This is an exercise I did last night after being inspired by Katie's latest blog post and her self portrait there. First I printed 2 shots of my face side by side on a sheet of regular inkjet paper.
Then I painted over the one on the right hand side while glancing from time to time at the "model" on the left. This is easier done for me looking at the images upside down. You can see that I left out the deep smile lines; I don't know how to make them look natural anyway. So I kind of got the 20-year old version of my face.
Then I tore it out and glued it in my mini book of faces. Mindless fun; results will vary.
John cooked up a batch of Xochonostles; they are the discovery of the decade at our house but I can't give you the recipe until John has cooked it for all our friends because he wants to surprise them first.Last week I was part of the jury for Portland's Gold Key awards given to High School art students of merit. I think it will be helpful to you who enter juried shows to understand what jurors focus on when making their selections. There were several wonderful portfolios that barely missed the cut because while their work was original and technically proficient, the images entered did not show a cohesive personal voice; I would almost say theme, to the work. It's so tempting to show a range of work as opposed to a body of work.
This is the advice I need to hear more than you do in all likelihood. But there it is. Personal voice. After all is said and done, what is it you want to say?
Carry on.
18 comments:
I like the instant face lift ! ;) Fun indeed !
I am lucky enough that for the rest of this month, I have little else to focus on my art making. I am not making art for anyone else by for myself. Hoping to get to know that voice again...
Carry on, lovely Teacher One !
Very cool! I like painting over faces from magazines too and turning them into someone else! :)
Still trying to find my voice but thanks to you I know I have one.
Is there a way we can paint out our own "smile" lines....
Too many on my face. Like your twenty
year old self.
i like your portrait, very good idear
Wonderful, as usual. I enjoyed drawing upside down in "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain." I couldn't believe how we let our brains rule our perceptions. Good exercise. You are fun as always, Judy.
Very good!! I will have to try that---and leave out the lines! And I can't wait to find out that that is to eat!
Smile lines is a very very good thing to have indeed. It's the sign of a life that's being well lived. :)
Smile hard and smile often, Judy.
looks like you---! fun to see how you did it side-by-side
Another fun thing to try!
the 20 yr old has gray hair!
the older version looks wise and beautiful too.
looks just like you only younger what's wrong with that?
Great idea on the portrait painting, plus added bonus of looking younger thrown in!
I remember getting that from jurors at one show many years ago... "cohesive theme". I had the personal voice down. Now I'm back to trying to get that cohesiveness together again. Sometimes it's tough to figure out, sometimes tough to see it through to the end. Hey who said art is easy?
but could you tell us what the fruit/vegetable is??? Karen
I like your portrait and will visit Katie's blog to see how she does it. Re: personal voice- which is always a challenge for me, I'm thinking of telling more stories with my artwork. Everyone likes a good story.
Karen, Xochonostles is the fruit of a paddle cactus, grown and eaten mostly in Mexico. It has a haunting sweet-sour taste that works like tomatillos in soups and sauces and when cooked with cinnamon, sugar and spices tastes like no other fruit. You might be able to find it at a local tienda and there are many recipes on the internet.
I love your self portraits Judy.
Wonderful self portraits Judy, and I'm thinking about what you said about a body of work rather than a range of work, and I'm wondering where else that can be applied.
I'm also thinking about that fruit.
xo
Ah yes, 'personal voice', the parent of 'body of work', huh? I feel all over the place myself right now and ponder my voice and my work. Its crazy when we go thru these times, but I typically emerge stronger than before.
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