October 23
Theme #6: Portrait

 

 

Project
Instructions
Supplies
Blocking a face    
  Demonstrate how to block a general face Drawing paper
    Pencils
    Crayons
     
Eyes, nose, lips and ears    
  Use a hand held mirror to analyze the separate features of your own face 18 X 24 drawing paper
  Execute studies of your eyes, nose, lips and ears Conte crayon
  Include front facing and profile views Colored pencil
    Charcoal
     
Live model    
  Pair up with another student 18 X 24 drawing paper
  One student will serve as a model, while the other student draws their likeness for 20 minutes Charcoal
  Repeat, reversing roles Pencil
    Conte crayon
     
Final Portrait    
  Draw a likeness of someone else using a photo Dark drawing paper (i.e. brown, blue, black)
  Remember, your photo is only your source – you may change it in whatever way you consider necessary White charcoal
  Think about adding interest to the image by portraying your individual with a dramatic expression or with a spectacular drawing technique Conte crayon
    Colored pencil

 

 

 

 

 

Examples and Inspiration

 

 

 

Rosalba Carriera. Charles Sackville, 2nd Duke of Dorset. c. 1730.  Pastel.
Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. Revised Second ed. Vol. 2. New York: Prentice Hall Inc., and Harry N. Abrams, 2005.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pablo Picasso.  Self-Portrait.  1900.  Charcoal on paper.
Fichner-Rathus, Lois.  Understanding Art.  Seventh edition.  Australia: Thomson Wadsworth, 2004.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Death of Marat

Jacques-Louis David. Death of Marat. 1793.
Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. Revised Second ed. Vol. 2. New York: Prentice Hall Inc., and Harry N. Abrams, 2005.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mary Cassatt. Maternal Caress. 1891.
Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. Revised Second ed. Vol. 2. New York: Prentice Hall Inc., and Harry N. Abrams, 2005.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grant Wood. American Gothic. 1930.
Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. Revised Second ed. Vol. 2. New York: Prentice Hall Inc., and Harry N. Abrams, 2005.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Henri Matisse. The Woman with the Hat. 1905.
Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. Revised Second ed. Vol. 2. New York: Prentice Hall Inc., and Harry N. Abrams, 2005.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. Princess de Broglie. 1853.
Tansey, Richard C. and Fred S. Kleine. Gardner's Art Through the Ages. Tenth ed. Vol. 2. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1996. 2 vols.

The challenge in drawing portraits is to accept what is actually seen instead of resorting to well known symbols.  Blocking is a method that establishes a solid structure to your drawing of a face. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blocking a face
Garcia, Claire Watson.  Drawing for the Absolute and Utter Beginner.  New York: Watson-Guptill Publications.  2003.

 

 

 

 

 

 
Blocked faces
Garcia, Claire Watson.  Drawing for the Absolute and Utter Beginner.  New York: Watson-Guptill Publications.  2003.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once a face is properly blocked, the artist must open themselves to truly seeing their subject, paying close attention to the specifics and peculiarities of the individual’s face. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blocked eye
Garcia, Claire Watson.  Drawing for the Absolute and Utter Beginner.  New York: Watson-Guptill Publications.  2003.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Further developed eye
Garcia, Claire Watson.  Drawing for the Absolute and Utter Beginner.  New York: Watson-Guptill Publications.  2003.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Further developed nose
Garcia, Claire Watson.  Drawing for the Absolute and Utter Beginner.  New York: Watson-Guptill Publications.  2003.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Further developed mouth
Garcia, Claire Watson.  Drawing for the Absolute and Utter Beginner.  New York: Watson-Guptill Publications.  2003.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blocked hair
Garcia, Claire Watson.  Drawing for the Absolute and Utter Beginner.  New York: Watson-Guptill Publications.  2003.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proud Maisie

Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys.  Proud Maisie.
Edwards, Betty.  Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.  Los Angeles: J.P. Tarcher, Inc., 1979.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Studies of eyes, nose, lips and ears

 

 

Michelangelo.  Studies for the Libyan Sybil.  1510 - 1511.  Red chalk.
Fichner-Rathus, Lois.  Understanding Art.  Seventh edition.  Australia: Thomson Wadsworth, 2004.

 

 

 

 

 

Another major concern for contemporary artists is to bring new life to a very common, very traditional subject.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Clairvoyant

John Currin.  The Clairvoyant.  2001. Gouache on prepared paper.
Hoptman, Laura. Drawing Now: Eight Propositions.  New York:  The Museum of Modern Art, 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chuck Close.  Big Self-Portrait.  1968.  8’ 11 ½” X 6’ 11 ½”.
Fineberg, Jonathan. Art Since 1940: Strategies of Being. Second edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gerhard Richter.  Betty.
Fineberg, Jonathan. Art Since 1940: Strategies of Being. Second edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In your final drawing, your task is to create a work with a fresh, contemporary approach

 

 

 

 

Arneson's Pollock sculpture

 

 

 

 

 

 

Study

Takashi Murakami.  Study for SMP Ko2.  1999. Watercolor on illustration board.
Hoptman, Laura. Drawing Now: Eight Propositions.  New York:  The Museum of Modern Art, 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graham Little.  Untitled.  2000.  Acrylic and colored pencil on paper.
Hoptman, Laura. Drawing Now: Eight Propositions.  New York:  The Museum of Modern Art, 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jean-Michel Basquiat. Charles the First. 1982.
Fineberg, Jonathan. Art Since 1940: Strategies of Being. Second edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Untitled

Barry McGee.  Untitled.  Detail.  1998 - 2002.
Hoptman, Laura. Drawing Now: Eight Propositions.  New York:  The Museum of Modern Art, 2002.