Jump to content

Selfportrait- help me brainstorm please :3


forlackofabettername

Recommended Posts

Hey, so while working on my 4th project (which is a self portrait) I experienced an artist's block of sorts. I do have a clear idea on what my final sketch should be, but i was wondering on what research i should be doing on the way. would it be helpful to research the evolution of the portrait? (though i doubt it experienced any sort of dramatic evolution), or should I research portraits in different cultures?

sidenote: the self portrait won't represent my physical appearance, and it won't be realistic (more like abstract/cubism/neoplasticism- leaning more towards neoplasticism)

Can you guys recommend any artists?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes I think looking at self-portraits in different cultures might be quite interesting! You could also look at what specific artists are trying to express through self-portraits.

Some artists:

Gino Severini, Marc Chagall, Jean Dubuffet, Julian Schnabel, Paul Gaugain, Chuck Close, Francisco Toledo, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Marlene Dumas

Don't know if that's any help

Good Luck!!

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

I would advise you to stay within the range of well respected artists, world class. Not that there is anything wrong with local artist or very contemporary ones, but you are always on a save side if the examiner shares your views.

Something that would be actually be very useful for you in my opinion is genuinely looking up names that are interesting to you.

There is a large number of artists who have worked with features distortion.

One of the most iconic ones is for example Van Gogh - i do not have a specific name in my head right now, but the painter created an image of a man smoking a pipe. The figure was distorted and the artist himself has later admitted, that he is looking "to portray not the appearance, but the feel of a character" (not an exact quote).

You should perhaps also look at sculptures - it would show your open - mind ness in gathering you inspirations, an artist on top of my head would be Giacometti. (His work is surrealistic though).

Another one is Francis Bacon - enigmatic, puzzling, objectifying the human figure.

A piece of advice I wish someone would have told me earlier would be to also read up on the artist, not only look up their paintings. Search what is their work really about. That is where art gets interesting. Consider what are you trying to bring across yourself. Ideally you would research art not only similar in form to what you are doing, but also in content. You can see how different artist go about displaying a certain idea, e.g stripping characters from their facades of appearance and displaying the "true" reality of the way people are.

Hope this is of any help

Good luck

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...