Design Principle / Task 1 : Exercises
28.08.2020 - 25.09.2020 (Week 1 - Week 5)
Jocelin Agustia (0345436)
Design Principle / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Exercise 1
LECTURES
28.08.2020 (Week 1)
Today we have our first class with Ms. Yinchi, we were guided through our module and discussed important contents in it such as the grading system, our weekly plan, and exercises. We were then given an explanation for our first exercise materials. Next, we briefly looked at our senior's blog. Today's class is pretty short because we were already told to watch the lecture video before we started the class. So, every material that is needed for the exercise has been explained through the video.
Design Principle Module
Lecture Slides
I also watched the videos on Youtube that Ms. Yinchi gave us to help me understand more about Gestalt Theory and Constant. Besides that, I learned many new things to design, such as design elements and design principles. Seems that there are a lot more than just draw and throw ideas to a paper!
Here are some things that I learned from the video
Design Elements :
1. Line: could be wavy, straight, jagged, thick/thin, etc.
2. Shapes: Geometrical and Organic (free form)
3. Space: Area between, around, or within the object
4. Texture: The illusion of feel at the object
5. Colors: They are divided into 3 which are analogous, complementary, and monochromatic
To my surprise, I actually thought that monochromatic colors are only black and gray, but after watching the video, I now know that monochromatic colors are the same colors, just different values.
Design Principle :
1. Balance: Symmetrical and Asymmetrical (visual weight)
2. Contrast: Differences between elements.
3. Emphasis: Focusing on one specific element/object.
4. Movement: Showing actions.
5. Proportion: Scale of an object.
6. Rhythm: Repetition of an element.
7. Harmony: Elements that work and complement each other.
8. Unity: Visual linking of various elements.
I combined together with the video and Ms. Yinchi's explanation into one, and thus, there are 8 kinds of Design Principles.
Gestalt Theory
From the lecture video, I could understand that there are 5 principles to this theory. Which are:
1. Figure-ground: To create a visual what our eyes see first (foreground or background). Basically, there are 2 drawings made in the image.
2. Similarity: The images that are similar to each other that shows us the flow or that they are something related.
3. Proximity: Images that have a specific function like posters or name cards.
4. Continuity: The flow of our eyes when seeing a particular image (like the flow to read from left-right).
5. Closure: Our minds that tend to create an image based on what we see.
04.09.2020 (Week 2)
For today's lecture, Miss Jinchi gave us her advice and opinions regarding our work and at the end of the lecture she gave us a new assignment, she also reminded us to not make this next assignment into a painting but rather a design.
I watched the lecture video for this week to understand more about Emphasis, Balance, The Golden Ratio, and the Rule of Thirds.
Emphasis: To create dominance and focus (stand out).
Balance: Distribution of visual weight, a visual equilibrium of the elements that cause the total image to appear balanced.
There are 2 types of Balance:
- Symmetrical Balance: Equal-weight, bilateral balance, radial balance, and approximate balance.
- Asymmetrical Balance: Placement that allows objects of varying visual weight to balance one another around a fulcrum point.
Golden Ratio
Also known as 'Phi". It is a representative of perfect beauty or is uniquely found throughout nature which is used as a guide to creating visual balance in architecture and paintings. The golden ratio can also be used to bring harmony, balance, and structure. When using the golden ratio, it can increase the appeal of the design work.
Rules of Third
Simplification of the golden ratio and a composition guideline to create more dynamism.
11.09.2020 (Week 3)
This week we had our sketches seen by Ms. Jinchi. Unlike last week we started from the last absent number, my absent number is in the middle so I had to wait too, but not very long.
The lecture for this week is about Repetition, Movement, Hierarchy, and Alignment
Repetition: To make a work of design seem active and creates rhythm and pattern. In this case, variety is important to keep rhythms exciting, active, and to avoid monotony. The pattern can come in shapes, colors, lines, and etc.
