Self-Portrait |
Title: Portrait of a Karen girl
Size: 3ft x 3ft Medium: Acrylic and Color pencils on Canvas Completion: 2023 EXHIBITION TEXT
A portrait of a Karen girl is the name of this piece. This name was chosen because it both honors the girl in the painting and the Karen culture. The Karen (Kuh-ren) people's flag and dress are just two examples of how the Karen culture is meant to be represented in this painting. An ethnic group from and between Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) is known as the Karen people. The Karen people are not well known, and they do not have a nation that they can call home, but what makes us stronger is the people we have our family, and our friends, the Karen culture and the language are very beautiful.
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INSPIRATION
ARTISTS: Joaquín Sorolla and Frank Duveneck
I was really inspired by the two artists named Joaquín Sorolla and Frank Duveneck because of the smooth blending between the color choice they used. Additionally, I appreciated the works' format and quality of the painting. The face in Duveneck's painting "Florentine Flower Girl" had the ideal amount of smooth blending, whilst everything else was painted with a little roughness. The way he employed oil paint was flawless. I like how it was painted; the colors he used to go well together. He employs a variety of colors, most of them light hues. He doesn't appear cluttered or disorganized while using a lot of colors. The painting is attractive in every aspect. He painted several parts of the hand and arm as well as some faces, and they all seem incredibly smooth. Except for the face and hands, nothing else had a smooth paint structure; rather, it appeared as though he had painted the background and clothes in multiple coats and added numerous details to the outfit. Duveneck did an excellent job of contrasting the light and dark colors and showing how they work best together. Although he didn't use a lot of colors, his distinct painting style gave me inspiration for how I wanted to make my self-portrait. I thought that Sorolla's artwork "Portrait of a Woman" was extremely nicely painted; there were many small elements in the painting that piqued my interest. Sorolla used a variety of colors in his painting, and the idea of using various paint layers was quite popular. On the face, Sorolla added a variety of distinctive embellishments that well complemented the subject they had painted. You could determine what each component that was painted was based on the amount of detailing and blending they utilized on the hair, clothing, and hair accessories. I was incredibly fascinated by the number of distinctive elements and painting styles and I wanted to draw inspiration from them and create something akin. The painting looked particularly distinctive because of how much pink was utilized on the face. I was inspired to paint my face in the same manner because of how they painted their faces and how precisely they applied color to them. The way I use color and paint will greatly influence how I will paint on my canvas. Since I've never used oil paint but am considering doing so, my inspiration will be quite helpful in determining how I'll portray myself in my painting. I may draw inspiration and practice from the many painting methods and apply them to my own work. Since I have never used the kinds of paint they used before, studying the ways they employed will be very helpful to me while utilizing oil paint. Although the themes I was aiming for in my self-portrait weren't actually inspired by my idols, they did help and inspire me with various oil painting technique approaches. Since this is a self-portrait, the cultural concept I was aiming for, I wanted to create something that symbolizes me.
PLANNING
The first part of planning was to find which angle of myself I should try to take a picture of myself so I could reference it in my painting. I drew a rough sketch of the different angles I could try using. I also thought about what I should have for my background, like considering what I should paint. For this self-portrait, I wanted to paint something that would represent me and my culture. Culture is the main theme I am going for in this project, but also the rest of my project. I did many sketches to help me out with how I wanted my self-portrait to look like.
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For the second part of planning, I decided to think of what I wanted to wear for my self-portrait. I ended up wanting to wear traditional clothes that would be representing not only me but also my culture. I had different traditional clothes I wanted to use for the pictures I will be taking, but I had to choose wisely since I chose to only paint part of the clothing. I had options like a traditional shirt or a dress. All of the traditional clothing I had, have very different designs and colors. I had about two white dresses with different designs, while my other traditional clothes are either red, blue, or black. I also drew a rough sketch of what traditional clothing looks like and also took some pictures of them. I also ended up using a traditional dress that was white, but it also had more designs on it than the other white dress.
