Reflection91.44cm by 91.44cm
Acrylic Paint April 2022 Exhibition TextThis is an acrylic painting on canvas titled reflection. I named it this because this is what I would see if looking at myself in a mirror. I was influenced by Barkley L Hendricks, a painting during the mid to late 1900s. He is known for his portraits of people in natural positions/ poses. So, when creating it I used a reference picture. In the reference picture, I took a natural position like Hendricks.
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For my self-portrait, the artist I chose to research was Barkley L Hendricks. He was a contemporary painter who heavily focused on conceptualism and portraits. His most known for oil portraits. He visited many museums abroad and noticed how his own race was not present in any art. As the black power movement grew he began to paint portraits of just about anyone, family, or even strangers. As his style and art began to develop he started to repeatedly use monochromatic background throughout his work. He focused on the stances of the people in his work. His work inspired me to figure out how I wanted to structure mine. The stance is something I would like to recreate in my self-portrait along with the bright monochromatic backgrounds. The stance of the people in Barkley l Hendricks portraits is the most critical part. In each of his portraits they have a unique pose that depicts the mood. Along with the was he painting these people is reasoning was to have more African American representation in art.
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Bid em In 1973
Lawdy Mama 1969
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Taking PhotosSo before planning, I needed a reference photo. Since I didn't already have one that i wanted to use or was close to my inspiration I took some. I sat in my chair at my desk and had my makeup lights on so I could get the best lighting possible. Like my inspiration, the people he paints have poses so I decided to cross my arms for most of them. The big picture is the one I chose to paint. I liked it the most because I felt it looked the best and most genuine (not forced). It was also very clear. I didn't want to do a side-facing painting either so this was once the best front-facing one in my opinion. The smaller ones to the sides were the top contenders that I thought about doing.
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