MIAD Summer Precollege Project
Title: Alter Ego Self Portrait
Size: 49.53 cm by 64.77 cm Medium: Oil Pastels on Paper Date: July 2021 For the MIAD precollege advanced figure in color class, we had to create a self portrait using oil pastels. But I didn't want to make an ordinary self portrait; I wanted to do something with a playful tone while also displaying a meaning. I used devil horns because people usually assume I am a mean person which isn't true. I was inspired by Chardin's use of color and shadow. |
Artistic Inspiration
Inspiration Behind The Piece:
I chose this piece as my inspiration because of Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin's use of color as well as light and shadow. I felt that having one side of my face in shadow the way Chardin had one side of his face in shadow would create a devious look to my face that would really add to the idea of how people see me. I also appreciated the color palette he chose to use for his face and the skin tone and decided to incorporate that into my own face. While he uses the same color on both sides of the background and I use more, I did feel inspired by making one side of the background darker and in shadow. |
About Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin:
In 1699, Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin was born in Paris which is where he spent his entire life living. Living in one place was unusual for an artist of Chardin's reputation as most artists' works are influenced by the experiences they have in other places around the world. The old masters of the French royal collection, the collections of Parisian amateurs, as well as everything he saw passing through the active Parisian art market of the day taught Chardin everything he needed to know to become a successful and talented artist. He was born into the artisan class which was common for artists of his time. Because Chardin's father manufactured billiard tables, he was introduced to the world of luxury items, professional decorators, as well as the fine arts. He was apprenticed to Pierre Jacques Cazes who was a history painter when Chardin was about fourteen years of age. Soon after, he moved to the studio of Noel Nicolas Coypel. With these experiences, Chardin found that he didn't have artistic inspiration from the path of historic art. He was accepted into the Académie de Saint Luc, the painters' guild in the year of 1724. And in 1728 he exhibited several of his pieces in the annual Exposition de la jeunesse in the Place Dauphine. The exhibition of these works is what brough attention to his artistic abilities.
In 1699, Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin was born in Paris which is where he spent his entire life living. Living in one place was unusual for an artist of Chardin's reputation as most artists' works are influenced by the experiences they have in other places around the world. The old masters of the French royal collection, the collections of Parisian amateurs, as well as everything he saw passing through the active Parisian art market of the day taught Chardin everything he needed to know to become a successful and talented artist. He was born into the artisan class which was common for artists of his time. Because Chardin's father manufactured billiard tables, he was introduced to the world of luxury items, professional decorators, as well as the fine arts. He was apprenticed to Pierre Jacques Cazes who was a history painter when Chardin was about fourteen years of age. Soon after, he moved to the studio of Noel Nicolas Coypel. With these experiences, Chardin found that he didn't have artistic inspiration from the path of historic art. He was accepted into the Académie de Saint Luc, the painters' guild in the year of 1724. And in 1728 he exhibited several of his pieces in the annual Exposition de la jeunesse in the Place Dauphine. The exhibition of these works is what brough attention to his artistic abilities.
Planning
Planning Sketches
My planning sketches were color plans. The first planning sketch above was me practicing my skin tones on a sheet of blue paper. I practiced with my skin tone on other colored papers to see which one I liked best and which one worked best with my skin tones and chose the blue paper because of the blue undertones in my skin. After figuring out which colored paper I was going to use, I had to make half a dozen mini color plans of different poses with different backgrounds. Once I did that, my teacher had me choose the mini color plan I liked best and create a bigger color plan of it. The point of the color plans were to figure out what my basic colors were going to be and to figure out the background and pose.
