Project Three
Title: Marisa's Gaze
Size: 27.94 cm by 35.56 cm
Medium: Acrylic paint on canvas
Date: November 2021
My piece is inspired by Matisse's "Woman with a Hat." I wanted to try using a limited color palette with brighter colors to portray the different values and felt that Matisse's piece would lead me in the right direction as I've never done any paintings that required a difficult amount of blending and a small variety of colors before. The goal of my piece is to portray silliness in its most natural form, in a ridiculous way that someone with anxiety would be too scared to do in public.
Artistic Inspiration
Inspiration Behind The Piece:
I was inspired by Henri Matisse's "Woman with a Hat" because of the color palette that was used
as well as the brushstrokes. I wanted to use a limited color palette similar to the one used in this
painting including a use of purples, pinks, and blues. I was also inspired to portray that look of
mystery and wonder in the model's eyes, however, I wanted to make the eyes in my piece more
realistic to further portray that sense of mystery and wonder because so many secrets are hidden
behind a person's eyes. I thought that only choosing a few colors to work with in the color palette
would be a fun and new challenge as it is always something I have wanted to do before, but never
knew how; but I think this piece inspired me to give it a try and gave me an idea on how to
approach the piece with a limited palette. I also liked how powerful the woman looked with the
serious facial expression that was used to portray her and although I wanted to create a
silly-faced expression, I wanted to create this look of independence, especially in the eyes.
About Henri Matisse:
Henri Matisse was a French artist whose work contributed to the Fauvism movement. He was born December 31, 1869 in a small industrial town in Northern France. In his early life, Matisse attended a drawing class in the mornings before work. His art career really started to begin when he was 21 and started painting while healing from an illness. He began artistic training with artists at the Academie Julian as well as the Ecole des Beaux-Arts schools when he moved to Paris in 1891. While living in Paris, Matisse was exposed to what was known as the recent Post-Impressionist works. His work started receiving attention when he displayed it in exhibitions in Paris during the mid 1890s. By the 20th century, he started experimenting with Pointillism. Henri Matisse was one of the first French artists to start the Fauvism movement; during an exhibit in Southern, France, a contemporary art critic mentioned the bold and distorted art by certain artists (including Matisse) that he created nicknames such as "fauves."
Henri Matisse was a French artist whose work contributed to the Fauvism movement. He was born December 31, 1869 in a small industrial town in Northern France. In his early life, Matisse attended a drawing class in the mornings before work. His art career really started to begin when he was 21 and started painting while healing from an illness. He began artistic training with artists at the Academie Julian as well as the Ecole des Beaux-Arts schools when he moved to Paris in 1891. While living in Paris, Matisse was exposed to what was known as the recent Post-Impressionist works. His work started receiving attention when he displayed it in exhibitions in Paris during the mid 1890s. By the 20th century, he started experimenting with Pointillism. Henri Matisse was one of the first French artists to start the Fauvism movement; during an exhibit in Southern, France, a contemporary art critic mentioned the bold and distorted art by certain artists (including Matisse) that he created nicknames such as "fauves."
Planning
Planning Sketches
For my first planning sketch, I just laid out a basic sketch of a female's face so that I could plan out where the light source would be, remind myself to make the eyes one of the focus points, and to plan out value. I knew what kind of color palette I wanted to work with and that can be seen in the third planning sketch, but I wanted to first lay out where my darkest darks and lightest lights would be generally on the face. I also wanted to make sure I remembered to have the light bounce off of the hair on the left side of the portrait. The second planning sketch is similar and pretty much the same as the first planning sketch, however, the main difference is the facial expression; I wanted the painting to portray mystery in the eyes while also being fun and silly, hence, the unusual facial expression. I also decided what colored light source I wanted to use in the background which would mainly affect the color palette and what colors are used for each value. This leads to the third planning sketch which includes what colors I wanted to use, which ones I wanted to blend, and where on the face I would put them.
