Portraits

For this project we looked at the work of Amy Sherald and Kehinde Wiley, who were commissioned to paint Michelle and Barack Obama’s official portraits for the National Portrait Gallery back in 2018. Amy Sherald, who painted Mrs. Obama, is known for her bold and colorful backgrounds contrasted by figure paintings done in gray scale. Kehinde Wiley, who painted President Obama’s portrait, is famous for his hyper-realistic figure studies that mimic classical paintings and are accompanied by electrifying pattern backgrounds. Pieces of his background patterns typically weave through and over the subject. Both Sherald and Wiley’s work reflect on the culture of being a person of color in today’s society. Their works are similar due to their use of color, pattern and aspects of pop culture.

The students learned to use a grid to create a proportionally accurate portrait of themself. Their portrait needed to show value and form through shading using a variety of drawing pencils. The gray scale of their portraits relates to Sherald’s work, where their colorful backgrounds and collage pieces relate to Wiley’s work. For the background they used watercolor, markers and sharpie. Their patterns were supposed to be culturally relevant to their own lived experience.

Block printed textiles

Clay Food Sculptures

Zines