Self-Portrait
Golden DreamsAcrylic paint on canvas
91.4 cm x 91.4 cm August - September 2020 Exhibition TextGolden Dreams is a self-portrait that combines the realistic with the abstract. It is inspired by Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I and Judith, and the Head of Holofernes. It is representative of how i wish to view myself and has a dreamlike quality to it because the background is almost totally abstract
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Planning
Inspiration
I admire the work of Gustav Klimt for the way he is able to masterfully use his medium. He uses gold hues that make the piece seem to shine and the gold and silver leaf add to this shimmery effect. I want to use gold and silver leaf for my self-portrait to imitate the shimmery quality of this piece. This piece is highly decorative and ornamental. There are many shapes and patterns that make the world Adele is in seem to dissolve into abstraction. It's hard to tell where she ends and the patterns begin. The piece is unconcerned with seeming logical. I will somewhat mimic the pose Adele is doing, with emphasis on the hands. |
In this piece, Klimt was telling a modern rendition of the biblical tale of Judith. This isn't just a retelling, but Klimt attempting to portray Judith differently than in the past. The story is usually seen as heroic, but violent. He wanted her to appear seductive and powerful. Judith appears proud of herself and unashamed, something that was scandalous to the public. Klimt wanted to make Judith confident and independent. I like that Klimt wanted to break boundaries. While I can't do exactly this in today's art climate, i can portray myself with confidence. Creating art of myself has always made me uncomfortable, but now I want to just do what I want and how I want. I will portray myself in a confident way and use the highly ornamental style that Klimt does.
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Sketching
I drew out some of the details of the piece and brainstormed what I wanted it to look like. I knew I wanted to include many of the symbols in my piece. I also wanted my pose to be confident and relaxed to mimic the woman's in "Judith and the Head of Holofernes."
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For the pose, I wanted to try a variety of poses. These were the final poses I was considering. I picked the first one because it felt powerful and confident; these were the feelings I wanted to incorporate in this piece.
Experimentation
Above is some aspects of "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I." Klimt used a lot of abstract shapes such as eyes, swirls, and donut-like shapes. There are also an abundance of geometric shapes such as triangles, circles, and squares. These aspects mesh together well and I want to mimic what he did with them. I want to use impasto in my piece as well. This is when paint is layered on thickly to the point that it stands out from the surface.
This piece was the first that I had to create skin tone for. I found that creating it with many colors was difficult and it was nearly impossible to recreate the same shade multiple times. So I got burnt sienna and burnt umber. Burnt sienna, white, and yellow were were the perfect mix for my skin tone. Burnt umber was useful for shadows. These paints will also be useful for any future pieces that I need skin tone for. Since my two inspiration pieces are very full of gold tones, I also got some shiny, gold paint. It's very reflective and saturated, and I found that I got better tones by mixing the gold with varying amounts of white and yellow. It's not useful for all pieces, but I may incorporate more gold tones into my pieces because I enjoyed the reflectiveness so much.
To create the background of my piece, I wanted splotchy gold look that's in Portrait of Adele Block-Bauer I. I used a sponge to dab gold paint all around the figure. This took a while, as I tried to overlap the dabbing, but at the same time space them out. I think it worked very well in imitating Klimt's piece. I learned a new technique I can also use in future pieces.