In the final part of planning, I decided to take many pictures of what I wanted to draw and paint on my canvas for my self-portrait. I had my sister help me take my pictures. Throughout this planning, I was having a difficult time since many of the pictures that I took weren’t living up to my expectations and I also was having a hard time with where I wanted the background locations to be. After thinking and going over my previous plan, I decided to take the picture in my room and I also decided to take my picture facing forward. I also did a rough sketch of what I was thinking of, but this time I decided to draw it bigger and this will help me with how I wanted to take the picture. Having a rough sketch and a picture will help me with referencing it through my self-portrait.
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PROCESS
EXPERIMENTATION
EXPERIMENTATION
For the experiment, I decided to practice using oil paint since I’ve never used oil paint before. I did some research and learned that it takes a long time to dry so I tried my best to find a perfect spot where my painting could dry faster. I also decided to experiment with the grid maker to which amount of grid I should have. This will help me out with what I am going to do with my canvas, but also help me reference it once I start sketching and painting.
PROCESS
For the process, the first thing I did was put the picture I took of myself and upload it through a grid maker as I am using the grid method. Using the grid method and my picture will help me reference it while I'm drawing an painting onto the canvas. When I first decide to grid on my canvas the first thing I did was outlining and griding for the whole picture I took. I then chose to draw another grid in the middle. I chose to draw another grid in the middle since it’ll help me out when I’m painting. In the middle of the grid, I chose to draw and paint the head first.
While I was sketching out my head the eye was a little uneven so I decided to fix it and after that, I decided to paint the face. While I was painting the face I wasn’t really satisfied with how it turned, and also because it didn’t really look like me, the eyes I painted started to look uneven again and the lips I painted didn’t really match with the color from the photo. I wish I could have painted the face better if I had decided to use a color palette on the face to help me with my painting, but after painting the face I moved on to painting the hair and then I decided to sketch the clothes after I painted the hair.
When I painted the hair I still wasn’t satisfied with the way it looked, but I try my best to make it look perfect although painting is my best skill, after that, I then painted the clothes. I was a little more satisfied with the way the clothing turned out compared to the previous painting I’d on this canvas. I thought the clothes I painted looked a little decent.
Once I was done drawing myself, I then drew and painted the background. I thought the background looked decent, but also a little dull. Something about the background looked empty to me and so I decided to add my flag that I had which the flag that represents my ethnicity - my culture. I thought the window I drew looked a little messed up, but I tried my best.
After finishing painting every component I then decided to fix any mistakes in my painting. In this self-portrait painting, I mostly used oil paint for the hair and the face, while for everything else I used acrylic paint.
REDO OF THE SELF-PORTRAIT
Since I didn't like the final outcome of my self-portrait I decided I wanted to redo my art-work. The first thing I did when I decided to redo my artwork is by gathering all the papers I wanted on my canvas and after that I decided to glue onto my canvas. After I was done gluing the papers I then drew myself and my flag onto the canvas and this time I didn't want to draw the window in the background. Instead of drawing the window I drew the whole flag. I also decided to get rid of the three stripes at the top. Once I completed the drawing portion I then color the face using colored pencils and after that I painted the clothing using watercolors. Once I was done with those I then painted the hair and the flag with acrylic. After that I painted the rest of the piece with black acrylic.
Since I didn't like the final outcome of my self-portrait I decided I wanted to redo my art-work. The first thing I did when I decided to redo my artwork is by gathering all the papers I wanted on my canvas and after that I decided to glue onto my canvas. After I was done gluing the papers I then drew myself and my flag onto the canvas and this time I didn't want to draw the window in the background. Instead of drawing the window I drew the whole flag. I also decided to get rid of the three stripes at the top. Once I completed the drawing portion I then color the face using colored pencils and after that I painted the clothing using watercolors. Once I was done with those I then painted the hair and the flag with acrylic. After that I painted the rest of the piece with black acrylic.
