Exhibition Text
The inspiration behind untitled is two self portraits created by Francis Bacon in the years 1969 and 1972. I chose him as inspiration because he admitted that he created some many self portraits because he couldn't find any inspiration around him. This was an interesting to me because this allowed him to focus on the human form, which is a common theme I have seen in my work.
Inspiration
Francis Bacon, ¨Self Portrait¨ (1972), Oil on Canvas. Francis Bacon, Self-Portrait¨(1969)14 x 12 in, Oil on Canvas.
Bacon's work is often described as nightmarish. In an interview he says that he doesn't think his works compete with the horrors that occur in the world. Most of his works consist of a dark undertone, this is especially present in his self portraits. He produced so many self portraits because he couldn't find any other inspiration. By looking at his brushwork you can see individual brushstrokes and harsh blending, both of which I wanted emulate in my paintings.
Planning Sketches
Initially when I started this project I wanted to create a diptych. This is why when I was looking for inspiration I chose two pieces that didn't look similar. I knew that I wanted at least one of the figures to be female,since that is a running theme throughout all of my work.
I was happy with the way my first two sketches for the figures turned out so I wanted to focus on placement and the background for my third sketch. I decided that I would stagger the two pieces and that the color of the background would be the same for both so that the pieces flowed together. |
Experimentation
Before starting to paint on the actual canvas I wanted to create a color palette that I could reference back too. I did this because a lot of the colors I wanted to use on both pieces, and I didn't want the colors to slightly off on one. Overall I think that was a good idea because it saved me a lot of time when I was blending my colors.
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The second part of my experimentation was emulating Bacon´s technique. By looking at his works I noticed he layered different paints on top of each other with little blending. Initially I started with a base color, after that dried I added another thin layer of the base color. Then with a small square brush I added different steaks of colors not really blending them together. This technique worked well for me because the colors were easy to apply on the thin wet coat of the base color.
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Process
Before any painting could begin I had to construct and stretch my canvas. After all the necessary steps were taken to successful make a canvas I applied gesso, I did this until I was happy with the opacity. I ended up applying three layers of gesso.
I took black on a small square brush and went over any lines I wanted defined. Once those dried I painted the lips. The colors I used for that were Dark Pink, White, and Neon Pink. I chose to paint the face last since it had the largest surface area. I used the same technique I used to complete the neck.
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I then took a small pointed brush with some black and outlined the eyes. I didn't want to add to much detail to them because the rest of the face made so much color and detail. When completing this step I wanted them to look sort of not proportional because that is a common theme seen through out Francis Bacon´s works.
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Reflection
¨Self Portrait¨ (1972) v Untitled
Similarities:
- Both figures that appear are males
- Both pieces have a sense of unbalance because the not proportional facial features
- The color palette for the faces and neck areas are similar in the sense that both mainly consist of cool colors
Differences:
- The coloring of the shirts are very different, in untitled the shirt is just solid black
- ¨Self Portrait¨ has a black background which allows the figure in the piece to look like it melting into the background
¨Self-Portrait¨ (1969) v Untitled
Similarities:
- Both pieces have the figure placed in roughly the same location on the canvas
- The color palette that makes up the face and neck are mainly cool colors
Differences:
- The figure that appears in untitled is female
- The coloring of the clothes differ because in untitled the shirt is solid black
Similarities:
- Both figures that appear are males
- Both pieces have a sense of unbalance because the not proportional facial features
- The color palette for the faces and neck areas are similar in the sense that both mainly consist of cool colors
Differences:
- The coloring of the shirts are very different, in untitled the shirt is just solid black
- ¨Self Portrait¨ has a black background which allows the figure in the piece to look like it melting into the background
¨Self-Portrait¨ (1969) v Untitled
Similarities:
- Both pieces have the figure placed in roughly the same location on the canvas
- The color palette that makes up the face and neck are mainly cool colors
Differences:
- The figure that appears in untitled is female
- The coloring of the clothes differ because in untitled the shirt is solid black
ACT Response
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
Francis Bacon´s self portraits were simply meant to focus on himself and the human form. By looking at my pieces you can see the same thing.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overall approach was to branch out and push my boundaries, which allowed me to learn a technique through lots of trial and error.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
A piece of art doesn't need to be made to have a meaning/message behind it, it can be made to simply be looked at. This concept its self allows the viewers to make up their minds on the piece.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
When doing research for inspiration I wanted to try a technique that I never really tried to do before.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
An inference I made was that Francis Bacon made art in the moment, to me this means he made what he felt like and if he didn't like it he moved onto something else that excited him.
Francis Bacon´s self portraits were simply meant to focus on himself and the human form. By looking at my pieces you can see the same thing.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overall approach was to branch out and push my boundaries, which allowed me to learn a technique through lots of trial and error.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
A piece of art doesn't need to be made to have a meaning/message behind it, it can be made to simply be looked at. This concept its self allows the viewers to make up their minds on the piece.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
When doing research for inspiration I wanted to try a technique that I never really tried to do before.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
An inference I made was that Francis Bacon made art in the moment, to me this means he made what he felt like and if he didn't like it he moved onto something else that excited him.
Bibliography
“Self-Portrait, 1969 : Francis Bacon.” Artimage, www.artimage.org.uk/23911/francis-bacon/self-portrait--1969.
“Self-Portrait: Francis Bacon.” Homepage, www.francis-bacon.com/artworks/paintings/self-portrait-10.
“Self-Portrait: Francis Bacon.” Homepage, www.francis-bacon.com/artworks/paintings/self-portrait-10.