Pencil Portraits

SELF-PORTRAIT

N- a portrait of yourself created by yourself; to portray yourself, realistically, expressively or

symbolically

Portrait

A drawing, painting, photograph or sculpture (or other artistic representation) of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality and even the mood of the person. Often shows a person looking directly at the artist, in order to most successfully engage the subject with the viewer.

Self-Portrait

A representation of an artist by the artist.

Although self-portraits have been made by artists since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance (mid 15th century) that artists can be frequently identified depicting themselves as either the main subject, or as important characters in their work

Albrecht Dürer-Self-portrait at 13yrs (1484)

Albrecht Dürer-Self-portrait at 20yrs (1491-92)

Albrecht Dürer-Self-portrait

Albrecht Dürer-Self-portrait

Leonardo da Vinci Self-portrait (1512-15)

Rembrandt (1630)

Van Gogh-Two Self-Portraits and Several Details, Drawing (1886)

Vincent Van Gogh- Self-portrait as an Artist (1888)

Lovis Corinth-Self-portrait with skeleton (1896)

Frida Kahlo-Self-portrait (1940)

Kathe Kollwitz

Andy Warhol-Self Portrait, Yellow (1986)

Andy Warhol-Camouflage Self Portrait (1986)

Andy Warhol-Self-Portrait (1963)

Cindy Sherman-Untitled Film Stills (1977-80)

Cindy Sherman-Untitled Film Stills (1977-80)

Cindy Sherman-Untitled Film Stills (1977-80)

Cindy Sherman-Woman in Sundress (2003)

Cindy Sherman-Untitled (Marilyn) 1982

Cindy Sherman-Untitled #140 (Fairytales)

David Hockney

Brett Whitely-Self-Portrait in the Studio

Brett Whitely-Insistent Madness

Francis Bacon-Self Portrait (1972)

Salvidor Dali

Salvidor Dali

Joni Mitchell

David Bowie

Michael Hovancsek- Magnetic Self-Portrait

Portrait of Nam Jun Pik (1981)

Helen Williams- Self-portrait without a face

Helen Williams- Self-portrait without a face

Most portrait shots, whether formally posed in a studio, informally taken in a local environment or stolen candidly, will show the subject's face; that is what we expect from a portrait.

I am interested in exploring the notion of a portrait where there is no representation of the person's facial features, or indeed of the person's body at all. Such a portrait must indicate to the viewer the essence of the subject without actually allowing us to see him or her. We must be able to infer the things about the person who is the subject of the photograph - character, age, gender, occupation, physical appearance and so on - without the benefit of seeing any clues to these things.

Self-portrait with floats Rockport Maine (1999)

http://sgchipman.com/drawing/steve3

Self Portrait 2007 - drawing by *dizzykid defiant art

Larry Roots

- drawing drawing by *dizzykid defiant art

VA12-Self-Portraits Guide

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1618qH7KojU

Self Portrait- Reflection Analysis

Look in the mirror and ask questions about your reflection:

1. What is in reverse?

2. Does the pattern on your clothing appear to be backwards?

3. Is the part in your hair on the opposite side of your head?

4. Are your eyebrows the same shape? Do they arch the same way?

5. Do your eyes differ in shape and/or size?

6. Do you have a wide or narrow nose and nostrils?

Proportions & Alignment

1. The face is about three nose lengths tall.

2. The eyes are one eye’s width apart. A third eye would fit exactly into the space between the eyes.

3. The eyes and the tops of the ears are aligned with each other.

4. The tip of the nose and the earlobes are aligned with each other.

Head Positions

First steps

• For a front-view portrait, start with an egg-shaped oval with the larger end being at the top of the face.

Study own bone structure, observing how it is different from the basic egg shape, and make corrections.

• Lightly sketch this beginning foundation so that it is life-size or nearly so.

First steps

1. Draw a very light line about halfway between the top of the skull and the bottom of the chin. The line falls through the center of the eyes.

2. Sketch a guideline about half the distance between the eye line and the bottom of the chin. That indicates where the bottom of the nose will be located.

3. Sketch a guideline for the middle of the lips about one-third of the distance between the bottom of the nose and the chin.

Eyes

1. The upper eyelid is usually slightly longer than the lower lid.

2. Study the shape of the tear ducts. Note that they are on the sides of the eyes nearest the nose.

3. The lids slightly cover the eyeball. Therefore, you don’t see the iris as a full circle except when the person being drawn has a completely surprised or frightened look.

4. The folds of skin on the upper and lower lids allow the lids to slide over the eyeball. The fold should be drawn in so that the eye appears to sit back in the eye socket instead of sitting on top of the cheekbones.

5. The upper lid casts a slight shadow onto the eyeball; it is important to show these shadows on the whites of the eyes so they don’t look like they are popping out of the head.

6. The “sparkle” (shiny place) on the eyeball makes it look alive. Make sure to treat the sparkles on each eye the same, matching locations and shapes, so the eyes don’t look like they’re crossed or looking in different directions.

7. The eyebrows run along the bony ridge just above the eye, with the thickest part toward the center.

8. Carefully study the eyelashes. They gently curve away from the lid and don’t stick straight out. Don’t overemphasize them, or they’ll look like spiders sitting on the eyes!

Nose

1. The nose is roughly a triangular shape from between the eyes to the tip of the nose.

2. There is a “ball” of flesh at the end of the nose with nostrils flaring out from there.

3. Look for a shiny streak or highlight on the bridge of the nose and a rounder shiny place on the tip of the nose. Those highlights will correspond to the direction and intensity of the light source falling on them.

4. Note that the darkest values are located in the nostrils to make them appear to recede up into the nose.

Mouth

1. The upper lip is slightly longer than the lower.

2. The upper lip often has a slightly pointed place in the center where it meets the lower lip.

3. In usual lighting situations, the upper lip is darker than the lower.

4. The lower lip has a shiny area where the light falls on it.

5. The indentation under the lower lip will be darker than the lower lip itself.

6. Note the two ridges that run between the upper lip and the bottom of the nose, which create variations in lights and darks.