"Modern Gothic"
Acrylic Paint on Canvas May 2022 |
Exhibition Text This self portrait was created using acrylic paint on canvas. My intentions for this painting was to connect my overall theme of identity to a single painting by simply placing myself in a painting that I am fond of. I was inspired by painter Grant Wood and his infamous painting, "American Gothic" and his overall mundane and unenthusiastic art style which intrigued me when I first discovered it. I wanted to place myself somewhere out of my comfort zone and this was the perfect painting to do so.
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Critical Investigation
Inspiration
Grant Wood was a painter in the early 1900's and specialized in painting of Midwestern America. Grant was most recognizable for his painting, "American Gothic" which depicted a carpenter Gothic style home along with a father and daughter duo who Grant believed would belong in the house. The painting uses mostly soft and depressing hues which gives the overall canvas a gloomy and dark appearance. The expressions on the people's faces are also very mundane and stern. They appear as though something serious has happened or they are angry at the situation they are in. Another notable painting done by Wood is titled "Fall Plowing". For this artwork, Wood paints a fresh and well kept farm or crop field with lots of bright and clean colors. Unlike his American Gothic painting, Wood uses these bright and clean colors to shed light on new ways of farming rather than a non wealthy family living in a rural area. It is said that the painting represents new plowing technology and how these farming innovations play a role in farming development. Wood uses great examples of perspective and movement with this painting as it is obvious to tell that as the hills trail back into the distance, the crops, landscaping, and buildings in the background decrease in size. I felt a connection to his paintings because of his Midwestern American style because I reside in the Midwest. I was particularly inspired by his soft and monotonous painting style and I took inspiration from his dull color schemes and his simplistic styled foliage. For my self portrait, I wanted to make sure that I included the classic carpenter Gothic home that can be seen in the American Gothic painting along with the infamous pitchfork and the same stern facial expression as the father and daughter.
Planning
For these planning sketches, I experimented with using different types of artworks because I wasn't too sure what artist I wanted to use as my inspiration. I started off by sketching out some ideas using the reference Paris Street, Rainy Day. I thought that it would be a cool idea for me to go to downtown Milwaukee and take a picture of myself while it was raining. I would also wait until there were people and cars behind me so I could recreate that busy and crammed look. However, I decided that that was too much detail to attempt in such a short amount of time so I began looking for more inspirational photos. I stumbled upon the painting American Gothic by Grant Wood and I really loved it's appearance so I decided I would add my own touch to this classic artwork. At first, I experimented with the window and I ultimately decided that I wanted the window to be stained glass rather than a blank window because I love stained glass and I thought it would brighten up the painting and bring in hues to an already dull painting. I also went to Europe 4 years ago and I wanted to incorporate that trip into my art by using images I took of stained glass in cathedrals. Next, I began by taking a picture of myself because this was a self portrait piece. I placed a grid on top of my face and the original painting so that it would be easier for me to sketch out my design. I also sketched out more of my window because other than my face, this window was going to be the most important part of my painting. Finally, I worked out my color schemes and determined that I was going to be using mostly orange, blue, green, yellow, black, and brown because when toned down, they are all dull colors that would really make the painting resemble Grant Wood's, American Gothic. I also printed an image of potted plants because I wanted to make the ones I was placing on the porch as realistic as possible.
Process
To begin, I started off by drawing 3 inch by 3 inch grid lines on my 3 foot by 3 foot canvas. I then started to sketch out a rough outline of the building in the background so that I could have a layout of where I wanted the house to go. After, I sketched out my face and body so that I knew where I wanted to place myself on the canvas.
I then went on to paint the sky in the background. I started off by mixing a light blue color and painting the rest of the background with my mixed color. Then, with a sponge brush I dabbed some darker and lighter blues onto my mixed color so I could replicate the texture that Wood had in his paintings. After, I noticed that there was some green and yellow in the sky I again took my sponge brush along with some water and dabbed the bottom of the sky. I made sure to go back in with a fluffy brush so that the colors could blend smoothly.
