Planning

For my next piece, I am going to attempt my first self-portrait. I wanted to incorporate features that had a subtle significance, yet were also  more personal, and represent my style better.

First of all, my favorite color is a bright red, like the lightest of the three shades I used in this spread. It is also a lucky color in Chinese culture. This being meaningful on many different levels, I wanted to make this color the main focus of this piece, so I decided to leave the rest of the portrait in grayscale.

Through this, I aim to represent the Chinese dragon, which also brings luck and good fortune. The outer appearance of the Chinese dragon can be interpreted as dangerous and mysterious, as represented by the simple choice of black and white, while the red symbolizes the deeper significance of the dragon’s strength, courage, and loyalty. By purposefully making the hat and nail polish red, this portrait can signify how I “wear” these traits, and how I am often misunderstood, like the dragon. Nevertheless, those good characteristics still shine through and make an even greater impact.

Here is my draft sketch in colored pencil of what I plan to do with the composition and color layout.

For my next piece, I am going to take a more dynamic route in zooming into facial features and emphasizing shadows and light with an off-primary color scheme.

This semester, I switched over to Sculpture; however, Drawing & Painting just started their final acrylic project that restricts color use to the three primary colors, plus white. This is a way to experiment with shadows and values using different colors such a blues for darker shadows. I’m definitely excited for this project, since it means I’ll have a short break from monochromatic portraits! Here is what I plan to do for my final!

After experimenting with my first project, I’ve grown to like this realistic-abstract style that I had adapted through trial and error. For my next piece, I wanted to incorporate some colors that I usually don’t tend to use, and continue with this consistent portrait format. I want to base my projects around the topic of identity, so that in each piece, a part of the subject’s body will be obscured from view in a new and interesting way, while integrating both realistic and abstract components.

This is my rough draft sketch/media study for my first piece. I am going to be painting very loosely in order to capture an almost violent feel. The message of the final piece will show that we can’t place our identity and value in materialistic things and worldly views, but instead, find the beauty that resides within us.