The self portrait

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Patricia Jean Eames Schweninger (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Andrew Martin

Abstract: My thesis is a series of five self portraits that are based on the transformation of form by light. The oil paintings are small in size (from 11 x 13 inches to 16 x 18 inches) and they concentrate on the head and shoulders with no figurative elements in the background, which provides an airy atmosphere to complement and lend spatial placement to the portraits. Although color is used, an overall impression of the work is the balance of lights and darks in neutral tones with exceptions being made only for the color of the shirt. The forms are modulated by light in several ways. Sometimes the change is in a modeled tone; sometimes it is defined by a dark outline; sometimes by a light outline. These changes in light define the forms. Light and dark brush strokes are often apparent in the work and these strokes move with the line and the forms. A dark halo effect behind the head has beer, used in two of the portraits; it serves to emphasize the receding or turning of the head and shoulders. Long dark hair in other portraits achieves this same effect. Turning the side of the face or head is also accomplished by using tones of light colors. The choice to use a dark or light tone is based on observation of the falling light patterns on the face and shoulders of the subject.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 1977

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