In the many conversations I have with my fellow art teachers, there’s always a common thread of seeking to understand how the materials I use are meaningfully connected. Most recently, the question of whether to not the music behind these drawings has influenced my composition… The question came from my music teacher friend and she made an observation my daughter also made weeks before… the music often contradicts my colour choices, or the subject I draw: to be more specific, the moods clash! I am paraphrasing the conversation to condense our often incomprehensible art-geek moments of discovering new understandings between artists… yes, I’m saying we are a strange breed of people and our conversation might sound as odd as trying to understand your kids talk about Dungeon and dragons adventures and how rolling dice decides seemingly arbitrary outcomes! Anyway, before I ramble on… I discovered that the music might unconsciously be influencing my choices and helping me build a more layered story for my viewers. I believe my choices are consciously aesthetic, but the few words on these music sheet pages are taken into consideration when I choose what to draw and how to title the composition. In a (very broad) nutshell: The music pages do influence my work (even if I can’t explain it very well, yet).
Specifically, this face is an amalgam of so many Cubist, Expressionist, and other “-ist” portraits… I didn’t start it as a self-portrait, but I know is one. Teaching is keeping me young and allowing my inner-child to interact you others and continue expressing itself. The hair, not as I currently wear mine, although as I imagined myself as an older art professor. The red lips are a default I use to give some ambiguity and offer the possibility for inclusive interpretations and a diverse audience. I feel I’ve chosen simple background colours to permit the portrait to be the focus of my story… I’ve also placed it to the side to put the focal point in a (rule of thirds) side quadrant, thus letting the viewer read across the page dynamically.
What is my face saying to you?
More to come…
The New Renaissance Mindset 