portrait in progress

Working progress of portrait on canvas using acrylics mixed with acrylic glazing medium.

'Unheimlich'

These sketches are based around Sigmund Freud's concept of the uncanny and the term 'Unheimlich'. Though Ernst Jentsch a German psychiatrist who also wrote a book and an essay on the uncanny believes that a 'particularly favourable condition for awakening uncanny feelings is created when there is intellectual uncertainty whether an object is alive or not, and when an inanimate object becomes too much like an animate one.' This view of the uncanny is what interests me the most. 

The first is a sketch of a mannequin and the 2nd is of a real person  in which i have tried to look more like a mannequin. I want to experiment with the concept of the uncanny.

Both are on A4 paper using various pencils ranging from 2B-9B.

Quote obtained from The “Uncanny” by Sigmund Freud

http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/uncanny1.htm

Acrylic glazing medium

Lesson of today: Acrylic glazing medium is awesome!

Stripped back self portraits

It may come to your surprise that these are in fact two self portraits. I hadn't intended to have the finished outcomes quite so bare.  But when firstly carrying out the monochrome piece as time went on I was about to start drawing the hair, but something made me stop, look back and decide to leave it out. The same goes for the detail in the eyes. Thinking now, im guessing subconsciously I was stripping back my identity and producing a blank canvas of myself.
Coloured piece is made up of soft pastels with the background being french polish.
Monchome piece is charcoal and soft pastels. Both are on A4 Cartridge paper.

Portrait Sketches

These are drawings i did in my sketchbook from first hand to get me started on my portraiture project. They were carried out with varying sizes of ink fine liner drawing pens.

Botanic sketches

These are a couple of workshop outcomes based on first hand photographs taken from the Apothecary at the National Botanic Gardens.
Both mixed media on cartridge paper.

Present moment

I am currently in my second term of my second year studying a BA Hons Degree in Fine Art painting, drawing and printmaking. Our new project this term is very broad. As we have been given the chance to create are own briefs and pick any theme we want. I have decided to focus on portraiture, and my concept being based on identity and first impressions. Alongside this, we as a class have been approached to hold an exhibition in the Botanic Gardens in Carmarthensire in Spring to coincide with there yearly Medicines in May. It's a great opportunity to show work to the public and to see how well we can all work collaboratively.....So let's get to work.