8. Addition to self portrait & more

(18/4/23)

Today I had the intention of adding to the self portrait I started at home in the past weeks. I wanted to add more elements to the face to make it seem more interesting and add depth to the painting through adding more detail to the features I had up until this point just done outlines for. I got to work by hanging the piece up at my work station so I could have a good look at it and have time to properly consider my next steps with the painting. I found that an area I am drawn to in this piece is the lips so I began to paint the lips a rose pink colour with oil paint and then some highlights with white to add dimensions to it and then some darker red for the middle parting to inject depth. I really enjoyed how the lips turned out because they aren’t totally realistic but they teeter on the edge of real and unreal but also playing with illusion of detail as when you get closer you see it is not as realistic as you may see furthur away. 

Next I set to work if the facial hair portion, I wanted to add facial hair as it is what is shown on my reference picture. I didn’t know how to put it into the painting, I wasn’t sure if I should use black oil paint and a smaller finer brush to paint each hair or a darker colour wash to imply the facial hair in the areas I wanted, but ultimately I decided to go with the oil paint and finer brush as I felt it would add to the painting in that there would be individual strokes as opposed to just one wash that could potentially ruin the piece all together. As time consuming as this process was I managed to complete it and I belive it is subtle but accuratkey reflects, in its own way, what my reference picture shows. 

Finally I wanted to add hair to the painting but I was conflicted on how. If I should use charcole and graphite or oil paint , I decided to go with black oil paint with some streaks of white to represent my grey hairs. Ultimately I am still not sure on this addition to the painting , although there is a quality to it that I like because there is a movement to the hair which adds energy to the painting, I am just not sure how the stringing black oil paint contrasts with the rest of the piece, but at least the black of the facial hair does a good job of balancing this at least slightly.

Below I will attatch photos of this process. 

On this day I also had some peer feedback from someone in my class who I had expressed how unsure I was with this piece and how it fits in with the other paintings I have been doing and they added that this painting had a sort of Van Gogh like framing or a Picasso take on a portrait , where as the others are more expressive and lively which yet again contrast with this painting as it is more controlled. I agreed with my peers take on this painting, although I am still trying to bring it up to standard, this painting might have to be put on the back burner for a bit. 

Points of I inspiration for this self portrait has consistently and unintentionally been the portraits of Vincent Van Gogh and Pablo Picasso. I realised this after the fact wile looking at the painting for a while and seeing some elements of Picassos influence on the way the face seems ever so slightly mangled and not in proportion with itself , then Van Gogh in the expression on the face and the way I formed the brush strokes when painting on the facial hair. Overall I belive this makes for an interesting mix of influences to combine and make something like this self portrait. Although I am not totally thrilled with this painting yet I am still working on it and hopefully it will be realised soon or in the future at least. Below I will attatch pictures of Can Gogh Portraits and Picasso portraits for reference points. (First Van Gogh, Second Picasso) 

Today I also added teeth to the face / skull painting I did a couple of weeks back because I felt it needed something to furthur link it to the other painting I have done in order for them to feel like a part of a series or a family of paintings that can be shown together with a uniform identity but with thair own flair too. I feel that the paintings I have done thus far are getting more towards a cohesive identity between them, it is just the message or story and idea I am yet to pin down for the final show, but I do have some ideas that I want to be able to convey, I just have to formalise them into words. 

Picture of this addition below. 

I feel the addition of teeth to this piece furthur emphasises a pain, angst and discomfort within the face in this painting. This accuratkey conveys the kinds of feelings I want to communicate in these paintings. An awful feeling you can’t escape from but also a circumstance you are helpless from and have to grit your teeth and close your eyes and ride through. This is close to what I want to covey in the meaning for the final story of the paintijgs for my FMP but I need to decide on a set of paintings. 

More Later 

Lots Of Love 

John Hancock X