Today in the Apricot - Ramallah Friends Schools

Culture and the Arts
yep...we got that too...
The Art of Ourselves
Layan Anabtawi
Looking in the Mirror
Ms Samah Zakak
“Nothing in a portrait is a matter of indifference. Gesture, grimace,
clothing, decor even – all must combine to realize a character.”
-Charles Baudelaire
An artist is a person exploring himself with a brush
and some paint. An artist is a person showing others
his soul in the form of a painting. An artist tries to
convey his personality through a self-portrait where
each stroke is a feeling, and each color is an idea. The
way the artist draws himself, they way he uses each
and every color, is what gives us an idea of what kind
of a person he/she is.
In the past couple of months, 10th grade students
have been learning about and making self-portraits
in art class. They start simply by taking a picture of
themselves, and then the sketching begins.
Before starting the actual portrait they start with
proportions. If the proportions are measured
properly, then the image can be easily recognized.
If the proportions are wrong, then it cannot. Details
don’t matter as much when drawing a self-portrait.
This is because after the pencil drawing you are going
to paint over it.
The shadows which create volume are constructed
using colors darker than the base. The first base
color is the skin color. Most of the students had some
trouble constructing the base skin color because, on
the cardboard they are drawing on, the colors seem
darker than they really are. After that comes the
base color for the lips, eyes, and eventually hair. The
shadows are done with colors slightly darker than the
base. Usually skin shadows are conveyed with dark
color around the edges of the face.
When we consider doing a self portrait, we might
need to ask ourselves: “What do we see in the mirror?
Who are we? Why do we look this way? Do
we ever change? How do we feel inside?”
This year, 10th grade students will have the opportunity
to conduct research on self -portraits done
by important artists. They will explore the relation
between individual identities as compared to
collective identity. They will create their realistic/
expressive self portrait as part of the collective.
This project allows students to deal with challenges
in transforming theory into practice. Their artworks
will be exhibited during the open day.
A self-portrait is just a glimpse of the mysterious
persona of each individual. A self-portrait is more
than just canvas and color, it’s an idea. Some artists
only left a portrait behind, and we can almost feel
their presence.