I was inspired by classical portraits where the sitter is holding or pointing to the tools of their trade. I have always been fascinated about the implicit meaning behind the pose and I wanted to bring some of that into my own work. I planned my setting go reflect my status as a history and anthropology major, and reflect the process of researching and being in the midst of two senior seminars. In the portrait, I am sitting on a rocking chair on the porch of Rebekah Scott Hall. A location where I would frequent when reading articles and books just to get some fresh air and a change of scenery. I used a combination of ebony pencil, HB pencil, vine charcoal, white charcoal, black Conte crayon, and lumograph pencil
The stack of books on the table to my right were ones that I actually used in my research for both senior seminars. They are stacked together, the history mixed with anthropology, as a nod to the two sides of the work I was engaging with. Clutched in my left hand is Beauty Shop Politics by the historian, Tiffany Gill. In the early months of the history senior seminar, the professor asked, “What would you consider to be your holy grail source?” Beauty Shop Politics was that book for me and played an important role in my research which is why it is highlighted and separated from the others. I wanted my self-portrait to be intentional in the placement of the objects, the setting, and the positioning of myself.
I used the projector to outline the basic shapes in the picture and to mark the grids on the paper. I then used the photograph I took as reference for the shading. Inspired by the midterm project, I mostly used the HB and Ebony pencil to keep the drawing light and to avoid going too dark which I have a tendency to do when using charcoal. I used the blending method and used a kneaded eraser to draw out highlights and layered slight hatching marks to mimic a wood grain on the rocking chair.
The window and the folds of my sweater are the biggest success in my opinion. The shading of the window and creating the reflection turned out better than I had anticipated. After seeing so many people draw fabric I kind of studied their work to create the texture on the sweater which turned out well.
The bricks were the hardest part of the entire project. Making sure the lines were not skewed, shading the bricks, blending them, and then creating texture took quite a bit of time. I would say that the floor of the porch would be the least successful element in the piece. I still think that the vine charcoal was a good choice considering that it blended well and I could easily remove as much of it as I needed. But, I would go back and try to change how I used it. The floor just does not match the control seen in the wall and the body. Also, making sure that each element would be distinguishable was another challenge. I wanted to create depth and make sure that the books did not bleed into the table and that the viewer could see where the rocking chair began and where my body stopped.
During the process, I did underestimate how long it would take me to finish the piece. I think the bricks and the time I took on those did throw me for a loop and pushed me back from starting other sections of the piece. The shading and blending and layering definitely made this drawing take a bit longer, but I think the effect was worth it in the end.
