Self Portrait

Sir Thomas Lawrence

“Portrait of Miss Rosamond Croker”, 1827

oil on canvas

32 x 25 inches

Frida Kahlo

“Self-Portrait with Monkey”, 1938

oil on Masonite

16 x 12 inches

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

“Femme retroussant sa chemise” (Woman Lifting Her Chemise), 1901

oil on wood panel

22 x 16 5/8 inches

I selected these pieces to inspire my self portrait because these pieces aren’t overly idealized. While all of the women in these portraits are beautiful in their own way, they haven’t been falsely beautified or perfected. I wanted my self portrait to be as honest as I could attempt to make it. I chose to do a graphite drawing because it is the easiest media for me to work in. I’m more familiar with graphite as a material, and it gave me lots of room to edit any mistakes. I didn’t use the exact picture above as my reference. Instead I sat in front of a mirror to draw. I found that to be a little difficult because I couldn’t sit perfectly still and draw myself at the same time, so the angle of my face or how my hair fell would change. I also noticed the shadows on my face changed as the sun moved, so I opted to do those last. I think this piece represents me in that it isn’t overly complicated. I like to think I’m a fairly simple person. I don’t like confrontation, and I try to get along well with everyone I meet. I’m pretty much an open book. I wanted my portrait to be simple, well done, and honest, but also give off a sort of calming feel. I used varying shades and color blocking with the graphite to create the illusion of form, but in a simplified way, with some bolder lines, and not perfectly blending everything. I enjoyed working on this piece because it gave me some time to just relax and draw, which I haven’t had a lot of time to do while preparing for finals. I like my final piece, I think it’s simple and reflects the calmer side of my personality.