Movement: The way a design leads the eye in, around, and through a composition. Shapes, forms, lines, and curves are usually used to make the movement.
Hierarchy: The choreography of content in composition to communicate information and convey meaning. To sum up, hierarchy is used to prioritize.
Alignment: Placement of elements that edges line up along common rows or columns, or their body along a common center. The use of it is to create a sense of unity and cohesion.
18.09.2020 (Week 4)
This week's lecture is about Harmony and Unity with another extra, Proportion. It is a very short lecture.
Harmony and Unity: Selection of elements that share a common trait and needs variety to avoid monotony. Unity occurs when these elements are composed in such a way that they are balanced and give a sense of oneness creating a theme. The variety includes a variety of angles, exposure, composition, and etc,.
figure 1.1 Examples of Harmony and Unity
Proportion: Relationship of two or more elements and how they compare to each other.
figure 1.2 Example of Proportion
Symbol, Imagery, and Typography
Symbol
A sign, object or shape that is used to represent something else. In design, it is used to convey or provide information.
There are 2 types of symbols:
1. Figurative Representation
2. Non-Figurative Representation
Figurative representation is then split into 2, Graphic symbols and Visual. Graphic symbols are made up of Pictorial Symbols, Abstract Symbols, and Arbitrary Symbols.
Pictorial Symbols: Image related image or simplified image. Can be used for graphic creative work and to help the process of learning.
figure 1.3 Pictorial Symbols
figure 1.4 Pictorial Symbol in Science
Abstract Symbols: Looks like the represented object but fewer details.
figure 1.5 Abstract Symbols
Arbitrary Symbols: No resemblance to the object they represent and are based on geometric and colors.
figure 1.6 Arbitrary Symbols
Imagery
A vital part of design (Print or Digital) so users and viewers are able to relate to the concept or brand.
figure 1.7 Example of Imagery Image
Typography
The design and arrangments of texts to convey message or concept.
figure 1.8 Example of Typography in Design
INSTRUCTIONS
Week 1
For the first week, we were told to make a design regarding contrast and gestalt by using A4 paper and the design will be made black and white so then we will cut them and paste them into the A4 paper.
Week 2
This week I started to sketch some ideas. Before sketching, I decided to find some inspirations on Pinterest.
figure 1.1 Inspirations from Pinterest
Then I started to sketch, my sketches are originally from paper but then I redraw them digitally. Here are the results:
figure 1.2 Gestalt Digital Sketches (03/09/2020)
From the 7 sketches I made, I decided to choose the Mermaid and Feet as the contrast and The leaf as Gestalt. But, I improved them a little.
figure 1.4 Improved Sketches (05/09/2020)
The sketches were in digital, we were told to use black and white paper so I printed the sketches out and decided to cut them then stick them to paper.
figure 1.5 Printed Sketches (06/09/2020)
figure 1.6 Cutting Process and Finished Product (06/09/2020)
figure 1.7 Scanned (06/09/2020)
Snake and Leaves
I decided to choose this one because Ms.Jinchi liked it. At first, this idea came randomly to my mind so I just sketched them out quickly, but then at our 2nd lecture when Ms Jinchi saw it she said that it looks like we are heading inside the forest and Indonesia has many forests. And I thought that it is true.
Legs and Tail
The idea of this came from my childhood memories, I loved Disney movies, especially Ariel. I love the story in it, and the movie Ariel has contrast in it which are the legs and mermaid tail. So, I decided to use this idea.
