self-portrait
acrylic on 12"x16" canvas board
One last self-indulgence, one last self-portrait for now, and then I'll move on to finishing the papier mache project I started earlier. I promise.
A few years ago, I found the art of Paula Modersohn-Becker, an early German expressionist artist who lived from 1876 -1907. In her short life she painted many portraits of the common people in her environment.
A few years ago, I found the art of Paula Modersohn-Becker, an early German expressionist artist who lived from 1876 -1907. In her short life she painted many portraits of the common people in her environment.
However, this self-portrait (left) from 1907 was influenced by her fascination with Egyptian mummy portraits of the second through fourth centuries B.C.
So when I found an old, unfinished oil painting I had done in in my teens, I thought I'd cover it up with this experiment. It was all very symbolic. Symbolism is usually something I avoid like the plague, ever since my days of analyzing books to death when I was an English and German literature major at the university.
This piece is symbolic because I stopped painting, drawing and sketching after I started that old oil painting back in the early 1970s. And to me it represented a lot of hurt and anger and unfulfilled dreams.
So I covered it up with something new, something which represents the direction I'm planning to go in from now on.
So when I found an old, unfinished oil painting I had done in in my teens, I thought I'd cover it up with this experiment. It was all very symbolic. Symbolism is usually something I avoid like the plague, ever since my days of analyzing books to death when I was an English and German literature major at the university.
This piece is symbolic because I stopped painting, drawing and sketching after I started that old oil painting back in the early 1970s. And to me it represented a lot of hurt and anger and unfulfilled dreams.
So I covered it up with something new, something which represents the direction I'm planning to go in from now on.
This was the painting before I antiqued it. I know you really shouldn't paint acrylic over oil, but if parts of the new painting crack to reveal my past effort, it's perfectly OK with me. It's just more symbolism.
I applied two layers of gesso to the board before I began to paint with the acrylics. After the painting was finished, I stained it, crackled it, and antiqued it.
Here are some close-ups of the crackled, antiqued effect.
I applied two layers of gesso to the board before I began to paint with the acrylics. After the painting was finished, I stained it, crackled it, and antiqued it.
Here are some close-ups of the crackled, antiqued effect.
I like how it resembles an Egyptian mummy painting, in that it is idealized. No lines and wrinkles were painted on the face. Certain features were exaggerated, such as eyes, nose and eyebrows. I used an old photo of me from the 1980s to remind me of the more dramatic make-up of my youth.
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All in all, this was extremely satisfying. I learned quite a few new techniques, and I now have something I think I'll hang on my wall.
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On to the papier mache!
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I've been trying to leave comments on blogs, but some of the time Blogger is giving me error signals when I submit the word verification. If it seems that I haven't been to your blog in a while, it's because Blogger isn't cooperating. I'll keep trying, though! See you all soon.
:0)
On to the papier mache!
****
I've been trying to leave comments on blogs, but some of the time Blogger is giving me error signals when I submit the word verification. If it seems that I haven't been to your blog in a while, it's because Blogger isn't cooperating. I'll keep trying, though! See you all soon.