Because I didn't like my previous painting, I did a redo of my self-portrait
Below is the before and after of my painting
Below is the before and after of my painting
The title of this piece is called “A Portrait of a Karen Girl”. Because I am Karen and was raised in a Karen family, I chose this title to reflect who I am. I'm wearing traditional attire in this painting of myself because I want it to symbolize both my culture and who I am. Although the Karen people are an ethnic group in Thailand, very little is known about my culture. I intended to demonstrate to the public that I am a member of the "Karen - (Kuh-ren)" ethnic group. I wanted to display my heritage and the flag of my country. Since my culture and ethnicity aren't well known and also because my people are struggling to survive in their native Thailand, I wanted more people to be aware of them. The Karen people are primarily made up of refugees, some of whom are residing in unmarked tiny communities. The Karen people live in extreme poverty in many areas of those tiny settlements. Our culture is really lovely despite the difficulties we face as a people. The colors of our flags, which are red, white, and blue, respectively, stand for courage, purity, and honesty in our culture. The flag's nine sun rays stand in for the country's nine districts, while the Karen drum is a representation of the Karen people.
REFLECTION
Even though I wish I could have painted more effectively, I thought my painting turned out alright. I should have sketched myself bigger and attempted to give my face more detail. I believe the face would have looked better and been painted much better if I had added more detail to it. Everything else, in my opinion, appeared to be more attractive than the face I sketched. The aspect of my picture that gave me the greatest sense of satisfaction was how I depicted the Karen dress, which plays a big role in my culture and of which I'm extremely proud. The flag, which represents the Karen people, was painted well in my opinion. It seemed respectable, and I tried my best. Even though I wasn't happy with my painting and I was aware of the errors I made while working on this self-portrait, they really helped me develop as an artist and showed me what I might do better the next time I attempted something similar. The next time I paint a portrait, I will definitely get better because of these errors. After a lot of thinking I decided to re-do this artwork since I thought it didn't look good and this time I thought it was a lot better than my previous one. I did some changes and this time I thought it would be better to use color pencils on the face instead of oil paint and I did this so I don't make the same mistake as my previous painting. This went a little bit better and I thought the redo was pretty decent.
CRITIQUE
DIFFERENCES
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SIMILARITIES
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CONNECTION TO ACT QUESTION
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
My inspiration helped me with the structure of the painting, it affected the way I wanted to paint and how I wanted to represent myself.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Even though the artists I chose didn’t really have traditional clothing or something that represents other cultures, I was still inspired by how the way it was painted and it made me think of what I wanted to represent in my painting which is culture.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I learned that every artist's work can depict anything, not simply a single sort of culture that is unique to their ethnicity or to that of other ethnicity; culture comes from all around, just as every form of art has a distinct culture of its own.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my inspirational research is something that would represent me and my culture.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Inferences I made regarding my inspirational research are the format and structure of the painting and how the person is only half drawn.
My inspiration helped me with the structure of the painting, it affected the way I wanted to paint and how I wanted to represent myself.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Even though the artists I chose didn’t really have traditional clothing or something that represents other cultures, I was still inspired by how the way it was painted and it made me think of what I wanted to represent in my painting which is culture.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I learned that every artist's work can depict anything, not simply a single sort of culture that is unique to their ethnicity or to that of other ethnicity; culture comes from all around, just as every form of art has a distinct culture of its own.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my inspirational research is something that would represent me and my culture.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Inferences I made regarding my inspirational research are the format and structure of the painting and how the person is only half drawn.
CITATION
CITATION IN MLA FORMAT
- “Frank Duveneck - Florentine Flower Girl (C.1887).” Art Renewal Center, 1 Jan. 1880, jenikirbyhistory.getarchive.net/media/frank-duveneck-florentine-flower-girl-c1887-e1b208. Accessed 27 Apr. 2023.
- “Joaquín Sorolla Y Bastida - Portrait of a Woman - Google Art Project.” Google Cultural Institute, 1 Jan. 1922, picryl.com/media/joaquin-sorolla-y-bastida-portrait-of-a-woman-google-art-project-ad509e. Accessed 27 Apr. 2023.