Week 3
Our new task is to create a design for Emphasis and Balance. There are many types of balance and I decided to do radial balance and made a mandala.
figure 1.8 Inspiration from Pinterest (10/09/2020)
figure 1.9 Radial Balance Sketch (10/09/2020)
figure 2.1 Emphasis Sketch (10/09/2020)
figure 2.2 Revised Sketch (10/09/2020)
I decided to go with the orange for Emphasis but I changed them from the original design.
figure 2.3 Emphasis Coloring Process (12/09/2020)
I first traced my design lightly using a pencil and with the help of my LED tracing pad, and then I used colored pencils and markers to color it.
figure 2.4 Left: Camera Version Right: Scanned Version (13/09/2020)
The same goes for the Radial Balance design, I also used an LED tracing pad. At first, it is quite difficult to see the patterns because of the black paper I used. But, as time went by I got used to it.
figure 2.5 Radial Balance Process (13/09/2020)
I really like to draw mandalas and I find that mandalas are radial balance, so it was very exciting to throw my ideas into designing the patterns.
Week 4
This week's task is about Repetition and Movement. I searched a lot online to find inspirations, originally I wanted to draw a skater or a ballerina for movement but I find that it will take a lot of time so I decided to use a simpler design.
figure 2.7 Inspirations from Pinterest (17/09/2020)
I came up with 2 ideas for each topic.
figure 2.8 Movement Sketches (17/09/2020)
figure 2.9 Repetition Sketches (17/09/2020)
The next day I got feedbacks from Ms. Jinchi and so I revised the design I picked.
figure 3.1 Revised Sketches (18/09/2020)
I asked Ms. Jinchi for another feedback about my revised sketches and decided to change a few things.
figure 3.2 Tracing Process (19/09/2020)
figure 3.3 Final Design (20/09/2020)
Week 5
I found inspirations from the website I read about harmony and Unity, they are works by famous artists around the world and also in Pinterest.
figure 3.5 Claude Monet, The Japanese Bridge (The Water Lilly Pond), 1899
figure 3.6 Claude Monet, Water Lilies, 1916
figure 3.7 Georges Seurat - Bathers at Asnières
figure 3.8 Vincent van Gogh, Olive Trees Under a Yellow Sky, and the November Sun, 1889
figure 3.9 Dot Mandalas in Pinterest
I took the main points of their paintings and some from Pinterest to come up with my own idea.
figure 4.1 Harmony Sketches (24/09/2020)
figure 4.2 Unity Sketches (24/09/2020)
I decided to use the girl's back hair for unity and the sky for harmony.
Fist I do gradation for the sky and then I added the clouds and moon. After the base color I added the shadows and the yellow color and I blend them together. Lastly, the step I love the most, give the painting sparkles to make the painting look better.
figure 4.2 Harmony Painting Process (25/09/2020)
For this one, I also started with gradation and base colors then slowly add other colors and blend them together. Lastly, the dust/sparkles. But for the last part, I cut out shapes from a piece of paper and covered the painting with it so I can have the sparkles/dust in the direction I wanted.
figure 4.3 Unity Painting Process (25/09/2020)
figure 4.4 Final Result (25/09/2020)
Week 6
This is our last exercise and we were told to make a rationale for our symbol, we could use anything to design it and for collages we are also free to use whatever but if it is photography we need to take them by ourselves.
figure 4.5 Inspirations
figure 4.6 Sketch (01/10/2020)
figure 4.7 Outlines (02/10/2020)
figure 4.8 The Process (02/10/2020)
figure 4.9 Final Result - Scanned (02/10/2020)
figure 5.1 First Design of Arbitrary Symbol (01/10/2020)
figure 5.2 Second Design of Arbitrary Symbol (01/10/2020)
figure 5.3 Final Design of Arbitrary Symbol (01/10/2020)
I chose the one on the left because it looks more interesting and then I give colors to them.
figure 5.4 Arbitrary Symbol (02/10/2020)
Rationale
The symbol I designed is taken from my name, my friend often call me 'Jo" so I decided to take the letter J from my name and searched up what is the meaning of my name. In the web, I found something interesting about my name. Based on numerology study, my name 'Jocelin" has a total number of 68, thus the number 68 is added in my design. The number also means that I have an expansive, adventurer and visioner personality. Although visioner doesn't really fit me, but in this design I decided to use visioner as one of the meaning, hoping I could be one in the future. That's why I made to eyes in the design, the closed eyes are currently me hoping to be better in the future (opened eyes). The yellow color also emphasize the me now. The color blue means trust, I want people to know that I am a person that they can trust.
