Self Portrait 2: process

My idea for the second self portrait started with the "If I were..." brainstorming game: if I were Superman. I'll admit, I have a thing for superheroes- I've seen almost every superhero movie, I know the stories and characters- I've even read a few comics. I'm not sure what it is, but I love the whole concept of a superhero. So I thought coming at this project from Superman's point of view would be interesting and fun, but not much else.

From my notes:

"If I were Superman:

I have this hidden side only my closest, most trusted friends know, and it’s dangerous for them to know. I also have a very public image, one that comes with responsibility and a reputation I have to uphold. To be honest, I don’t have time for this self-reflection, self-portrait stuff- there are too many people out there who need my help. I live here, I fit in, but I’m an alien, I don’t belong. I believe I have a purpose, that I can and do make a difference in the world. This art stuff is tricky- I want to be honest in my work, but if I’m not careful someone might figure it out- I can’t afford to have my true identity revealed. It’s about privacy, safety- not just for me but for my family and friends. And yet, no one truly knows me: it’s so much effort, keeping up this façade."

This got me thinking about the whole secret identity/dual identity idea: how all of us have a side of ourselves that we only reveal to our closest, most trusted friends. Why do we have these alter-egos? Wouldn't it just be easier if we were open and honest with one another? What if we all had little scrolling billboards on our foreheads telling what we're really going through- wouldn't we be able to understand and relate to one another easier if we actually knew where other people were coming from?

I was also able to relate dual identities to my life, and the different roles or identities I have. Two contrasting roles are that of an art student and that of an athlete. It's interesting, what people assume if you don't dress like an "art student." I might use these roles, playing them off as my Clark Kent/Superman identities.

Based on these reflections, and the feedback from my group, I am thinking I'd like to do a self-portrait similar to one of the above Superman images. I would use photography for my medium, and I would address the ideas of dual/conflicting identities and roles, "secret identities," and/or superheroes and superhumans in general, and why people are fascinated with them (I know I'm not the only one!)

So far I have found research on the effects of keeping secrets (negative for psychological development), on the benefits of extracurricular activities in the aspirations and educational success of students, and on the history of super-human figures throughout history and their particular appeal in America's past and present. Super-human characters appear in some of their earliest forms in the Greek/Roman eras, as gods. Today's supers most often appear on the big screen, but there are even real-life "superheroes" who go around in capes helping the police by giving tips or helping their communities by performing acts of kindness! See the link below:

http://www.worldsuperheroregistry.com/

Once you enter, you can click on "superhero registry" and see the profiles of heroes like Captain Jackson, Entomo, and Zetaman. I can't decide whether to laugh or be impressed!

Midterm: flickr

Midterm Portfolio

Midterm: Reflections on the Semester

So far, this semester has been all about patience.

Coming into the class, I was excited to be drawing again- I had grand intentions for drawing over the summer that just didn't happen, and I was ready to be at it again. Unfortunately, drawing isn't like riding my bike- I can't just hop on after months without riding and find my balance in the first few pedals- and I wasn't able to pick up right where I left off. I was disappointed with my initial skull studies- they were disproportionate, or flat, or something was off. I realized I was striving too hard to have drawing come as easily as it was by the end of last semester, and I needed to slow down, be patient, look, observe, feel, learn. To help, I started drawing with graphite. I worked on achieving correct proportions of the skull's structure, using a combination of cross-contour marks and value to give three-dimensionality (is that a word? oh- dictionary.com says it is. good!), and choosing a single light source to direct my application of value.

Switching to graphite was an interesting compromise- it forced me to slow down and focus, but I also lost some of the depth of my value scale and the variations of line that I so love. Those are easier to get with conte or charcoal, and I think I'm again at the point where I can try transitioning back to those tools.

Overall, I think my proportions and the addition of value has been successful. I still need to watch out, and constantly check, for proportions - especially the outside eye/socket. And I'm still somewhat unsure in adding value, if I'm doing it right. Those are a few things I'd like to improve upon for the rest of the semester. Also, I really want to get back to the loose, gestural style and line quality I had last spring. Maybe I can find a way to incorporate it into the linear mark making and value I've been working on? We'll see. As for other things I would like to learn? I would like to have an opportunity to apply value to other areas of the body, and on models. Spending this extra time on the skull and face have been enormously beneficial though, and I would be satisfied using the rest of the semester to hone this area as well.

