When it comes to art-making, I've always been a traditionalist. In fact, I've recently spent a lot of time attempting to break the bonds of "plain-ness" and take chances with new materials, either on their own or in conjunction with others. The mediums I used today, while they are very common, are not generally used together to create portraits. And I think it goes without saying that the visual is quite different from what I've been producing in this series.
This process all began about a year ago when one of my students and I were discussing how it was very difficult for each of us to create abstract art, given our natural proclivity to produce realism. After a long conversation, we challenged each other to work in a looser, more non-representational manner. The good news is that we were each relatively successful with our results, and we each felt an artistic burden lifted from our shoulders!
For me, "the self-portrait project" has many reasons and purposes. Of course, by repetition I would expect for my drawing skills to grow exponentially. On the other hand - and perhaps more importantly - I'm excited to see what possibilities I can discover as the project develops...
#19 November 8, 2010, Spray paint, Sharpie markers, watercolor
Sounds: Duran Duran, Decade: Greatest Hits
ok, this is AWESOME!
ReplyDeleteclassic - I love it - you should do some research on Jack Steadman (drawings w Hunter S. Thompson)
ReplyDeleteI struggle with that, too, Jim! My eyes want to dictate what I create based on what they see. I need to break out of that too.
ReplyDelete