I wonder sometimes if the reason many artists get so full of themselves is because they’re forced to do so many self-portraits in school. If you have to stare at yourself in the mirror and on paper and on canvas enough, I’ve got to think it’s going to inflate your opinion of your own self-worth. I had to do a lot of self portraits in college. It seemed like in every drawing or painting course one of the projects was a self portrait. Below are the ones I could find in an attic full of high school and college art.
This was a gift for my sister, look how adorable I was!
I did this piece for sister for her birthday one year. I used watercolor and watercolor pencils. I was such a cute kid and then puberty hit and everything went wrong.
Self-portrait in graphite
I don’t think this one actually looks that much like me, but the overall technique is pretty strong. I drew this either Freshman or Sophomore year of college.
Self-portrait in charcoal (Spooooooooooooooooky....)
I remember this piece was for a figure drawing class in my Sophomore year. I was supposed to use a single light source, but, in addition to the lamp I set up, I was watching the latest episode of the X-Files. I apparently didn’t think the light from the television would effect the light for the piece, it totally did. And I also think it effected the mood of the piece because that is one totally spooky version of myself.
Idealized self-portrait (oil paints and crayon -- yes, the crayola variety)
This was an idealized self-portrait I painted in oil and drew with actual crayons. The idea being my ideal self is that little kid drawing and having his imagination come to life around him. Everyone seemed to love this piece… except for my instructor. We got into a huge argument during the critique. He thought the kid’s drawings looked like fake kid drawings and not real kid drawings, and that the child was too photo-referenced. I thought he was a jackass. I was not so great with constructive criticism back then. While we butted heads a lot that semester, he definitely made me a better painter. Before his class, I would basically draw with a brush, rather than paint.
Obstructed self-portrait in oil paints
This one I did at the end of Junior year or the beginning of Senior year, I can tell because my hair is insanely long. This assignment was to paint an obstructed self-portrait. I had a bunch of ideas for this one, so I shot reference for my three favorite ideas. I ended up using this one where I’m obstructed by the canvas for the assignment, but later used one of the other photos in my Senior year portfolio class. And that one is just below.
Obstructed self-portrait, graphite and white charcoal pencil on gray canson paper
So, like I said, this was one of my other ideas for the obstructed self-portrait. I thought it was a strong image, so I definitely wanted to use it at some point. So I drew it Senior year when I was filling gaps in my portfolio. When I took the photos for this piece, digital cameras were not readily available. They may have been on the market, but they were too expensive for me to buy one. So I had to get these pictures developed at CVS, and that was the most nervous I had ever been to pick up photos. I was just waiting for the lady at the counter to say, “Dude, what the hell is wrong with you?” And now we’ll end with one I’m working on now.
Work in progress... graphite under-drawing with acrylic paint
I hadn’t done a self-portrait in a long time and I wanted to immortalize this beard I was positive I wasn’t going to keep for more than a week or two (it’s been four months now), so I decided to paint this one. I’m happy with the under-drawing.
Blog-A-Day Challenge: Day 13
Drawing Power 