Realistic Self-Portrait

Artist's Statement: 

The main idea was to create a photorealistic self-portrait, copying off a photo that we took of ourselves. I had a lot of negative space behind me, so I already knew I wanted to fill that with something. At first I thought colored pencil, but then I thought that maybe writing would look interesting. 

I used various graphite pencils to create the portrait, and India ink for the writing. To create the portrait we used the grid method, where you copy each square individually. 

Some of the things that changed from my original idea when I hear about this assignment. I first had the idea to make my skin tree bark, but I realized that it would be very very challenging, so I went for a simpler photo, and decided not the do anything directly to it. Instead I focused on the background, which changed from colored pencil, to writing. The writing also changed. At first I thought maybe Shakespeare's Sonnet 116, but I didn't want someone else's writing on my art. So I decided on this. 

Have you ever looked at the horizon 

And felt its distant pull,

Like the sensation of standing at a cliff,

A vertigo of sorts.

The elicit curiosity of wondering,

What would happen if you stepped off?

With horizons it’s a mystery 

Whether you plummet, 

Or if you stride onto a lane of sunlight,

That leads you to the stars.

You can only chase them,

Horizons,

Following the feeling of looking down

And seeing the world spread out below you.

Going from place to place,

Always craving to run, 

To fly,

To leap and touch that shimmering line,

The faraway horizon.