Elena Kalis Photography

http://elenakalisphoto.com/#goto=portfolio

Beautiful underwater photography: I'm amazed!

Sketches

One possible look for the main character of the book I'm illustrating for the Children's Literature final project.

Feet. They're beautiful.

This I did a while ago- it's based on an image I found by a comic book artist.

I'm not sure where this one came from... might be that I'm missing having a pet around.

Flickr Fun

Unfortunately I don't have links to these images, but I found them all on flickr. Every time I get on the site, I find new inspiration, and I end up saving at least a dozen images to my "found on Flickr" folder. So here you go: enjoy!

Details

Skull Study, detail, 10/09

Self-Portrait, detail, 10/09

Kierra, detail, 10/09

Detail shots from the drawings posted below.

Self Portrait

Self-Portrait, graphite, 10/09

A self-portrait drawn during class- again, the value is lighter than I would like, but I think I got most of the proportions.

Early Skull Studies

These are my studies of the skull from earlier this semester. In the first few, I'm attempting to simplify the form, become familiar with it again, find the plane changes, etc. In this last drawing I changed to graphite, and it was the most successful of my attempts at that 3/4 view.

Portraits

Emily, Portrait Study, 10/09

Kierra, Portrait Study, 10/09

Portrait Critiques

Last Monday we had critiques on two portraits, and all our comments had to start with "I noticed..." It was... different. I see the merit in just "noticing" rather than making judgements, but I also appreciate hearing other people's thoughts, especially constructive criticism. I got the feeling we were all trying so hard not to "judge" that it was very hard to tell if what someone noticed was a positive or a negative. I like hearing suggestions on what to improve or how to try something different, and I felt like that was missing in this critique. Still, based on the comments, I would look at how to finish the drawing around the neck/shoulders. I'd like to add more color to the pupils, and also achieve a greater range of value. I realize there are beautiful, delicate drawings with only light value, but I personally prefer more contrast.

This semester I've been drawing in graphite, because it forces me to slow down, because I can't get dark marks without being very deliberate, and because it makes corrections easier. The problems then come when I do want that darker value. I think my second portrait (Kiera) is more successful in terms of value range, and also mark making. The linear, hatch-like marks I've been trying are a bit outside my comfort zone- I've never been a big blender, but it's tricky achieving smooth or subtle shifts in value with just lines. I haven't decided whether I will continue with graphite for the rest of the semester... we'll see!

p.s. Sorry the posts have been so few and far between- I'll remedy that today!

Life Drawing II (Fall 2009): first post

I think I am a bit late on this post, as everyone else in our LD2 class already posted something about the start of class... sorry! I'm not able to attend our regular class time because of soccer, so I have been coming in during one of the LD1 sections T/TH. But I'm very grateful Amy is willing to be flexible, and I'm going to try and stay with the rest of the class on these blogs and assignments.

I took Life Drawing last spring and immediately knew I would be pursuing this subject for at least one more semester. I am in the process of switching my concentration to Studio Art, with a drawing emphasis - I am not yet sure where that major will take me later in life, but I am certain of this: it is my passion. The thrill I get when drawing I can only try to describe - it's like an adrenaline rush - your mind sharpens, fingers feel nimble and strong, breath quickens a bit, and your heart pounds a little harder in your chest. I know that sounds dramatic, and I'll admit that I don't get that feeling every class period or every time I start to draw, but it happens often enough to have me addicted. So here I am, in another drawing class, feeding my addiction.

I hope to push myself this semester, to try what I am unsure of, and risk failure. I hope to expand my anatomical knowledge and my artistic tools. I hope to continue the adventure of trying to capture the beauty of the human form, and I hope to have some fun along the way.

And here...we...go!

Final: flickr

Here's the address for my flickr account, where you can find more drawings and larger photos of the ones in the Final post:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28219158@N02/

Final Thoughts

Gesture Drawing, 5-minute pose, 4/19/09

Even though I have enjoyed drawing people for some time, there has always been a sort of trepidation when I try to depict someone in particular.  My ability to draw people was based totally on my ability to recreate what I’m looking at, copy it down on paper.  Now, I can honestly say that I’m able to draw people based on knowledge of the human form, and a deeper understanding of the human body.   Studying the bones and muscles has been so helpful, especially in my long drawings.  It is much easier to find the correct proportions and create a realistic drawing when I can build the drawing from the underlying structures of the bones and muscles, and then add on information I observe.  Learning the different anatomical landmarks has changed the way I view the body:  instead of being an intimidating, yet familiar, form full of foreshortening and other artistic challenges, I can break it down into planes and contour lines.  I feel much more confident in my ability to draw the figure now than I was at the beginning of class.   

