Our last Family Day, in July, explored the art of portraits. A portrait is a drawing, painting, photograph or sculpture of a person. A self-portrait is a portrait that an artist makes of themselves. Artists have represented people in portraits for thousands of years, from historical figures to everyday individuals. The clothing, setting and objects included in portraits tell us about who these people are and what their lives may have been like.
Not all portraits look realistic. Some artists choose to create abstract portraits. They use colors, lines and shapes to express a person’s identity instead of creating a perfect representation of how they look in
real life.
Take a look at these two abstract portraits. What colors pop out to you? Do you notice any lines or patterns? How would you describe the personality of these two people? What visual elements give you clues about who these people are?
Now it is your turn to create your own abstract self-portrait.
You will need the following supplies:
- cardstock paper
- pencil
- washable markers
- additional art supplies, such as colored pencils, crayons or watercolor paint
Directions:
- Vertically fold the sheet of cardstock in half. Fold the paper in half again, and then unfold the paper completely. Your paper should now be divided into four equal squares.
- Using the middle fold line as a guide, draw the nose with a pencil. Make sure to extend the sides of your nose to the top of the paper.
- Next, draw a mouth below the nose.
- For the chin, draw a large u-shape starting from the middle fold line on the left edge of the paper. Extend the u-shape under the mouth to the middle fold line on the right edge of the paper.
- Draw two large eyes in the middle of the top squares. In each square, draw two horizontally curved lines for the eyes. The inner corners can touch the sides of your nose, and the outer corners can touch the paper’s edge.
- Add two curved lines touching top to bottom of the inside of the eye. Then draw a smaller circle inside of your curved lines.
- Starting at the chin and below the corners of the mouth, draw the sides of the neck to the bottom of the paper.
- After you’ve finished your drawing, use a black marker to go over your lines.
- Now add colorful details using markers, crayons, colored pencils or paint. Try using different shapes and patterns to make your portrait unique to you!
- Once finished, admire your work of art.
