With a Hint of Personality

Self Portrait Pastel

During my junior year of high school, my art class was given the assignment of creating a “slice of life” portrait of a person that was to be drafted and completed in two weeks time.  Originally, I debated whether to recreate a family member or a close friend, but I eventually decided that I wanted to draw a self-portrait.  The only other self-portrait that I had ever drawn was in a relatively conventional pose but I thought it might be preferable to depict my personality through this next work of art.  I wanted a pose that was somewhat simple while also out of the ordinary in contrast to my usual works in which the subject is depicted in a picture perfect, pristine pose.  The photograph that this work was based on was taken on a whim and sent to a friend as a joke, but after some consideration, I decided it was the exact image of myself that I was hoping to portray.  The expression reflected the fact that I am somewhat spunky, not very uptight, and it also showed that the little things in life, like blowing a large bubble with gum, can sometimes be pretty surprising and exciting!  When I began layering pastels to create different shades and colors for the piece, I made sure to stick to a relatively strict color palette.  I wanted to use bright pinks throughout my skin to complement the color of the bubblegum and to sharply contrast against the dark browns in my hair and my eyes.  By the end of the two weeks, I was exhausted from working tirelessly for days and many long nights to ensure that the final product actually looked like me.  Ultimately, I was especially proud of myself because it was such a challenge to complete in such little time and it actually looked like me.

I had originally become interested in art because of my early visits to museums with my family and because of my admiration for my grandfather’s artistic talents.  I began taking art courses in high school and realized that I had an intrinsic talent for it.  I explored quite a few different types of media but drawing is definitely my favorite method.  Drawing seems to provide me a bit more control over my art since it permits me to gradually introduce subtle modifications to achieve the final product I desire.  Perhaps, this insight also reflects the perfectionist nature of my personality.  Looking back on this particular example of my work, I am proud that I was able to express who I am and to demonstrate my own personal style of drawing through my self portrait.  My hard work eventually paid off because this piece was chosen to be displayed at a local competitive art show because of its technical quality, realism and likely the atypical pose.  Although I did not win the competition, the honor of being included in the collection served as a nice reinforcement that my skills in art had developed nicely over time.

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