Roosevelt Middle School of the Arts - Student Galleries

Self Portraits

These are examples of self-portraits created by 8th grade Visual Arts majors. The students studied the works of the artist Chuck Close and used similar techniques for their work. The self-portraits began with a photograph that was overlaid with a grid. The students enlarged their photographs working one square at a time on large drawing paper. In the examples shown here, students have completed the self-portraits in two different ways. Some of the students chose a realistic representation in ebony pencil and white charcoal with a mixed-media background, while others chose to paint each square for an abstracted appearance.

 

 

 

 

These are examples of other self-portrait projects the students have created in a variety of media, including ebony pencil, charcoal, pen and ink, wire, acrylic, and chalk pastel. In the two-dimensional works, students focused on one feature at a time, attempting to capture accurate detail. The individual pieces were then assembled into one face, and other information was added to create the finished works. In the wire self-portrait example, students studied the work of Alexander Calder and assembled the faces from pieces of wire, trying to highlight the contour lines that help define the individual features.