‘Art that seeks to represent the physical appearance of reality’, I find the definition of representational art somewhat misleading, a portrait piece may appear to be simply mimicking the appearance of subject. However, the artist or viewer may see deeper into the heart of the work or subject, rather than just the skin of the paint, implying the work is ‘representing’ something more.
With this belief in mind, I aim to capture or ‘represent’ raw emotion, rather than simply the features of a face. My initial portrait piece was a self-portrait portraying my genuine discomfort as I faced in to the sun on a cold day. I purposely chose to paint it with harsh raw colours, in a garish, loose style, giving my eyes the most detail to make them the main focus of the work. This was done to emphasise the vulnerability of the subject and to project this on to the viewer.The intensity of the eyes also highlight the fact the subject is well aware of the viewer. This confronts the fact they may be unwillingly invading one another’s personal space, repulsing the viewer as I, the subject, glare back at them. This work was influenced by the work of Thea Penna and her ‘self-portrait’ triptych where she also aims to create raw emotion through using herself as the subject, she claims she captures ‘an innate human truth’.
‘MY LAST BREATH’
Portrait definition;
1. A likeness of a person, especially one showing the face, that is created by a painter or photographer
2. A verbal description or picture, esp of a person’s character
Enquiring in further vain of the nature of representational images, taking on non-representational concepts. I have investigated into the true concept of portraiture and what a piece of art needs to achieve this title.
I photographed the last few bubbles of my breath after surfacing from a dive. I then reproduced the image with soft pastels. Incorporating not only an essence of my ‘bubbly’ character, but a representation of my physical self, through the air I breath.
Lucy.Southworth 