Clay Model: posterior, lateral, and anterior views 5/11/09

Working with the clay and manikin was helpful, but sometimes frustrating.  I had a hard time translating the size of the muscle in the book to the size it should be on my manikin, so some of his muscle systems are not as cohesive as I would like them to be.  I wanted to show each individual muscle, but they also need to fit together- sometimes it felt like one big jigsaw puzzle I was trying to piece together.   

Early Cross Contour, knee

Cross Contour, femur, 4/09

Cross contour drawings was something we touched on in my previous drawing classes, but only briefly.  You can see in the images above that my understanding of this technique has grown a lot over the semester.  I love being able to create that sense of space and dimension without using shading, and I’m excited to have a new tool for drawing.  I find the simplicity of line drawings entirely beautiful, and when you combine understanding of cross contours to careful attention to line quality and variation, it can yield outstanding results.  

Study of the Skull, 3/4 view, 4/27/09

Study of Shoulder Region, 4/19/09

These two long drawings are good examples of everything I mentioned above.  I am able to create a sense of dimension and space by suing cross contours and line variation.   Figuring out the understructure in the shoulder study left a nice “history” of lighter lines that (I think) adds character and realism to the drawing.   The skull study is an especially good example of atmospheric perspective, using darker lines to accentuate the areas of the form closest to you, leaving farther areas lighter, again creating that sense of space. 

            Overall, I’m really excited about the things we learned this semester.  I still want to continue working on recognition of those anatomical landmarks, correct proportions (I tend to still make my pelvis too far from my ribcage and my legs too short), and combining all this knowledge when doing longer drawings.  I also think it would be helpful to become even more familiar with the bones and muscles.  Since we were only able to spend a few periods on each area, I hope to go back and really focus in and become comfortable with, and knowledgeable of, each part of the form.  

Walker Art Center Reflections

Anselm Kiefer, Emanation, 1984-86

We recently took a field trip to St. Paul to visit the Science Museum and the Walker Art Center.  I've been to the Walker before, and one room contains my three favorite pieces:

Anselm Kiefer, Emanation (above)

Julie Mehretu, Transcending: The New International

Charles Ray, Unpainted Sculpture

So when asked to reflect on a piece that grabbed our attention, I immediately knew I needed to write about one of these three pieces, and I've settled on Kiefer's Emanation.  

This piece is absolutely massive in scale- maybe twenty feet tall by 8 or 9 feet wide?  I love that I can't take it all in with a single gaze- that I have to crane my neck, tip my head back to see the top, and only standing clear across the expansive room can I see the entire piece at once.

The texture is fantastic- it is anything but flat.  Layers, so many layers! I just want to touch it, to feel the rough, the jagged, the smooth: feel the undulations in the application of paint.  The color at first seems monochromatic, with different shades and tones of grey- deep, chalky, charcoal- but then I'm drawn to the dirty ivory across the upper portion of the piece.

It reminds me of old pictures of atom bombs: the central plume, foreboding colors: a dark black at the top and deeper colors with white highlights like capped waves of an angry sea across the bottom.  There is a definite vertical motion: the plume draws the eye up through the center where the viewer's gaze disseminates at the black edge, then follows the large textural pieces which appear to be falling back to the sea.

The photo I posted doesn't come close to doing this piece justice.  You have to get close, really look at the textures- that's what really captivates me.  

Word associations I find with this piece:

tempest, torn

Group Critique: the foot

Long Drawing, Foot, 4/6/09

My group decided that my drawing did, in fact, look like a foot, and a three dimensional one too.  They said the toe area was especially strong in creating that 3-D illusion, and that my line variation and quality added to that as well.  The ball of the foot is a little too round- it should appear more flat, especially that pad just below the big toe.  You can see anatomical landmarks like the fibula ("ankle bone" sticking out) and the 5th metatarsal (edge of the outside of the foot), along with the distinct shape of the heel bone.  Another suggestion was to address the transition from the toes to the top of the foot- the line weight changes kind of abruptly, and it creates a disconnect between the two areas.  

Overall, I'm really pleased with this drawing.  I know some people think feet are gross and can't stand them, but I think they're beautiful!  I was really excited to do this drawing.  Special thanks to Lauren, my roommate for posing her fine foot.