FEEDBACK
Week 1
No feedback yet.
Week 2
Legs and tail
Ms. Jinchi said that this design in interesting but I need to expand the more since the contrast doesn't really show so I need to make them more obvious like making them next to each other.
Peacock
For this design, I did many variations and I was told that it is better to use the cleaner one but I need to pay attention to space because in my sketches the feather on top of the peacock's head touched its body's feather.
Snake and Leaf
It is better for the leaf to not be floating in the air and instead of making the snake as part of the veins, it is better to have the snake come out from the leaves. And I was told to make the snake more snake-like.
Broken Home
Ms. Jinchi said that if I want to use this idea I need to improve the beaker because it didn't show that the girl is lonely or alone but it shows more of her being trapped.
Earphone
Ms. Jinchi said that the contrast doesn't really appeal to my friends but she could see it. This design looks like the culture these days where we use earphones wherever we are, she told me to commit the wires but it is also okay to keep it.
Week 3
Orange and Pizza: There are too many things going on in one picture because of the horizontal and diagonal lines and also the juices coming out from the orange. The composition could be improved and the position of the pizza needs to be on the first half of the orange.
Scribble: It doesn't look like a design, but if this is going to be used I need to improve on the fonts and add more space around the writing.
Mandala: The design is too detailed and I was told that doing this needs a lot of time, so I was suggested to replace the outer pattern into the inner pattern.
Week 4
I got feedbacks for my fencing and mandala design. I was told to tilt the drawing for fencing so it can mimic the movement of fencing and the ribbon could also move more freely if the drawing is tilted. As for my mandala design, miss told me to try to make a new variation as mandalas are endless and advised me for the background because if I wanted to make the mandala gold I should make the background color dark so it could pop out.
Week 5
For my first Unity works I was told to lower the hair a bit so it will have more space to it, so they dust/sparkles cold make its way to the top and I was advised to have the headband changed into something else, also the dust/sparkles are better to have it in 2 direction. The second work is actually better than the first work but I need to fix the teardrop shape because it doesn't fit in the place alone, but miss said that if the first work is fixed it might be good too. For my harmony works miss said that the sky is better suited than the waves, however, I need to add another color like yellow to it and give more clouds and make the moon bigger.
Week 6
All the 3 design I made doesn't really represent arbitrary symbol so I need to redo it, Miss said that out of all 3, it is better if I developed the name symbol. After redoing it, miss said its a lot better and asked me to try adding more ideas to it. For my collage design, she said there is no problem with it.
REFLECTIONS
Experience:
Week 1
The first online class for this module is quite fun and relaxing, and it is the first class for the week that doesn't take a lot of time.
Week 2
When doing the first assignment I thought really hard for the ideas, it took my hours and hours to come out with 5 sketches and it is pretty hard. Because every design needs to have meaning. At first, I don't really understand Gestalt, but after I watched the lecture and other videos online I came to understand it better.
When I printed my design out, I had a really hard time cutting the with a cutter pen. It is actually not my first time doing cutting art, but I am still not used to it and my hands ended up hurting, but gladly not too much. I had a lot of fun though.
Week 3
I had a fun time using colored pencils and markets, when coloring, I used to use colored pencil but then I change into watercolors. So, it is quite a while since I used colored pencils and markers.
Week 4
I am still struggling with ideas, actually, I came up with lots of ideas but I am not satisfied with them, because all the ideas I thought of seems like what others could think of too so I spent a long time just to find new ideas.
Week 5
From all the exercises till now, I must admit that the topic for this week is the hardest. After I watched the lecture video, I find myself still confused at what is the difference between both of them because from my understanding they are overall the same but then we needed to create sketches for both of them so I need to understand what their difference is and so I stumbled upon a nice website that explains them.
