Title: Perceptions of Identity
Size: 91.44 x 60.96 cm Medium: acrylic paint Date: December 2022 Perceptions of Identity is an exploration of the relationship between one's own self-perception and the perceptions of others. It acts as a reflection of the feelings of insecurity and judgement one has towards themselves. The piece is an acrylic painting on canvas, inspired by the works of Francis Bacon and his various grotesque and distorted paintings.
|
Planning
When planning this piece, I was first given a fairly vague prompt, "perceptions of identity." I thought about h\perceptions of identity and how we perceive ourselves in contrast to how others see us. I decided I wanted to represent this contrast in my painting, I decided the best way to do this would be with a mirror. I decided the mirror should be shattered to represent the different and sometimes opposing ways we see ourselves; each fragment would contain a different expression. The piece was meant to invoke the idea of insecurities so I decided one of the faces would be that of a serpent, which commonly represents a liar or cheater. The snake would incorporate a story element into the painting, "why does the figure feel like a snake?" I also needed to decide on size, I decided I wanted to try my hand at a large painting. The only other painting I've completed was a very small one-foot painting, so for this one I decided to make this one 3x2 ft. I initially wanted to make this project in the baroque style but changed it due to the style being best suited for oil paints not acrylics.
Inspiration
This piece was inspired by Francis bacon and his Study After Velazquez Portrait of Pope Innocent X as well as his Pope (1958). Bacon is known for his paintings' grotesque imagery and distorted human figures, his pope series is recognizable for its subjects' open mouths and distorted, garbled bodies. Bacon was incredibly popular due to his works uniqueness and horrifying imagery. His work (specifically his pope series) is a mix of abstract and observational images, they are mostly distorted versions of old paintings of the various popes. I chose to imitate Bacon due to his very unique style and I was drawn to the idea of distortion when perceiving one's identity. One major difference between my piece and Bacon's paintings is that mine is done in acrylic while he mostly worked in oil.
Process
To begin, I first needed a canvas I assembled a 2x3ft wooden stretcher and then cut a large piece of canvas that would fit the stretcher with extra canvas on the sides. I then pulled the canvas tight across the stretcher and used a stapler to staple the canvas to the stretcher on the back. I trimmed off the excess canvas and then prepared to layer it with gesso. The gesso is a white paint mixture meant to make the canvas both easier to paint on and smoother or less fabric like. When I was stretching my canvas, I had to ensure that I didn't pull it too tight because the gesso further tightens it when drying. I layered around 2-3 layers of gesso making sure it was good to paint on but also not too layered otherwise the painting would crack. Once fully covered in gesso and dried, I was ready to begin painting. I first used a projector to project my initial outline that I sketched onto the canvas, I used a pencil to trace the outlines as a guide for my paint and proportions. I then began to lay down my base coats I started with a light skin tone and the dark background which was a very dark black with hints of brown. I also made base layers for the dress, hair, and mirror frame. I then worked on the hair, layering colors and lines to create the illusions of hair strands. Once completing most of the figure and detailing the dress and shading the skin, I began to use water and fast brush strokes to create the sort of disruption seen in Francis bacon's works. I wanted to imitate his brush strokes and color variation, so I made sure to use varying brushes for this part. I then worked on the faces in the mirror giving them eyes, mouths, and noses. I also detailed the mirror with a slightly darker gold color, hoping to invoke the idea of a detailed mirror while still giving it an ambiguous shape.
|
Critique
Similarities and differences between my work and Francis Bacon's Study After Velazquez Portrait of Pope Innocent X and Pope (1958)
Similarities
Both my piece and Bacons pieces feature dark backgrounds and distorted figures. The paintings make similar use of line work and blending to create the distorted, line-like aspects of the figures. The subjects of both pieces are also similar in the fact that they are sitting and wearing long flowing clothing. |
Differences
My piece is done in acrylic paints while Bacon's are done using oil. My piece did not feature a distorted or grotesque face on the actual figure, instead the faces were separate from the figure and left undistorted to signify the idea that the figure can see all the "true" versions of themself. The subject matter in Bacon's pieces are popes while mine is a fictional and ambiguous person created specifically for my piece. |
Experimentation
My biggest form of experimentation throughout this piece was through color mixing. I had access to the primary colors as well as black and white, so I had to figure out how to mix colors well. There were many failed attempts with my color mixing and the skin tone was especially difficult so when I finally was successful with it, I made sure to create a lot of it and then covered it with plastic wrap for use later. I would always underestimate the intensity of the black I was using, and my colors would come out far too dark for use. This led to a lot of wasted paint but also a good learning opportunity. I mostly mixed my paints on wax paper to test and then when I would come up with a good mixture, I would make a large amount of it in a plastic cup.
Reflection
This was my first large scale painting, as well as my first painting on canvas. Due to my inexperience with this medium, I struggled through much of the process. A major difficulty for me was blending in large spaces, I am used to blending very small amounts of paint so when I had to blend large amounts for the skin tone, I found it difficult to manage the large amounts of paint. I also consistently under or overestimated the amount of paint it would take to fill a large area. A major success I had with this project was my blending, I was nervous about the blending properties of acrylic paint in a project of this scale luckily it went better than expected. After this project I feel far more confident in my canvas painting skills, in the future I would like to attempt oil paint as I feel it would better suit my needs for works such as this, unfortunately it was out of my budget for this particular project.
Bibliography
“Francis Bacon | British Painter | Britannica.” Www.britannica.com, www.britannica.com/biography/Francis-Bacon#ref19336. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
““Pope” | Francis Bacon.” Francis-Bacon.com, 2012, www.francis-bacon.com/artworks/paintings/pope-1.
“Study after Velazquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X, 1953 - Francis Bacon - WikiArt.org.” Www.wikiart.org, www.wikiart.org/en/francis-bacon/study-after-velazquezs-portrait-of-pope-innocent-x-1953.
““Pope” | Francis Bacon.” Francis-Bacon.com, 2012, www.francis-bacon.com/artworks/paintings/pope-1.
“Study after Velazquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X, 1953 - Francis Bacon - WikiArt.org.” Www.wikiart.org, www.wikiart.org/en/francis-bacon/study-after-velazquezs-portrait-of-pope-innocent-x-1953.