Signature Self Portrait

For this assignment we were supposed to make a gridded self portrait but instead of using regular lines to create the value we used our signature over and over again. I used graphite pencil on drawing paper to create it. I was directly copying from a photo I took in class, that I had cropped and gridded to where I wanted it, I chose to be looking serious, and thoughtful but not quite sad because I feel like that represents who I am as a person quite well. This piece evolved a ton as I was drawing, I started by writing my name very, very small but quickly learned that I could use the size and shape of my name as a tool to help create even more texture. I chose to make this portrait even more personal to me by putting the words of a poem that I wrote in the background, words and the capability to write are to things that mean a lot to me and I love when I am able to add them to my art work. I do feel like the shadows around my eyes look more like I have dirt on my face than shadows so I would spend more time around my eyes, I also am not a fan of how my mouth turned out.