Week 6
Abstract and Arbitrary symbols are hard to differentiate, I got them wrong at first. So then I redesign them and it looks better now. While for collages, its actually pretty fun.
Observations:
Week 1
We were divided into 2 sessions and I'm at the morning session so our lecturer is Ms. Jinchi. The class starts and ends smoothly with Ms. Jinchi's explanation.
Week 2
When I sketched my design on the paper I can't get the contrast and gestalt feeling to it. So when I decided to transfer them to digital I find that for this assignment, doing the sketch digitally is much better because we could see how our final work will look like.
Week 3
I had to do the background manually for the emphasis design because I forgot that I still have black papers. Because of that, I used my marker to color the background and it takes a long time because my marker's brush nib's surface is not big.
Week 4
Ideas can pop out of nowhere when I was searching for new ideas. Suddenly I thought of a manhua I used to read a long time ago about a girl that could fence, combining with the idea I came up with a fencing sword so the twirling ribbon could make sense. As for repetition, it was because I wanted to use gold watercolor and somehow it ended up as another mandala design.
Week 5
The materials used were changed so I was quite happy because I like to use poster paint than using stamps. Because I already understood harmony and unity, I had a fun time sketching them but of course, it is still pretty challenging to think of the ideas.
Week 6
Miss said that our collages needs meaning to it. At first I don't really know what my collage means because I just randomly use the pictures I took during trips. And when miss said that my collage looks like travel, I feel like it is true. So travel it is.
Findings:
Week 1
We were told that every week will have a new assignment and for the next few weeks, our works will be done manually.
Week 2
When I cut the paper I found out that my cutter is not sharp enough so I had a hard time, but I managed to cut them. Although it's not nice and clean I am quite satisfied with it. It seems that tools are very important, in my design, it has lots of curves and there is even a smaller curve if I used scissors I won't be able to cut the curves lightly because when using scissors, we can't move that freely.
Week 3
At first, when I finished the coloring, I found that my work is so bland like it doesn't pop out, so I try giving highlights with my white pen. After adding the highlights, it looks more interesting.
Week 4
After finishing with the colors, when I looked at my mandala it seems very plain like nothing is interesting about it so I challenged myself to add another color and some strokes. After that, I find them better. I also needed a lot of patient to finish the 2 designs because watercolor need time to dry and I need to be careful when coloring the mandala because the designs are detailed.
There are also feedbacks given to every one of us, and i got them too. Here are the feedbacks given by Ms. Jinchi:
Exercise 1: Interesting idea explorations. Final designs reflect contrast and Gestalt well.
Exercise 2: Some exploration of ideas is documented. Interesting composition for emphasis, colour scheme well chosen. Mandala design strongly reflects radial balance.
Use of Media: Used the required materials with good and neat finishing.
Quality of pictures: Good.
Descriptions and Reflection: Well written and giving much clarity to the reader to understand your design process and purposes. Could add some rationale for balance and emphasis final designs, just like how you’d written for contrast and Gestalt.
Lecturer's feedback: Very well documented. Keep it up.
Overall blog: Detailed summaries of the lecture topics are found, showing a clear understanding you have of Topics 1 and 2. Do include some visual examples to accompany the summaries.
Week 5
So it has been a long time since I last used poster paint, maybe about 2 or 3 years? The last time I used them was when I'm still in middle school so now I think my skill dropped but I find the feeling of familiar but unfamiliar quite addicting because as I paint I wanted to do more.
Week 6
The design for the collage is made digitally at first then I manually did them. But, the result kind of differ from the design I made digitally. Seems that I can't really expect them to be exactly the same!
FURTHER READING
Week 2
To understand more of Gestalt, I decided to read from a website that Ms. Jinchi gave us.
What is Gestalt Principle?
It is the law of humans' perception of how we perceive objects.