Process & Experimentation
Choosing the color of paper I was going to use for this project was the first as well as very important step. I chose blue paper because with my pale skin, I have blue undertones and the blue paper would work well with the pastels. I used a couple sheets of blue paper to get a color plan laid out as well as to experiment with different postures. Before I had picked the devil horn and smirk-like pose, I was also considering a posture that was quite the opposite and warmer in background colors as well as more welcoming looking. I went with the one I chose because I felt that it was more playful and the background would be more fun to create as well. Once I had all of the planning figured out, I used a mirror as my reference and outlined my features with a pink pastel so that I could see it clearly, but would be easy to cover and go over with other colors. I then started working in the colors of the face starting with my paler and lighter colors and then going over with the darker colors of the shadow. Then I created the eyes with some light peachy, pink, and purple colors for the water line while mixing two shades of blue with a medium shade of gray to create the irises. Before I created this piece, I was worried that creating the eyes would be challenging because I only had a super light gray with some darker or brighter blues. But I was able to find a darker gray along with two different shades of blue that would be able to create my blue-gray eye color. I then colored in the hair starting with a dark brown in the roots, then working in the black. After I added the colors of my hair, I added some orange into the upper left side of my hair to make it look like fire was reflecting off my hair once I have added the background. It was kind of frustrating because even though I would carefully clean my paper quite frequently, black pastel dust from the hair would smudge with the skin tones of my face and make it difficult for me to fix. However, I did eventually overcome that problem. I then created the shirt with black, a dark blue, a medium blue, a light blue, as well as a white pastel. I was trying to make it look like the plain blue shirt I was wearing with creases in it, but it turned out to look like an 80's styled shirt with patterns on it. Although it didn't turn out the way I was trying to make it look, I thought it turned out really cool and am happy with the outcome. I finished the piece with the background which didn't take nearly as long as I thought it was going to. I started by marking the line that divided the light source from the shadow. I then scribbled in the fire that would be the light source by constantly going over and blending orange, orange/yellow, and yellow. All of the blending I did in this piece was entirely with the pastels and not my fingers. I then scribbled in some blues and purples on the other side to create a shadow that would be complimentary to the flamy light source.
Reflection
I really enjoyed this piece from the moment I started working on it. I really wanted to make it actually look like me and I feel that that motivation really manifested the outcome of this project. My favorite part was working on the background and I felt that the most challenging part was fixing the facial tones after the black pastel powder from the hair ruined it. If I could redo this project, I would probably work on making the hair less flat. I originally had the hair shorter to match my hair length, but my teacher had me extend it off the paper to make it less flat which kind of didn't look right to me as my hair isn't that long and it running off the paper gives off the impression that I have really long hair so next time I would probably add blue and brown the create layers so that I could show off my actual hair length.
Compare & Contrast
Similarities:
-Both pieces have a clear shadow on one side of the face which is important because it shows where the light source is coming from -Both pieces are self portraits -Both pieces were created with oil pastels as the medium |
Differences:
-My piece is more playful because it is supposed to show how other people see my, whereas his piece represents how he sees himself -I use complementary colors in the background while he doesn't, making mine warm and his dull |
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 by how devious Chardin made his face look and incorporated that in my piece. However my piece represents how other people see me while his is how he views himself.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration.
It is an educational website that gives a brief biography of Chardin's life as well as his experiences 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?
While many people think self portraits have no meaning behind them, they can portray different things in every detail.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I didn't want to create a simple self portrait; I wanted it to have meaning and come across as playful. My goal was to draw myself in the eyes of other people which is why I included devil horns.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I always thought that artists from the past were talented and successful because of the experiences they have when traveling. But it was clear Chardin became a successful artist from everything he experienced his whole life in Paris.
I was inspired by how devious Chardin made his face look and incorporated that in my piece. However my piece represents how other people see me while his is how he views himself.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration.
It is an educational website that gives a brief biography of Chardin's life as well as his experiences 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?
While many people think self portraits have no meaning behind them, they can portray different things in every detail.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I didn't want to create a simple self portrait; I wanted it to have meaning and come across as playful. My goal was to draw myself in the eyes of other people which is why I included devil horns.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I always thought that artists from the past were talented and successful because of the experiences they have when traveling. But it was clear Chardin became a successful artist from everything he experienced his whole life in Paris.
Bibliography
"Jean Siméon Chardin." National Gallery of Art, https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.1127.html