MY PIECE IN PROGRESS:
MY FINISHED PIECE:
WHO MY PORTRAIT IS OF AND MY RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM: This portrait is of Catherine Eddy. Catherine Eddy is a 9th grader that also goes to Apex, in fact, she sits right beside me in art class. I came into art late, on the 10th day due to the fact that I switched from another class. When I joined, I was seated right beside Cat and she was really nice to me from the very beginning. When we learned about this portrait project, I picked Cat because she was so nice to me and I also really liked the way her face was structured for what I wanted to do. So that is who is portrayed in this painting! | MY MEDIUM: I used two mediums in this piece. The first and main medium that I used was makeup. I decided that I wanted to use this unusual medium because I love experimenting with makeup on myself, and I really enjoy doing it so I thought it would be really interesting to bring that into an art project. In the portrait, her face, nose, lips. eye shadow, eyelashes, and eyeliner, and parts of her hair are all makeup. For the rest, I was unable to use makeup so for the shirt, insides of the eye, teeth, and parts of the hair, I used acrylic paint. |
MY PROCESS FROM START TO FINISH:
The first step in my process was to take a picture of Catherine that I could use for my project. I knew that I wanted my medium to be makeup, but Cat doesn't usually wear makeup so the first thing that I did was spend a class period doing Cat's makeup. I then took a picture once I completed her makeup that I could use for reference. I then uploaded this picture and used the projector to trace her face onto my canvas. I then proceeded to test multiple makeup items on canvas paper to ensure that the product would actually work, and it did. It was pretty hard to manipulate, but it worked. I then started with her face. I used foundation in the lightest shade I could find, but it still came out much darker than Cat's skin on the canvas. I then used a liquid bronzer and a liquid blush in order to create the cheekbones and add some color to them. I then added concealer to the lighter parts of the face such as on the chin, under the eyes, the bridge of the nose, and the middle part of the forehead in order to lighten the skin here. Next, I used a spray sealant on the piece in order to keep the makeup from moving because it doesn't dry down completely. I then continued to touch up the face as necessary. I then used a lip gloss on the lips and painted the teeth white. I then began the hair. I started with makeup for the hair. I couldn't get the colors I wanted just from the makeup so I added some acrylic paint in order to create layers. I did small strokes and used a variety of different browns. I then created the neck which was hard to try and match the color to the face. Once I did that, I painted on the shoulders and the shirt with acrylic paint. My final step was to use a darker shade of makeup to create the nose, touch everything up, and then I sprayed it and was done!
The first step in my process was to take a picture of Catherine that I could use for my project. I knew that I wanted my medium to be makeup, but Cat doesn't usually wear makeup so the first thing that I did was spend a class period doing Cat's makeup. I then took a picture once I completed her makeup that I could use for reference. I then uploaded this picture and used the projector to trace her face onto my canvas. I then proceeded to test multiple makeup items on canvas paper to ensure that the product would actually work, and it did. It was pretty hard to manipulate, but it worked. I then started with her face. I used foundation in the lightest shade I could find, but it still came out much darker than Cat's skin on the canvas. I then used a liquid bronzer and a liquid blush in order to create the cheekbones and add some color to them. I then added concealer to the lighter parts of the face such as on the chin, under the eyes, the bridge of the nose, and the middle part of the forehead in order to lighten the skin here. Next, I used a spray sealant on the piece in order to keep the makeup from moving because it doesn't dry down completely. I then continued to touch up the face as necessary. I then used a lip gloss on the lips and painted the teeth white. I then began the hair. I started with makeup for the hair. I couldn't get the colors I wanted just from the makeup so I added some acrylic paint in order to create layers. I did small strokes and used a variety of different browns. I then created the neck which was hard to try and match the color to the face. Once I did that, I painted on the shoulders and the shirt with acrylic paint. My final step was to use a darker shade of makeup to create the nose, touch everything up, and then I sprayed it and was done!
SUCCESSFUL PARTS/PARTS I WOULD CHANGE:
I was very happy with the face and how I was able to use the makeup to create the look I wanted with cheekbones and blushed cheeks. I also really like how the eyes turned out with the glitter eye shadow and the eyeliner that I used on the eyelid and to create her eyelashes. I think that if I was able to do this project again, I would change the hair a little bit color wise to add more depth and make it look more realistic. I would also spray the face more in between layers so that it could dry down and not leave as many splotches where the makeup started to come off. Other than that, I am very pleased with how the portrait of Cat turned out!
I was very happy with the face and how I was able to use the makeup to create the look I wanted with cheekbones and blushed cheeks. I also really like how the eyes turned out with the glitter eye shadow and the eyeliner that I used on the eyelid and to create her eyelashes. I think that if I was able to do this project again, I would change the hair a little bit color wise to add more depth and make it look more realistic. I would also spray the face more in between layers so that it could dry down and not leave as many splotches where the makeup started to come off. Other than that, I am very pleased with how the portrait of Cat turned out!