas was born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar de Gas on July 19, 1834, in Paris, France. Degas came from a very musical family; his mother was an amateur opera singer and his father often scheduled for musical artists to perform in their home. Edgar Degas showed remarkable skills in drawing and painting at an early age, and was profusely encouraged by his art-enthusiast parents. After studying at the Louvre, learning and growing as an artist in Italy, Degas returned to Paris in 1859 intent on making a name for himself. He submitted his work, a series of large portraits of himself and his family, to the high-achieving Salon. Though they approached his work with a level of uncertainty, Degas had become a known part of an avant-garde group of artists by 1886. Many were quick to call him a impressionist, Degas however, met that title with distaste and preferred to refer to himself as a realist. His identity as an artist was something he struggled with most of his career but it never deterred him from creating or growing.
  What I like about Degas is his ability to show every side of a person. Many called his work misogynistic and overtly personal. However, while he did show an intimate side of the human figure, he also managed to capture every awkward or natural movement it as well. While his work was delicate and beautiful, he also depicted the things that people are most self-conscience of.What I find most interesting about Degas is that he considered himself the least spontaneous artist. He believed that if painting weren't difficult it wouldn't be so fun. Many artists are intent on going into length about how art has always been second nature for them. Degas was not uncomfortable with admitting that for him it wasn't always like that.

What was unique about Degas was his ability to capture a myriad of emotions within one beautiful and captivating painting.

Inked

I finally finished the painting portion which meant moving onto the next part; inking. Last week I covered the whole painting in black ink in the morning and by the afternoon I was able to rinse it off. Once it was dry I began working back into it with the colored pencil. It's been a little disheartening because I had been so enthusiastic about the painting itself, and I'm having a little bit of trouble with the colored pencil. It isn't exactly turning out the way I envisioned it, but I'm being persistent and sticking with it. I'm starting to wish that I hadn't jumped head first into it, but I'm working with what I have. I know that if I keep working diligently on it I will be able to work around any troubles I had before. I have before and after pictures of the inking process and hopefully I'll put up a couple of the painting with colored pencil sometime this week.

Self Portrait: Round Two

Last year I did a self portrait that was very detail oriented. I spent a lot of time working on it until I was confident that everything looked as much like myself as I could manage. The tempera batik self portrait has been a whole different experience. It's really stylized with the outlining and the monochromatic theme, which is so unlike the one I did before. It has been interesting to see how I approach a project that has the same general theme but much different factors. I've been trying to take pictures in stages, starting from the initial outline to hopefully the finished project.

Apples!

The colored drawing of the apple was a really great project to kind of start the year off with. Even though it wasn't the first thing we did, it really helped me get back into the groove of things art-wise. I enjoyed it a lot and it definitely made interested in using Prismacolor more often.