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Continuing on, I started creating the foliage around the outside of the house I painted a coat of green so that the white canvas wouldn't peak through and then I added in some white and dark green to add texture and volume. I realized that I didn't like how this looked and I didn't think the tree looked full enough so I went in with my fingers and dabbed the colors in. I found that this is the most effective for me and I enjoy how it turned out in the end. I also added a grey, metal roof below the trees and used white for highlighting.
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Next, I started working on my face and neck. I filled in the entire area with watered down red acrylic paint and then I mixed a skin tone using yellow, magenta, brown, and white. I worked in small sections, starting with my eyes. I added more brown or black to the area around my eyes and added highlights to my lids. Next, I worked on my nose and lips again adding white for highlights. I used a mixture of magenta, yellow, and white to fill in the base tone of my lips and then added black to deepen the corners. Next, I pained my eyebrows using a light brown because my eyebrows are light and hard to recognize at times. I finished off the face by adding brown spots where my moles are and then I moved onto the neck. For my neck, I just shaded making sure to acknowledge the shadows from my chin and hair and I was pretty much complete with my face and neck.
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For the hair, I did a base color of white ,mixed with brown because my hair is a dirty blonde. I then painted sections of my hair black to represent deep shadows. I took a darker brown and added shading to the lighter sections of my hair and then I took some white and added in highlights. Finally, rather than using a thin brush and white paint, I rook a white gel pen and added in some stray hairs around my face and neck so that the image looked as realistic as I could make it.
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For my outfit, I wanted to recreate the same dress the woman was wearing in the original American Gothic painting. I started by painting the black and white neckline of the undershirt. I then added some shading to the white neckline with black by the hair to add shadows and I added the small broach to the middle of my chest. Next, I moved onto the dress that would go over the black undershirt. I started off by painting it an orange-ish brown color and then I took a sharpie marker and painted the lid white. I then stamped the white painted marker onto the dress in a diagonal line. After, I added some white dots to the dress using the end of a paint brush and then I added some white ruffle detail to the neckline of the dress.
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Moving onto the left side of the canvas, I started working on the wall. I painted the whole wall with a light yellow and then I added some stripes to represent the siding of the house. I then started to paint the steps using some brown acrylic paint. I added shading and highlights to the steps along with shadows surrounding items on the porch and pillars. I then moved onto the window. I mixed up a color using green, blue, and black and then using that color, I outlined the window frame and the blinds above the window. I also painted the windows with black paint and then I added streaks using white paint. Finally, I added in the little plants on the porch by mixing a variety of different greens using white, blue, yellow, and red.
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Finally, in the bottom right corner of the painting, I decided to paint grass and flowers so that the image resembled the original landscaping of the house. I started off with a basic green base and then I added texture and layers with dark green, yellow, white, and a lighter green. I also added some dirt in the backgrounds by stippling some light brown and dark brown paint. Finally, with a fan brush, I added in some Daffodil leaves with light and brown greens and then I added in some Daffodil flowers with a small detail brush.
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Experimentation
When I first started creating art, the first medium I used was acrylic paint. Although this was my first, it is not my favorite as it dries incredibly quick and it can be hard to blend, add highlights, and shade. I also haven't used this medium in a while so I started off by experimenting with a scrap canvas I had leftover from a personal project. I practiced working with gradients and blending dark colors into lights. I also practiced working with different textures and brushes so that I could determine what brushes I liked best and which brushes gave me the most control when working on small details and blending for example. I found that I started gravitating towards plat brushes and small detailing brushes as they allowed me to be able to get into small spaces, make touch ups, and add fine line detailing. I also discovered that although it may seem like building up layers is the right thing to do, it is better to wait for the paint to dry between each coat because the paint can lift depending on how much paint and pressure was being used. I experimented with using sponge brushes as well in order to add a rough, almost grainy texture to the painting and I found that it was easy to recreate the blotchy and simplistic appearance of Wood's foliage and bushes with said brush. Finally, I decided that I wanted to experiment with using different brands of acrylic. Professional acrylic is pretty expensive and I didn't have access to it at the time so I used a variety of Craft Smart acrylic, Liquitex Basics acrylic paint, and Grumbacher Academy acrylic paint. I tested out each brand with different brushes sized brushes and I attempted to create gradients with each paint respectively. I found that the Grumbacher Academy paint was the best quality and created the best and most smooth gradient, however I had limited amounts so I turned to the second best option, Craft Smart which surprisingly also provides a very smooth and even gradient.