Process
After stretching the canvas, I gessoed it. I was generous with the gesso since I knew it would benefit me to have a solid foundation for the paint. My first step was to draw the picture I took of myself onto the canvas. To do this I used a projector and traced the parts of the picture I wanted in the portrait. It was faster and more effective than a grid method. |
When I started painting this piece, I decided to do the shadows and highlight of the face last. I created the 'halo' and began to fill it in with the donut-like shapes with mostly gold tones. I painted the space on the outside of this piece with a green-gold color. It didn't quite look as I wanted it to, but I figured it would shift a bit when I added the gold color on top. |
I filled out more of the circles in the halo, minding the spacing. I wanted to fill up as much space as possible. I added a scale-like pattern to be the seat of the chair. This pattern is as seen in Judith and the Head of Holofernes. I filled out the dress with the triangle and eye motifs. For the gold pattern on the space near the outside, I used a sponge. I put gold paint in a bowl, then dabbed it with a sponge and applied it to the canvas. I tried to space out as well as I could, but I noticed that it looks a bit transparent through photo. I could apply more so it is more noticeable. |
These are swatches for the colors I used. I used a lot of earthy, brown tones and gold tones for the space around me. For my skin, I used a lot of titanium white and burnt sienna along just a bit of spectal yellow. For the shadows, I added varying levels of burnt umber. For highlights, I made the ratio of white greater than the sienna. |
Reflection
Upon reflection, I wish I had incorporated more aspects from "Judith, and the Head of Holofernes." Especially something like the severed head. It's horrifying, but also invoked strong emotions that I would have liked in my piece. I also wish I had come up with a more original composition. I think some more originality would have worked better in a self portrait. By far the hardest part of this piece was the skin tones. I had never done them with acrylic before, and mixing them is difficult with so many colors. However, I think it came out fairly well. This has taught me that I should be more adventurous because it could turn out well. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed creating a piece centered around myself. Now, I want to create more pieces centered around me. I feel like it helps my self esteem a bit. As the canvas was so large, this is the biggest piece I've ever created. It was challenging, but definitely worth it.
Compare & ContrastSimilarities:
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ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
The multitude of patterns and shapes I used in my piece are directly inspired by Klimt's work. I wanted to mimic the way the world in his piece seems to become pure abstraction. I also drew inspiration from the warm, shimmery gold hues, composition, and poses he utilized in "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I" and "Judith and the Head of Holofernes."
What is the overall approach (POV) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author of the website on Gustav Klimt is a very analytical in their approach to his work. They briefly talk about his life and go into great depth on the meaning of his works, their formal qualities, why he created them, and how the public reacted. The content is unbiased and not overly passionate.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I discovered that Austria in the early 1900s was just beginning to become a more open minded society. Klimt wanted to break the stigma of sexuality and the female form by portraying it as powerful and worthy of being celebrated.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme was confidence and breaking boundaries, as I want my self-portrait to depict a confident and powerful me.
What kinds of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I inferred that Klimt was respected for his masterful use of mediums and formal qualities, but also controversial for his subject matters.
The multitude of patterns and shapes I used in my piece are directly inspired by Klimt's work. I wanted to mimic the way the world in his piece seems to become pure abstraction. I also drew inspiration from the warm, shimmery gold hues, composition, and poses he utilized in "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I" and "Judith and the Head of Holofernes."
What is the overall approach (POV) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author of the website on Gustav Klimt is a very analytical in their approach to his work. They briefly talk about his life and go into great depth on the meaning of his works, their formal qualities, why he created them, and how the public reacted. The content is unbiased and not overly passionate.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I discovered that Austria in the early 1900s was just beginning to become a more open minded society. Klimt wanted to break the stigma of sexuality and the female form by portraying it as powerful and worthy of being celebrated.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme was confidence and breaking boundaries, as I want my self-portrait to depict a confident and powerful me.
What kinds of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I inferred that Klimt was respected for his masterful use of mediums and formal qualities, but also controversial for his subject matters.
Bibliography
“Gustav Klimt Artworks & Famous Paintings.” The Art Story, The Art Story Contributors, 21 Nov. 2011,
www.theartstory.org/artist/klimt-gustav/artworks/#pnt_5.
“Judith and the Head of Holofernes, 1901 by Gustav Klimt.” Gustav Klimt Paintings, Biography, and Quotes,
www.gustav-klimt.com/Judith-and-the-Head-of-Holofernes.jsp.
“Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, 1907 by Gustav Klimt.” Gustav Klimt Paintings, Biography, and Quotes,
www.gustav-klimt.com/Portrait-Of-Adele-Bloch-Bauer-1.jsp.
www.theartstory.org/artist/klimt-gustav/artworks/#pnt_5.
“Judith and the Head of Holofernes, 1901 by Gustav Klimt.” Gustav Klimt Paintings, Biography, and Quotes,
www.gustav-klimt.com/Judith-and-the-Head-of-Holofernes.jsp.
“Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, 1907 by Gustav Klimt.” Gustav Klimt Paintings, Biography, and Quotes,
www.gustav-klimt.com/Portrait-Of-Adele-Bloch-Bauer-1.jsp.