Transition Self-portrait

In the previous posts I exaplained my thought process when planning a future as a student, an artist, as me. Now, I would like to present to you the final piece that I created to present those ideas, plans, dreams, etc.

I want to represent myself within the work that I decide to do. What better way to do this than to draw a self portrait. It has been many years since I last completed a portrait (and they weren’t amazing since I was only 13 years old). It was something I thought that I wasn’t good at since then, so what better way to work on something than to actually go and do it.

Before starting to draw I had to choose a facial expression, something that would represent me most:

I chose number 2 because not only is it a face I pull a lot to other people, but its a way of showing my character and something that was passed on to me from my siblings.

I then sat down and drew the portrait. Next time Im going to take more accurate measurements and also when taking a photo create more harsh lighting. This would allow me to see the featuresas they are more defined and stronger shading would allow for more depth in the sketch which this one lacks.

The aim as described in the statement of intent was to show my direction of practice. Therefore, I turned this sketch into a collage with other photos that I then would use for a photo etch.

I wanted to show a bit more emotion and hidden levels to me. I love this collage as I think it does exactly that.

Using the technique of non-acid photo etching I created a small mdf plate ready to print. As you can see either the wood or the photo-sensitive foil already had an image within (numbers, letters, unevenness) and so it effected the final image quite a lot. Unfortunately, I did not have the time to do another one. Nevertheless, I didn’t mind the final outcome:

To finish the piece off I cut and shaped pieces of birchwood to represent my intentions of working with wood, and the themes that I want to touch up on. Unfortunately, this was a last minute addition and I wasn’t able to develop this part too well and so you can see basic shapes within the wood. Maybe, that is a good thing, as it shows room for improvement: which is exactly what I’m going to focus on.

Final presentation:

(I am currently in Prague! So a lot more posts to come about that very soon!)

The Gab’ Eye