Critique
This acrylic paint project was was inspired by the work "American Gothic" by modernist painter Grant Wood and there are many similarities and differences between our pieces. To compare, just like in the American Gothic painting, I painted the same house in the background of the image. I really wanted my picture to resemble the original so I added along with the house, I also replicated some of the smaller details like the attire, the plants, and the pitchfork. Another similarity is the texture in the foliage and in the sky. I wanted to be able to achieve this blotchy, detailed texture to my painting so by using my finger and a sponge brush, I was able to achieve this look. The final similarity would be the facial expressions on both pieces. I wanted to be able to replicate the blank, mundane stare that the people held in the American Gothic painting so for my reference photo, I make sure to take a picture of myself with a neutral expression. The difference between both of our pieces is the color. The American Gothic painting had a very subtle yellow tint over the entire canvas, however my painting is very vibrant and doesn't have that classic yellow and dull tint. Another difference is the stained glass window. Rather than making the window black, I instead used bright colors to create a stained class appearance. The final difference would be that in the American Gothic painting there are two people but in my painting, there is only one person, me. This project was a self portrait so I figured it would be most appropriate for me to be alone in the painting.
Reflection
My inspiration for this project was artist Grant Wood. I appreciated the way that Wood represented the mundane and blank expressions of the average lower income household in America. I wanted to be able to captivate this expression and apply that into my own painting using brighter, more enthusiastic colors. I also wanted to be able to recreate the architectural appearance of a carpenter Gothic style home in America. I loved the different blending styles that Grant Wood implemented into his paintings. The blending is subtle yet incredibly unique and realistic. I also loved the simplistic style of his painting. Although there is an incredible amount of detail, it has an overall simple appearance. I also really enjoyed the dark, eerie color scheme in Wood's painting because it highlights the sad expressions and atmosphere. If I were to re do this assignment, I would make sure that I could find a way to make sure that the pitchfork would stand out more from the background. I experimented with many different colors however they all seemed to blend in with the house. I would also try and make the colors more yellow. I liked how my painting turned out overall I just wished I was able to apply that eerie yellow look to the painting. My biggest challenge for this piece was trying to paint the face because I am not experienced in painting faces to I had a hard time making the colors and proportions accurate. Overall, I think that this painting was incredibly successful and I am proud of the way that it turned out.
ACT Questions
1) Clearly explain and describe how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
Grant Wood's soft and eerie appearance of his paintings inspired me to create a painting that was both mysterious and mundane.
2) What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Grant Wood's reasoning behind creating the painting was to represent a family that would live in a carpenter Gothic style home so he chose to paint a lower class couple to fit with the lower class home.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
A generalization that I have made is that people who were lower to middle class in the 1930's lived in homes similar to the one in the background of the American Gothic painting.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
My central idea was to find something simple, unique, and recognizable.
5) What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I made the inference that Grant Wood was lower to middle class because a lot of his paintings were of farms and farm houses.
Grant Wood's soft and eerie appearance of his paintings inspired me to create a painting that was both mysterious and mundane.
2) What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Grant Wood's reasoning behind creating the painting was to represent a family that would live in a carpenter Gothic style home so he chose to paint a lower class couple to fit with the lower class home.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
A generalization that I have made is that people who were lower to middle class in the 1930's lived in homes similar to the one in the background of the American Gothic painting.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
My central idea was to find something simple, unique, and recognizable.
5) What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I made the inference that Grant Wood was lower to middle class because a lot of his paintings were of farms and farm houses.
Bibliography
1.) Fall Plowing. Retrieved 3 May 2022, from https://picturingtheamericas.org/painting/fall-plowing/
2.) Gustave_Courbet_-_Le_Désespéré. (2022). Retrieved 13 September 2022, from https://hannahsartclub.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/making-faces-part-i-drawing-facial-expressions-june-2012/gustave_courbet_-_le_desespere/
2.) Gustave_Courbet_-_Le_Désespéré. (2022). Retrieved 13 September 2022, from https://hannahsartclub.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/making-faces-part-i-drawing-facial-expressions-june-2012/gustave_courbet_-_le_desespere/