Self Portrait and Artist Statement

Artist Statement:

• My goal was to draw a dramatic charcoal drawing of myself that resembled me.
• I accomplished this goal by getting a photo with a lot of highlights and shadows that made it look like I was coming out of the shadows.
• What surprised me most about my experience doing this drawing was how easy doing hair is because it doesn't have to exactly match the picture to look right because hair doesn't always look the same on a person.
• The most difficult challenge I had to face was getting the perspective and proportions right because I was looking at a picture much smaller than my drawing paper.
• I met that challenge by standing while I was drawing so nothing would get distorted because of the bad angle and checking that the perspective looked correct before I added detail.
• I experienced the shift to the right/artistic side of the brain when I was doing the lips and hair because I was adding highlights which made the drawing more contrasting.
• My drawing really works by the eye and lips because it gives the drawing emotion.
• Some things I have learned that I can bring into my next drawing include how to make an artwork dramatic and have a little meaning.
• Another artist in the class I learned from was McKenna who also used hair as a shadow on her face.
• If I had a do-over I would prop up my artwork from the beginning to prevent distortion when sitting.
• I believe the best thing about my work is the shadows and the mouth.