Self Portrait

3 STEPS TO DRAW A SELF PORTRAIT & A DEEP DARK SECRET

Photo by: Alina Grubnyak @alinnnaaaa

Decided if you’d like to use a photo of yourself as a reference or use a mirror. If you choose to use a mirror, you will need to sit very still just moving your eyes to capture your features and angles properly. It’s helpful to stare at your face in the mirror before you get started to get familiar with small details that you may have always overlooked. Step one is the most important step and it is also the deep dark secret. Shhh

STEP 1: The secret in truly capturing a person is finding their “high” eye. The eye line is what makes each person unique so if you use a flat straight line to set the eye upon, the face will not look like yourself or the person you’re drawing. To find the “high” eye, look in the mirror and see if you can find which of your eyes sits higher than the other. Everyone has one eye slightly higher than the other. Once you find this on yourself and on anyone else, you already have the essence of their unique face started. This angle is used in creating the horizontal line for the eyes. Get that angle just right and you’ll save yourself a bunch of frustration and erasing when you’re further along in the portrait.

STEP 2: Create the oval, the center line and the horizontal eye line that is unique to your face. Then, draw the triangle measurement from the center of the eyes to the base of the lips which should be the same length on all three sides. In the third image below, you’ll see a bunch of eyes all over the face. Another trick is that the measurements of the face are in “eye” width. For example, there are five eye widths from temple to temple. The nose is one eye wide and there is one eye’s width from eye to the edge of the nose and one eye’s width from the corner of the mouth to the jaw. Of course there will be some variations with each face so use this as a guide to see how this works for your face.

STEP 3: Study the basic lines and shapes of your features for now. Leave the shading and ultra fine details for another time. At first, these sketches may resemble some of Picasso’s or Matisse’s work (enlarged, flat and asymmetrical shapes). Practice the basic shapes of the eyes, nose, lips and maybe ears outside of the oval. This will help you feel more relaxed and fluid with your sketching experimentation. Some of my favorite sketches happened when I was practicing before the “real” drawing or painting was underway. Once you feel as though you have the shapes of your face captured, use those sketches as a reference and add them to your oval face shape. Be sure to use light strokes if you use the guides so they can be easily erased.

NOTE: As with all creative exercises, have fun and go easy on yourself. It takes a lot of consistent practice to make something look effortless. If you find this portrait activity enjoyable and want to take your drawing to the next level, check out some videos from talented artists on Skill Share or YouTube.

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Enjoy my sloppy and creepy sketches to get started.

Weekend Design & Wellness Project

Create Abstract Art!

That’s it. Go make a mess with some paint on any surface you can find. Yes, you can use the 75 paint sample jars you accumulate trying to find the perfect color for your home office. Have fun and don’t forget that blindfolding yourself makes this activity free from self judgment. Want to make this even more fun? Rope your family, partner or a friend in to join the creative fun. I promise you will start to belly laugh at some point. If not, well, this was a free activity so this is a no money back situation. Enjoy.

Beauty In Chaos

Abstract Art

Photo by: Paul Blenkhorn @ Sensory Art House @sensoryarthouse

Find the beauty in everything. What do you see in this painting? Does it seem as if the artist was happy, sad or indifferent? There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. It is what ever you see and feel.

Art can be a useful tool when working through difficult roadblocks in life. Let’s try to create emotional art. This can be kept as personal as a journal. Creating abstract art is a satisfying form of expression to release anger, fear, anxiety or depression. There are no rules. Try blindfolding yourself for this exercise if you find it difficult to get started and need to work around self criticism.

This is a great tool for young children who are learning about releasing their frustration and anger. Children with divorced parents benefit from this as it is an adjustment going between houses. If you’re with a child or a friend while they experience a strong emotion, gently offer some paper (can even be a newspaper or a grocery bag) and hand them a marker, pencil or paint. Use whatever is accessible to move the paint around. Nothing fancy and no rules allowed. The goal is to move that emotion through the body and onto the page. The beauty comes after. Walk away from the drawing or painting and when you return you’ll see/feel the beauty of that true release of emotion. Throw it away or keep it to serve as a journal where you will see a progression of emotional expression. Once it leaves you, it’s over. No two paintings will be the same. Notice the color, shapes and lines that were created.

Stand at a distance to see what beauty came from this emotional “breakdown” that may lead to a breakthrough. Keep this exercise in mind and use it as often as you need. Share this technique with anyone that may benefit from this experience.

Art Therapy

Photo by: Kelly Sikkema @kellysikkema

HEALING THROUGH ART

Art can create a pathway to healing from a wide variety of diseases and disorders. Hospitals facilitate creative time for patients to serve as both an outlet and a distraction away from their health conditions.

For children, art therapy can act as a vehicle of communication when language skills are still in the developmental stages. Art Therapy has been in practice since 1942, when artist, Adrian Hill discovered the healing benefits of art while recovering from tuberculosis.

Children’s drawings are analyzed through the weight, length and consistency of lines. Color does not always play a major roll since limited color choices at any given moment may effect what a child uses. However, the consistent use of the same colors could be helpful in an analysis of a child’s drawing.

Here are three attributes to identify when analyzing a drawing.

• Anger could be indicated through large hands, arms or features

• Anxiety could be indicated through the use of birds, bad weather and closed or missing eyes

• Impulsivity could be indicated with asymmetrical limbs on a figure or larger figures

Consider using a form of creativity when stress is running high or when dealing with a compromised immune system. This includes parents and care takers since they exert large amounts of energy caring for others and are at risk of becoming depleted if they do not practice self-care.

OP ART

OPTICAL ILLUSION ART CREATES MOVEMENT THAT APPEARS TO “TRICK” THE EYE

Photo by: Coline Haslé @kohlun2000

Op art is a style of abstract art popularized in the 1960, yet dates back to the 1938 with Victor Vasarely’s painting Zebras. Vasarely often used linear perspective which manipulates abstract forms creating a balloon effect. Linear perspective is said to have been invented by Filippo Brunelleschi, a Renaissance architect and sculptor in 1415. Op artist, Bridget Riley introduced the use of color in her optical art and is quoted as saying, “Focusing isn't just an optical activity, it is also a mental one.”

These optical illusions consist of converging black and white lines and shapes arranged in patterns that vibrate, shift, flash and warp as the viewer blinks or approaches the art. Op Art is interactive and visually kinetic. It has even made its way into neuroscience and was declared a phenomenon known as center/surround antagonism, explaining the visual effect of a black circle on a white background appearing darker than that same circle on a gray background.

There are talented op artist today creating realistic chalk drawings on streets around the world. Here some examples of street opt art on Pinterest.

Warning: Some Op Art can cause pain in the eyes or induce headaches (It’s a definite love/hate for me).

FURTHER READING:

• Ludimar Hermann’s - Hermann’s Grid

• “How To Use Your Eyes,” by James Elkins