Process & Experimentation
I was inspired by Henri Matisse's choice of color palette in his painting "Woman with a Hat" and wanted to experiment with that type of style as it is something I've always wanted to do, but was too scared to try. I thought it would be fun to paint a face with bright pastels that are unnatural for the skin tone. I started by drawing a basic outline of the model's face. I wanted to put a light layer of paint on the background before drawing the outline but completely forgot and I ended up having to redraw the outline after the background dried. To create the background, I dipped a paint sponge into ultramarine blue and dabbed it into some water. I did a couple strokes on the canvas and then kept adding water to make the color consistent across the canvas as well as to make it a light and pretty, yet muted color so that it wouldn't draw too much attention away from the model. After the paint dried, I redrew the outline, but didn't end up having too much difficulty as the background was light enough that I was able to make out some of the original outline. The five paint colors I worked with include white, black, alizarin crimson, cadmium yellow, orange, ultramarine blue, and pthalo green. I mixed orange, alizarin crimson, cadmium yellow, and white to make the pinkish color. I mixed alizarin crimson, cadmium yellow, and white to create the peachy color. I mixed white and ultramarine blue to create a lighter blue and then also mixed this lighter blue with the pinkish color to create a purplish color. I mixed ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson, as well as pthalo green, with white added as needed to create a light brown and added black to make a dark brown. I used black, the browns, and dark blues for the darkest darks and the peachy color and white for the lightest lights. The light blues, the purples, and the pinkish colors were used for medium tones.
Reflection
This piece is definitely my favorite piece I have done senior year. I made quite a few mistakes with blending colors as my palette was very limited and I didn't go into this project knowing enough about color combinations, but I am actually super happy with those mistakes because they contributed to an aesthetically pleasing painting. Out of all of the pieces I have done this year, this one took the longest to paint and I think that really reflects into the final product. I do wish however, that I knew a little bit more about how to create certain colors with such a limited color palette because I ended up wasting quite a bit of paint with the constant blending. I hope that when people look at my piece they see it as more than a painting inspired by an artist from the Fauvism movement; I hope they see it as a fun and mysterious version of reality. I definitely want to do another piece like this in the future because it has helped me improve and refine my color blending skills.
Compare & Contrast
Similarities:
- Both pieces only show the face as that is the focus of the pieces and they center around the facial expression, as well as the mysterious look of the eyes -Both use a limited color palette of bright colors with less blending and more use of bold coloration -Both use more pastel-like colors to create a more visually pleasing piece |
Differences:
-Matisse's piece uses bolder and brighter blues than my piece, while mine uses pastel colors in a way to still create a realistic look -Our facial expressions are different because the model in Matisse's piece is portrayed more seriously while mine is meant to look fun and silly -The colors in his piece are used the same way on the model and in the background, while my background is more muted to make the face and eyes the main focus |
ACT Responses
1. Clearly explain and describe how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
I was inspired to incorporate Matisse's use of a limited and pastel-like color palette in my piece, however, the colors I used are slightly more muted than the ones he used as I wanted my piece to still give off a realistic look.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration.
The website is a short biography on Matisse's early life as well as how he developed as an artist.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc., while you researched your inspiration?
Artists usually experiment with different styles inspired by certain people and art movements before finding what best works for them. But these past experimentations can also be seen in their new styles as well.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I wanted to create something fun and silly, while also focusing on the beauty in females. I also focused on creating a sense of mystery in the details of the eyes.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Matisse's use of color choice and combinations is probably what makes his art so unique and individualistic.
I was inspired to incorporate Matisse's use of a limited and pastel-like color palette in my piece, however, the colors I used are slightly more muted than the ones he used as I wanted my piece to still give off a realistic look.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration.
The website is a short biography on Matisse's early life as well as how he developed as an artist.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc., while you researched your inspiration?
Artists usually experiment with different styles inspired by certain people and art movements before finding what best works for them. But these past experimentations can also be seen in their new styles as well.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I wanted to create something fun and silly, while also focusing on the beauty in females. I also focused on creating a sense of mystery in the details of the eyes.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Matisse's use of color choice and combinations is probably what makes his art so unique and individualistic.
Bibliography
"Henri Matisse Biography." Biography, 26 Mar. 2021. https://www.biography.com/artist/henri-matisse