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My first few steps of prepping and planning were reaching out to my classmates in a grade-wide email where I asked if they wanted to be the subject for my final pieces. (see below for screenshot!)
This is what the form looked like:
After gathering seven+ applicants I narrowed it down to three of my friends and started executing little interviews with each in order to better understand how they wished to be depicted. During this time I also took reference photographs for each piece.
Interview Questions:
what color would you describe yourself as? Why?
what shape do you most affiliate yourself with? why?
why do you want this specific feature of yourself to be highlighted in my piece?
how do you want to be perceived by others?
what in your face are you most confident about?
is there something about your story that is shown on your face?
do you have a favorite color? why that color?
The next step was to sketch but I have another page where those sketches can be previewed. So... next was making my canvases from scratch!
the materials I used are as listed:
4 stretchers (which will be the future frame and shape of the canvas)
a scrap fabric (preferably not stretchy and of any varying thickness) that covers and has roughly two inches of leeway material to staple to the stretchers (you can also use an old picture frame as a substitute)
1 staple gun
Optional:
gesso (which I used on my second canvas)
The first step was to lay the fabric/canvas material substitute on a clear and flat surface. Next, I laid the connected stretchers (or frame) on top and tightly pulled the fabric over the edges, cutting the shape and size of the material as fit. Starting from opposing sides to ensure equal pull on the fabric, I stapled the fabric to the stretchers/frame. In the pictures below you can see I also folded the corners as neatly as possible to ensure a crisp edge.
This next step in making the Canvas is to ensure that when using glues and paints, the fabric/material of the canvas does not bend/ is more sturdy and reliable to paint on; this is called gesso. For my first piece instead of using classical gesso I used vibrant acrylic orange paint because I wanted to practice under-painting and incorporating the background color into the piece. (see below for my colors and pictures of me painting the canvas)
For my second run at gesso, I used actual gesso which is just a thicker version of acrylic paint. As seen In the first photo below, I painted the gesso onto the canvas in two layers with a wide brush running in both directions. After the gesso dried which was relatively fast, I sanded the canvas down with sandpaper so that it was smooth, this process was very satisfying.
Some progress photos:
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