Gestalt Principle Background
Comes from the German language that means 'unified whole". The first Gestalt Principles were devised in the 1920s by German psychologists Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler—who aimed to understand how humans typically gain meaningful perceptions from the chaotic stimuli around them.
Gestalt Principle is very important for Visual design and there are 10 principles but the most popular ones are;
1. Closure: Ways to recognize “wholes” are cleverly placed elements, even with holes we could still make out the shapes.
figure 2.1 Closure
2. Common Region: Where similar things are close to each other that makes them seem related.
figure 2.2 Common Region
3. Figure/Ground (Multi-stability): Ambiguous images where every person could see the background or the foreground first.
figure 2.3 Figure Ground
4. Proximity: group closer-together elements, separating them from those farther apart.
figure 2.4 Proximity
Source: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/gestalt-principles
Week 3
Elements and Principles of Design: Student Guide With Activities (Crystal Productions)
Balance
The distribution of visual weight in a work of art. In painting, it is the visual equilibrium of the elements that cause the total image to appear balanced. Balance can be either symmetrical or asymmetrical.
figure 2.5 Painting by Winslow Homer
figure 2.6 Explanation regarding Balance in the painting
Emphasis
Emphasis is used by artists to create dominance and focus on their work. It can be emphasized by shapes, colors, values, or other elements.
figure 2.6 Painting by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and the explanation of emphasis
figure 2.7 Types of Emphasis
Focal area: Near one of the crossings in the Rules of Third
Color dominance: The use of colors in painting to show dominance
Visual Emphasis: Enhanced when the value passages (light or dark movements) leads to a focal area. A shape can also be used in the focal area to produce emphasis.
For this week, the material used are watercolor and pastels. I desiced to use watercolor and got interested in the history of watercolor so I searched online and found a book.
The Big Book of Watercolor (Jose M. parramon)
Watercolor was originally come up with because of a scroll that came from a plant called cyperus papyrus. The scrolls are used to write and illustrate scrolls dealing with science, history, magic, and religion. Another important use was that of burying the scrolls with the dead as an aid in their journey to the other world. The images in the scroll were painted with transparent colors, the colors came from many things and are blended with gum arabic and egg white and then diluted with water to use, and thus watercolor is made.
Later, around 170 BC. parchment was used for the first time by Eumenes II, king of Pergamum. Until the 9th century most miniatures, whether in Greece, Rome, Syria, or Byzantium, were painted from a mixture of watercolor and lead white, producing an opaque watercolor.
The 9th century, the beginning of the reign of Charlemagne, emperor of the Carolingians, placed great importance on the creation of manuscripts and found a great artist that alternated both opaque and transparent watercolors. Then the mixture was used during the late Middle Ages and even reached the Renaissance. Renaissance is when the use of watercolors become common.
figure 2.8 Albrecht Durer's landscape painting
Albrecht Durer is from Germany, he was the greatest painter and engraver in the 16th century and was described as "ardent and austere" by the painter Cornelius. He produced many paintings and 86 of them were watercolors. His first watercolor painting was a landscape that was created when he was 18 tears old.
Week 5
At first, I don't really understand what is the difference between Harmony and Unity, I got confused by the 2 subjects so I searched online and I find that these webs have a very good explanation regarding the two.
Harmony in Art – What It Is Plus Master Painting Examples (Dan Scott)
Source: https://drawpaintacademy.com/harmony/
Harmony
Is a principle of art which refers to how well all the visual elements work together. Elements which are in harmony should have some kind of logical progression or relationship. There are many ways to express harmony such as colors (range of hues, analogous color schemes), shapes, values, brushwork (loose or delicate), styles (bold strokes, pointillism), and subjects (a vast number of objects).
Unity in Art - A Way to Visual Harmony (Silka P)
Source: https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/unity-in-art
Unity
One of the art’s principles representing the sum of compositional elements. The arrangement of different pieces producing the harmonious, balanced, and complete whole would be a definition of unity in art. Unity is both an idea of calmness, simplicity, or repetition of the same. On the other hand, the atmosphere of unity is present in gestural and expressive paintings as well.