Group Discussion - Midterm Posts

Matt and Megan were in my group for this discussion.  We talked about the overall layout of our posts- formatting, how to get the pictures/text to appear where we want them, and which layouts are successful/easy to understand.  We all found little typos that needed editing, but our images were clear and easy to see.  For the drawings themselves, we talked the most about proportions.  All of us find that to be the hardest part to get right, whether it's the size of the pelvis compared to the ribcage, or the overall length of the torso (too long most of the time).  We also noted that the long axis line of the back is beautiful and really fun to draw :)

Midterm: Reflections

I'm very pleased with the progress I see in my drawings so far this semester.  I feel as though I am now much closer to being capable of producing the kind of drawing I envied at the beginning of the semester- the beautiful works I saw the advanced students producing, or found in last semester's final blogs.

My mark-making has improved a huge amount in the last few weeks.  I've become more comfortable drawing from my shoulder, melding my entire arm with the drawing tool in order to achieve a loose, graceful line.  I'm figuring out the balance between precise, careful, accurate observation/replications and breathing life into my lines, creating a sense of movement.  Another useful tool I've tried to use is a variety of line weights and values.  While I'm conscious of the need for that variety, and might add/subtract value in specific areas, much of the gradation of my lines is a direct result of drawing with my arm rather than my wrist.

The cross contour of the ginger root is an excellent example of all these.  I appreciated being given a specific number of hours to work on this piece, as I tend to prefer taking my time and really figuring everything out, double-checking proportions and angles.  With the 6-hour "limit," I knew I had ample time to focus on drawing correctly- positioning the root so the long axis lines were diagonal, finding the best three-quarter view where two side planes and a front plane were visible, etc.

Another addition to my mark-making is also clear in the ginger root drawing.  Because it was such a long drawing, I was able to build a sort of history into the piece.  I adjusted quite a lot, and rather than scrubbing at those lines to erase them completely, I let those light lines become another layer.  As I said, the ginger root drawing is a good example of that technique and it adds a great deal of depth.

My knowledge of the human body has expanded too.  I struggled when we did gesture drawings after only learning the pelvis and ribcage.  It was like I got a taste of the information I needed, but there wasn't quite enough to make my drawings accurate.  The medium-length poses were nice, as I could rely more on my obsercations, but now I feel like I've internalized much of that information, and it can naturally be included in my drawings.  I don't have to think about which way the lumbar vertebrae curve, or the general shape of the ribcage.  It frees me to focus on correcting my inevitably long interpretation of the torso, and other proportion issues.

Building the muscles on the manikins is challenging, but has been mostly successful.   I think learning each muscle individually contributes to the base of knowledge we pull from when drawing.  The clay manikins are a nice bridge between  the two-dimensional notes we take and the live models.  This approach to life drawing- learning about anatomy in an almost scientific manner- allows us to make more informed observations, and therefore more accurate drawings.  For example, in the 2/19 long pose, there was a clear plane change between her hp and lower abdomen.  I was able to exaggerate that curve based on information I couldn't see, knowing the crest of the pelvis caused the change.  From that I also determined the angle of the hips.  My observatinos of the body now have explanations and names to go with them, and I know it has improved my drawings.

In my most recent drawings, the contour lines are much better, but I'm still figuring that out.  Also, there are always improvements to be made in my ability to recognize the visual landmarks of the body, and identify and become familiar with proportions and placement.  I would like to see improvement in my proportions overall, and going over that in class this week was very helpful.

I am still thoroughly enjoying this class.  If anything, I'm frustrated with the lack of extra time to put into it.  All semester I've been thinking of ways I could practice, of opportunities to work outside our assignments and improve my drawings even more, but there's just not enough time!  I would love to spend hours in the library pouring over the old masters' sketches, then duplicating them and labeling my landmarks and the bones, muscles, and tendons I recognize.  Maybe I'll get a chance over break...

Midterm: Manikin

Clay Model, anterior, 3/10/09

Clay Model, right lateral, 3/10/09

Clay Model, posterior, 3/10/09

Midterm: Long Drawings

Cross Contour, Ginger Root 3/2/09

Long Pose, In-class, 2/24/09

Long Pose, In-class, 2/19/09

Midterm: Gesture Drawings

Gesture Drawing 2/24/09

Gesture Drawing 2/24/09

Gesture Drawing 2/24/09

Gesture Drawing 2/19/09

Gesture Drawing 2/24/09