Darks and light, cheekbones and eyesockets

The art of self-portrait

Mr. Ratkevich’s Portfolio class doesn’t usually spend the entire first semester on self-portrait. “This year I just felt like I wanted to get them thinking more deeply,” the art department head explained.

The challenge is to convey the three-dimensionality of a face, the protrusions and recesses of skull underneath, such as around the cheekbones, brow, and eyesockets.

How much the work ends up resembling the person pictured is not generally the measure of success, but many of the students, including those in this post, turned out a good likeness.

Junior Caroline Brill’s drawing (above) was her first longer project after several one- and two-day drawings. The journal-like writing behind her head was a final touch. Her acrylic on canvas self-painting (below) went through multiple revisions as she experimented with colors and brushstrokes.

Junior Kelly Howe’s "Shh" self-portrait (below) is actually a photograph manipulated for the Digital Art class using Photoshop.

The idea was to use lights and darks – the renaissance technique known as chiaroscuro – to create the illusion of three dimensions. Portfolio students Nikki Flemming and Kiana DiMatteo, both seniors, had the challenge of doing the same completely by eye. Flemming achieved success with a graphite drawing (below, left) and DiMatteo with charcoal (below, right).