Unity can be achieved by the proper use of elements and principles by using primary colors, repeat geometric shapes on a neutral background, or use a variety of texture created with various lines.
Week 6
Seven Kinds of Self-Portrait (Tim McCormack)
Source: https://medium.com/@timmcco/7-kinds-of-self-portrait-7bcc39357191
The self-portrait as an act of philosophical or emotional or psychological or existential investigation
figure 2.9 Left to Right: Umberto Boccioni and Edouard Vuillard
The painting by Umberto Boccioni gives a feeling of philosophical detachment as to say "I am here and what does that mean?" while the painting by Edouard Vuillard is deeply engaged with psychological exploration: "Can this 'face' really be me?"
The self-portrait as an expressive manifesto
figure 3.1 Left to Right: Victor Hugo, Salvatore Rosa, and Yuko Saeki
Victor Hugo, pushes his emotional/existential crisis to a fever pitch. "What does it say? Fear? Anger? Horror?" Salvatore Rosa, was known for his wild, terrifying landscapes set in the southern Italian scenery where bandits routinely kidnapped unsuspecting travelers, he portrayed himself as a dark, troubled Romantic, an angry outsider as if to say: "I'm not bad, I just paint myself that way." While Yuko Saeki, an intense melancholy Japanese pioneering painter famous for his earnest passion and hope self-portrait.
The self-portrait as a signature within a Masterpiece
figure 3.2 Diego Velasques inn his painting Las Meninas
For Velasquez, self-portrait was a calling card and announcement of rank, within his masterpiece, Las Meninas. He commemorates his elevation in rank into the nobility by including himself in the painting of the Infanta with the King and Queen.
figure 3.3 Filippo Lippi in his painting Coronation of the Virgin
While Filippo Lippi, is more concealed. In his self-portrait within the Coronation of the Virgin, he seems to coyly be saying to us "aha! You have found me! And yes, it is I who made all of this." He doesn't gaze us with rapt attention, his expression contains pride, nonchalance and a curiosity as to how we might be responding to his masterpiece.
The self-portrait as an artist's personal narrative
figure 3.3 Left to Right: Self-Portrait by Daumier and William
Artists such as Honore Daumier and William Orpen portrayed themselves with the stuff of daily life. Daumier dramatically presents himself before the canvas at the crucial moment of inception. Orpen postures in his posh London studio.
figure 3.4 Left to Right: Self-Portrait by Carlo and Mary Beal
Carlo Francesco Nuvalone includes family and friends in his self-portrait while Mary Beal paints herself with her husband and son.
Artists that manage to live well beyond the age of thirty create a striking self-portraits in their later years. These painting shows us an artist who has experienced much, world-weary, disillusioned even bitter, they no longer exhibit the conscious or unconscious flattery that younger artists tend towards.
figure 3.5 Left to Right: Tintoretto and Ernest Meissonier
Tintoretto was a pupil of Master Titian, he was threatened and eventually kicked out by his own master. In his self-portrait, we can see his expression, is it sadness or anger? The artist Ernest Meissonier is a realist painter, that seems to express seen "too much" in his life.
figure 3.6 Jeans Dominique
In Jeans Dominique's painting of Young and Old, are we seeing him as he saw himself? Or, despite the utterly convincing realism, to some degree, and artful fiction? In case, he is telling a story of himself creating a mask.
Self-portrait as sleight of hand
figure 3.7 Left to Right: Henri and Escher
M.C. Escher and Jacque Henri Lartigue 'play' with ideas of representation through self-portrait, they ask the question: "Is this really me, a representation of me and an illusion."
Self-portrait: the artist is the line
figure 3.8 Steinberg and Ronald
Saul Steinberg and Ronald Searle, expresses themselves in lines. The pen and the artist are one, the artist is the line.
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