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. 

My main goal for this project was to become more creative and to learn how to play around more in terms of techniques and materials. I noticed that I tend to gravitate toward realistic styles and I wanted to move away from that. I just feel like I play it safe most of the time, especially when I think back to ART-160.

I liked the self-portrait I finished in that class. However, when I looked at my peers who took greater risks using different techniques for each square, I liked their pieces more and wished I had done the same. For the series, I had room to experiment and could do so without worrying about having to start over.

The process was long and sometimes frustrating for me because while I wanted to be freer in terms of style and material, but I still had some hesitation with some of the pieces that I did. I have to say that the pieces that I did later in the process are some of my favorite ones, especially under a time crunch. I became a lot less worried about the end product as much and more concerned with variety and if I was challenging myself enough. I started experimenting with different size paper and different contours of paper.

I would say that creating texture with different mediums and learning how that worked was a success of mine during this process such as the texture of my fluffy coat and different hairstyles. Also, mixing different mediums. Pen with India ink, oil paint with watercolor, ink with watercolor, and collage. I broke out of my comfort zone with a lot of these and accomplished my goal of getting more creative. Some pieces were broken into several drawings that were distinct but came together to create a whole.

Some were more experimental such as the ones where I used wrapping paper. It connects with me as a person (my spirit animal is decidedly a llama) and adds greater visual interest when looking at the series. One is even more interactive with the wrapping paper slightly obscuring the face, but you can also lift it up to view what is underneath.

However, not all were successes. The white pen drawing with white charcoal on purple paper was my least favorite overall. I tried to be more gestural but I did not like how it turned out. The drawing lacked key structure and proportion. Additionally, the first two drawings that I did with white charcoal were good with learning how to engage with the material, but the outcomes were not intentional. Proportions and trying to balance them without a grid was more difficult than I thought it would be. I was trying to get better at drawing portraits and faces, especially since I know proportions are a bit harder for me. So some drawings are more accurate than others. If I were to go back and do some over it would be the earlier pieces.

Throughout the process, I have learned several things. Drawing without a grid also connected with the goal of being more creative and more flexible during the process. Along the way, I found a different method of planning out the proportions such as blocking it out roughly with simple shapes like rectangles and squares and then going back in to fill out the details. I also got a better sense of working with ink and learning patience with the medium. I took Professor Emerson’s advice and started just going where the ink took me, and those were the pieces that I am proud of. You can really see a progression from the very first ink drawing to the last one I did for this series.

Overall, I am happy with the pieces that I have produced and would like to continue to experiment with different styles of drawing.

Materials: India Ink, Oil Pastels, Chalk Pastels, Pastel Pencils, Watercolor, Charcoal Vine Charcoal
Size: 22×30 In.

Mixed Media Critique

I think the piece turned out well, but I think I could have done a little more. For the mixed media project I was more than a little nervous to use color. I am familiar with black and white materials because I find getting value out of those materials much easier than color. In the background I used India Ink for the background along with acrylic paint and pastel pencils to create the flowers. I used oil pastels, chalk pastels, charcoal stick, vine charcoal, India ink, and acrylic paint for my face and hair.  The most successful parts of the piece would be the the middle two squares done in vine charcoal and the two left squares that capture the sides of my face.

I like how the chalk pastel and and the charcoal stick squares look, and I believe I was able to capture value with the chalk pastel. I also like the texture of my hair in two left squares. I am also a fan of the flowers in the background because I usually do not like painting at all and painting flowers was difficult, but in my opinion it turned out well. I like how the chalk pastel and and the charcoal stick squares look, and I believe I was able to capture value with the chalk pastel. I also like the texture of my hair in two left squares. I am also a fan of the flowers in the background because I usually do not like painting at all and painting flowers was difficult, but in my opinion it turned out well.

There is not a single element that I dislike, but I think the drawing as a whole could have been better.  The squares fit nicely together and I think I did a good job of mixing the mediums and working with a nice medium in almost every square, but I wish I could have been more creative and free flowing with ideas and layout of the drawing. Looking at other portraits, I found that the parts that I liked most about their piece was the fact that they used did element to construct their face. For example using flowers for hair or words to build the image. While I feel like I did the assignment well, I also feel that I could have done a whole lot more and really just let go of the plans I had and be more open to discovery. Towards the end I realized this and layered on newspaper in a triangle to try to fill the space in a creative way, but even that I feel like I could have added some texture to it or did something more daring with it.

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