Self-Portraits : Personal Style

Historically, the self-portrait has been a favorite subject of many artists.  It allowed them to sharpen their powers of observation and to understand themselves from a different perspective.  Noting the exact relationships of one body part to another, in terms of size and placement, artists were able to depict what is known as the "idealized face" through a mathematical formula.  Using the head as the standard for drawing a whole human figure, they found that facial features could also be measured in relation to the nose.

Mathematical formulas may not always be put to use in the art studio, but such concepts can allow for a more focused starting point.  Most people have ideas about what a human face should look like- we know that it usually consists of a mouth, a nose, two eyes, and that ears and hair may give some additional information.  However, it takes some real concentration for an artist to pay attention to the details in various types of mouths, eyes, and noses that accompany different people's faces.

The artist here, and her classmates, were encouraged to ignore ideas in their minds about what a face "should" look like and to draw, instead, the actual images that were reflected back to them on their mirrors.  She started out by drawing shapes, which served as the outline for the head and corresponding facial features.  Referring to the mirror, the artist compared her drawing to the reflection, and continued to add other characteristic features of herself.  By using black ink, instead of color, she was able to really focus on the shapes and lines that are central to an individual's detailed face.

After drawing realistically, from the concrete image that she saw in the mirror, the artist was able to to add ideas from her imagination.  Working on a specific concept allowed her to understand the purpose of controlled drawing, and then to move from within those structured parameters toward more abstract rendering.  This incorporation of both customary drawing techniques and personal features made the final pieces quite unique.  Creators of newer generations can still learn a lot from artists of the past, but focusing on body part ratios will only get one so far.  Truly meaningful creations develop from using more than just a mathematical formula... they develop from using inspiration within.