2014 Summer Assignment - Portraits

2. WHAT THE PROJECT CONSISTED OF
This project involved visiting the National Portrait Gallery, completing several artist
copies and then, using one of the copied artists, create two final pieces inspired
by their work.
I chose to study Warhol for my response, using his pop art screenprints as
inspiration for my two pieces. The reason for this was due to my fondness of the
mayhem of colour contrasting against the simplicity of the portrait itself – there
is very little tonal work and only the strongest lines of the face are featured,
giving a very flat and bold representation of the subject.
I also liked the layers the piece, considering it’s production, and I appealed to the
potential there was trying to achieve the same effect.

3. MY VISIT TO
THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
1. ‘Dom Antony Sutch – The Priest’ – Catherine Goodman
Artist Copy
Artist: Catherine Goodman
Subject: Dom Antony Sutch
Media Used: Oil on canvas
For my artist copy, I used oil pastel to attempt to create the same
blended, layered look that the piece achieves with oil paint. My copy
was time consuming as it required blending and repeating sections to
achieve the right shade or tone. My primary criticism, is, I feel, the
shape of the eyes – the shape and size seems slightly incorrect, and
upon doing them slightly smaller, I believe my copy would bare more
resemblance to the original. Aside from that concern, I matched
colour to a high degree of accuracy and the likeliness to the
Goodman’s work is satisfactory.

4. MY VISIT TO
THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
2. Joan Collins’ – Andy Warhol
Artist Copy
Artist: Andy Warhol
Subject: Actress, Joan Collins
Year: 1985
Media Used: Silkscreen ink on synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Size: 40 in. x 40 in. (1016 mm x 1016 mm)
For this copy, I used acrylic paint, which I then placed an acetate sheet over and used
Sharpie on to create a transparent colour over the paint. I felt this would be an
alternative to using screenprinting and having layers of ink. The painting consisted of a
white paint base, then adding black to the features and hair, before finishing of with
the red and turquoise in the lip and eyes. Once I’d finished this, I then cut acetate the
same size and stapled it to the top of the piece. I carefully traced just outside of the
pupils with a Sharpie most matched with the paint, created a space where it was pen
against the white of her skin. I also did this for the lips, before using a weak, light grey
to create the effect of Collins’ eyeshadow and slight tone at the nose. The only issue
with my copy is that the angle of the face is slightly wrong, making the features visibly
at the wrong points.

5. FIRST PERSONAL STUDY
• Artist: Andy Warhol
• Subject: Actress, Joan Collins
• Year: 1985
• Media Used: Silkscreen ink on synthetic
polymer paint on canvas.
• Size: 40 in. x 40 in. (1016 mm x 1016 mm)
Without Acetate With Acetate

6. SECOND PERSONAL STUDY
• Artist: Andy Warhol
• Subject: Singer, Diana Ross
• Year: 1982
• Media Used: Silkscreen ink on
synthetic polymer paint on canvas.
Without Acetate With Acetate

7. SUMMARISING MY STUDIES OF WARHOL’S
WORK
GRACE KELLY BASED PIECE
To begin this piece, I washed the canvas, and light template
sketch, with an off-white colour, more closely matched to
the colour Warhol used for Kelly’s complexion. Once this
had dried, I used a black to outline the features of my
face. I was careful not to overdo the black paint, as this
would take the vibrancy of the piece away. The hair was
just a flat brown, apart from one side, which had a patch
of a darker tone, like the original. The lips were a light
pink, with patches of a darker tone in the centre. At the
right edge, I blended black into the darker pink just as
Warhol had done. Like my previous artist copy, I placed
acetate over the piece and used Sharpies to work into it –
giving the bright, transparent look my work needed to
become comparable to Warhol’s Kelly. I used blue, pink
and orange to fill the pupil, while also using cascading
lines from the roots of the hair to the ends. The eyes
carried the most colour as I felt this is the prominent
feature of the face. I finished with a flat light blue
background to mimic Warhol’s piece.
I am generally happy with the outcome – the template is
quite correct with the Polaroid I’d taken and I feel I’ve
successfully matched colour and effect with the original. If
I could do it again, I would possibly refrain from using so
much colour in the eye as I felt there were too many
present compared to Kelly’s eyes in the print. Aside from
that, I’m content with the result.
DIANA ROSS BASED PIECE
Like before, I started my piece with a light template I’d drawn and
covered the canvas in a base colour – a more vibrant white
this time, as to later contrast against the black and red
with more authority. Once dried, I painted my features and
hair in a flat black, bar my lips and pupils. This involved
being careful with my paintbrush, as eyelashes and small
detail would be difficult to correct against a pure white
background. I left this to dry before using a deep, rich red
for the lips – leaving a small stripe of white to signify there
was a product my lips, just as Ross had in her piece. My
eyes were painted with a dull, baby blue. Again, like
before, I placed a sheet of acetate over the canvas and
used Sharpie pens to work into it. I used a light. Baby pink
to create the appearance of eye shadow like Warhol had
done with Ross. I also found this contrasted attractively
with the two blue pens I’d used to layer over the pupils. The
same pink was also in the eyebrow. The lips had also been
drawn over, but slightly around the original painted shape
to highlight the second layer. A brown pen was also used
over my beauty mark above the lip, as well as a grey to
pinpoint shadow on the neck, jawline and ears.
I think I prefer this piece, as it’s more in line with the
portrait of Joan Collins which had originally attracted me to
pursue Warhol’s work. I’d done the hair black to mimic
Diana Ross’ portrait better, but I wonder how the result
would have looked with a flat light brown instead. Bar this, I
quite like the piece and am content with it’s execution.

8. EVALUATION
I feel my attempts at Warhol’s work, through the medium of acrylic paint, were not deflated, and decent pieces
were produced creatively – the use of the acetate and permanent markers was perhaps a more inventive
solution to creating layers for example. In addition to that, the use of Polaroids to further imitate the
processes used by the artist to create work I feel is more in touch with the originals.
I also improved in terms of tracking and trialling the techniques, colours and processes that I was using to
complete my pieces, which I feel is important in terms of developing my skills in a wider sense, as well as
finding solutions for the project itself.
As well as this, I’m quite pleased with myself in being more confident with a media I personally find difficult to
produce satisfactory results with. I rarely choose the option of using acrylic – and instead would rather use
pencil, or oil based materials – so completing two pieces with it, and developing my painting and colour
blending skills in a way I had not before, is a outcome from the project that will benefit my later work.
In conclusion, I feel I am happy with my pieces in terms of aiding in my development of the media, my ability to
draw and also think creatively to produce a product. If any improvement were to be made, I would consider
imitating a more abstract and diverse piece of Warhol’s work, as I felt I stayed too safe with the two I chose
for inspiration.