More About Self-Portraits and Tips on Painting One

Submitted By: David H. Urmann

A self-portrait is an image of oneself done artistically by hand. There are various mediums used, like painting or pencil sketches.
A self-portrait is mostly a type portrait where the subject is the artist herself or himself. Self-portraits were essentially founded throughout the ancient period of Greek and Egyptian civilization. Today a variety of self-portraits are present.

A self-portrait can vary in manifestation, especially if the artist herself or himself is the subject. Paintings are recognized as popular media of self-portraits. Throughout the period of Renaissance, those categorized as beautiful self-portraits were innovative and bold ones.
There are numerous artists throughout their period that have delved into the skill portrayal for several reasons. Male self-portraits have been much abundant throughout the early period because of the understandable emphasis on the male species. On the other hand, female self-portraits have started to become more popular when female liberalism arose.
Charcoal is one of the earliest used art materials. It is used as a tool for making rough portraits or sketches. There are three forms of it used by several artists. There is a vine charcoal, compressed charcoal and powdered charcoal.
One of the most modern forms of self-portrait is the black and white. The motivation of black and white self-portraits can be traced to artists like Cindy and Bruegel Sherman. Their design was used for various media. Black and white gives a classier and elegant effect in contrast to colored ones.

Self-portraits have been classified into eras. The most current of these are Modern Art Portraits. This portrait was developed with particular consideration to the needs of the generation, together with the basic techniques of painting which followed more through the years.
There are numerous popular art forms that can be considered under these modern art portraits. Several of these are traditional oil portraits, graphic style, graffiti style, Andy Warhol portraits, photo mosaic portrait and silhouette portrait as well as screen-print portrait, airbrush style portrait and simple illustration style.

Graphic styles offer a funky appeal great for persons who love modern interiors. This style is similar to cartoons or animation styles. Screen-print styles are derived from simple colored screen-prints. This style is great for persons who love pop art and the artistic use of this style that does not need a beautiful picture to start with. Simple illustration and styles are great for persons who love that minimalist type of cool.

Here are a few tips on painting a self-portrait. However, bear in mind that painting is a gift. You must first have the raw talent for it even if you can take classes for it also.
Begin with a photograph or a mirror. Set-up the mirror close to the canvas so it can be simply seen and the portrait can be finished with a “back eye glance”. If you are using photograph, place it in viewable places like on the easel on top of the canvas.
Draw lightly on rough sketches of the face on the canvas with a pencil. Once you are done, an under painting can also be implemented. An under painting is the monochromatic background on the painting that can develop the dark and light tones of the painting. Numerous artists or painters use black and white for under paintings. This can be done using a thin layer with much pigment as compared to medium and before continuing to dry the under paintings.
Paint the overlying levels of color on the under painting and create color tones first, adding more information or details later. Thinning paint can pose as the medium for a fewer opaque appeal that can consistently allow the under painting to mix together with the new layer. Keep in mind that you still need to paint the background.
Add the finishing touches using a smaller brush. Details like eyelashes and highlights in the eyes can help make the portrait look complete.

About David H. Urmanm

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