Expressive Self-Portrait:
Adding Color & Value
Alice Neel, ”A Spanish Boy”, 1955
Expressive Self-Portrait: Adding Color & Value
You will need:
Vocabulary:
Value: how light or dark a color appears
Highlight: an area that is lighter than surrounding areas
Shadow: an area that is darker than surrounding areas
Expressive Self-Portrait: Adding Color & Value
How do you think the person in this artwork is feeling?
�What colors do you notice?
Where do you see highlights or shadows?
How do you think the artist exaggerated colors, highlights, or shadows in this portrait?�
Malvin Gray Johnson, Self-Portrait, 1934
Expressive Self-Portrait: Adding Color & Value
Artists can exaggerate, colors, highlights and shadows to make their self-portraits look more expressive.
Expressive Self-Portrait: Adding Color & Value
Base/Skin Color
Decide on a skin color, realistic or expressive, for your portrait.
What colors can you mix to make this color?
Start by adding the lightest color first.
Expressive Self-Portrait: Adding Color & Value
Continue mixing the color for your skin tone.��Try adding layers of color using the side of your oil pastel to create an even layer.
Expressive Self-Portrait: Adding Color & Value
Re-draw your features and fill in your hair.
As you add color, you may slightly cover some of your features. ��Look in the mirror to help as you re-draw your eyes, nose, mouth, and/or any other features that have been covered.
What color will you use for your hair?
You can consider choosing a color that contrasts, or stands out, against your skin tone.
Expressive Self-Portrait: Adding Color & Value
Add highlights and shadows.
Try adding some dramatic lighting to your self-portrait. ��Move closer to a window or use a flashlight to create exaggerated highlights and shadows on your face.
Where do you see the highlights? ��Where do you see the shadows?
Use a light oil pastel, like white or peach, to make highlights and a dark oil pastel, like blue or purple, to add shadows.
*Note: Use black sparingly, it can quickly overpower your other colors.
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Expressive Self-Portrait: Adding Color & Value
Reflection:
Where did you add highlights or shadows to your self-portrait?�
How did adding highlights or shadows change your self-portrait?
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