Assignment 1 Artwork - Surrealism

I have compiled a few sketches for the final drawing. First, I need to familiarize with my own face. This assignment also served to help us in our journey to discover and understand more about ourselves. And it definitely did its part well.



Front view:                                                  Side view:

The two pictures would serve as a guideline after I apply Surrealism onto the final self-portrait.


It was a good try for a first attempt.  I took a "selfie" with my phone as a guidance. The eyes were the most difficult part. I had to align them and make sure both were at least the same size and shape. And I had to erase and redraw the face a couple of times. The end result was fairly good, even though it only had half the resemblance.

The thing with Surrealism is that you got to make your picture dream-like, and it would be even better if the object or situation could not be witnessed in real life. When it comes to self portrait, the drawing is about YOU and your PERSONALITY, not just a piece of face on paper. I thought about what my interests are and listed a few down:

• Cats (my heart melts at the sight of those fuzzy little creatures)
• Stationery like pens and pencils (shows that I love drawing and writing), paintbrushes and a color palette (I enjoy coloring and painting)
• The color blue
• Books (I really enjoy reading, especially books about adventures)

I made it clear in the four sketches below that I would include my interest into the final drawing, so it does not just show how I look like, but also explains my personality in general.

Sketch #1

My four main interest are clearly depicted, held onto by my hair which unfortunately is never straight. Surrealism is shown by my hair that is holding firmly onto my interests.

Sketch #2

The gooey substance surrounding me is blue color paint, where my favorite color is given top priority in this sketch.

Sketch #3

This is a side way portrait. It does not really fulfill the requirement of a portrait since the other part of the face cannot be seen and the page setup is a landscape. In this sketch, a strong wind is blowing and my interests are seen billowing out of my hair - depicting what I like doing is engraved deeply in my thoughts.

Sketch #4

The face accommodates almost the whole paper, which certainly makes it a self portrait. Like Sketch #1, my hair curls around my interests, which fulfills the Surrealism requirement. And to make it even more dream-like, There are broken shards from mirrors at the bottom and top of the drawing (they are also found in Sketch #2 and #3). The broken shards depict looking at yourself through a mirror, then breaking through it to reveal your TRUE self.

Sketch #5

This is another sketch related to Surrealism. Unlike the first four, this one is about  me who has yet to discover my true self. As portrayed above, I am seen struggling to draw my own lips, choose a card with the correct pair of eyes. The bottom part of the portrait looks as if it was splashed on or painted haphazardly, depicting that the picture is recent, not complete and needs correction, like any other ordinary human would do. A human is never perfect, and always seeks improvement.