Kehinde Wiley is an American portrait painter based in New York City. He is known for his naturalistic paintings of black people that reference the work of Old Master paintings. In 2017, Wiley was commissioned to paint former President Barack Obama's portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.

Kehinde Wiley, enjoys using symbols to represent power, heroism, and the sublime in his representation of urban, Black and Brown men found throughout the world.  Kehinde Wiley's paintings are enormous!  Most of his paintings feature the full body of a person from head to toe, surrounded by plants and other symbols.

How We Express Ourselves: An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.

Individuals express their identities in a variety of ways.  Artists can choose to express their identity through self-portraits.

Figure/ figurative: a work of art the features a human body from head to toe.  

Self-Portrait: a work of art that an artist creates of themselves.

Questions to consider?

• What can we learn about ourselves by creating a self-portrait? 

• How can we communicate about ourselves with our whole bodies?

• What makes us unique?

1. What did you discover while creating your self-portrait?

2. Name something you are expressing about yourself in this portrait, how did you depict it?

3. What will you add to your portrait next week?