2nd Year A Level Portraiture Project

So over the summer you should be aiming to complete all the portraiture work in the brief below. This means when you return in September you should have (as a minimum):

• A good range of powerful source photography, printed out and included in your sketchbook.
• Several sustained drawings (observational from the mirror and in response to your photographs).
• Quick expressive drawings.
• Some printmaking.
• The research into portraits from different eras (as outlined in the brief that follows).

When we return we will be developing imagery and techniques towards producing final pieces before half term. We will also complement our work with some additional research that relates strongly to the work you are producing.

"Grandad" by Martha Dobson (Former Alton College student)

Project Outline

Over the remainder of this term you will start work on your A2 Coursework Unit. Starting this Unit now gives you the maximum time and opportunity to produce a really strong set of work.

As our starting point we will be looking at the common theme of Portraiture, although there will be a chance to explore alternative subject matter later in this Unit.

Our focus over the next few weeks will be to complete initial studies from direct observation, generate source imagery through photography and drawing and complement this with thoughtfully selected research.

To enrich your understanding you should all make a study visit to the BP portrait award at the National Portrait Gallery before we return in September.

Observational Drawing

We will all complete some self-portrait studies from direct observation in sketchbooks. You will be given instruction and guidance from your Tutors to help you, but remember that good observational drawing is dependent on you sustaining a focussed approach.

Photography

Your final portrait will be a representation of yourself or another subject, you could even choose to deal with more than one figure. When taking your Photographs you should consider the following:

• Composition/cropping (how much of the figure/s you include in the frame).
• Viewpoint. Unusual Viewpoints (e.g. high or low camera angle) can add interest.
• Lighting (specific lighting can add drama).
• Background: the setting and space around the figure/s.
• Props (these can add meaning or tell the audience more about the subject)
• Gesture and facial expression.
• Formal or informal pose?

Research

Before you start work on your outcome you will benefit from looking at how some other Artists have approached the theme of Portraiture. You should look at a minimum of 6 portraits by 6 different Artists, try to identify some historical and contemporary examples.

Two examples from each of the following lists would be appropriate (but there are countless other possibilities):

Rembrandt - Self Portrait

Historical (pre 1870)

El Greco, Diego Velazquez, Caravaggio, Leonardo Da Vinci, Titian, Jan Van Eyck, Jan Vermeer, Theodore Gericault, Jacques-Louis David, Francisco Goya, Frans Hals, Rembrandt, Joseph Wright of Derby, Hans Holbein, Bellini.

Edvard Munch - The Artist and his Model

Modern (1870 – 1970)

Edgar Degas, Stanley Spencer, Chaim Soutine, Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Edvard Munch, Egon Schiele, Francis Bacon, Oscar Kokoschka, Max Beckmann, Henri Matisse, Otto Dix, Amedeo Modigliani.

David Cobley - Blues, Beer and Rock & Roll

Contemporary (post 1970)

David Hockney, Lucian Freud, Frank Auerbach, Chuck Close, Tai-Shan Schierenberg, Alison Lambert, Jenny Saville, Tim Okamura, Eric Fischl, Paula Rego, David Hancock, Robert Bechtle, Franz Gertsch, Jason Brooks, Stuart Pearson Wright, David Cobley.

After you have selected your 6 portraits analyse each one in detail and make visual responses to at least one portrait in each category. Aspects of each portrait you should discuss include:

·         Use of colour.

·         Technique.

·         Scale.

·         Lighting.

·         Composition.

·         Atmosphere/mood.

·         Formal or informal portrait?

·         Was the painting commissioned by the sitter?

·         Any story behind the image?

You should also find out a little about the Artist and identify when the portrait was made. Make a sustained visual response to one Artist in each category in appropriate media.

Development

From your photographs use your sketchbook to produce a series of drawn studies that enable you to plan your final piece. You should pay particular attention to devising an effective composition, if your photographs were successful you will already be well along the path towards this, use your drawings to experiment, crop and refine your final image.

You should move onto experiments with printmaking and then explore colour and technique through a range of media as you develop your responses to your source photography.

Time Plan

Week beginning Mon. 12^th June.

• Studio: Observational Self Portraits.
• Private Study: Source Photography (complete by Monday 20^th June)

Week beginning Mon. 19^th June.

• Studio: Completion of observational pieces, developmental studies from photographs.
• Private Study: Artist Research (select and analyse images)

Week beginning Mon. 26^th June.

• Studio: Drawings and printmaking based on photographs.
• Private Study: Artist Research (visual responses to sources). Research should be complete by Mon. 5^th July.

Weeks beginning Mon. 3^rd & Mon. 10^th July. Lessons finish Weds. 12^th July.

• Studio: Mixed media experimentation exploring colour and technique.
• Private Study: Collation and presentation of all work in sketchbooks.

 

Mustafa Ozel - Portrait of Beyza (from BP Portrait Award)

Make arrangements to visit the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery (just off Trafalgar Square in London). http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/bp-portrait-award-2017/exhibition/

Free entrance, open 22^nd June – 24^th September 2017.