Value Self-Portrait

Purpose:

• To determine where values change when light moves over an uneven surface by using a range of values to paint the different values in a realistic, monochromatic self-portrait;

• To effectively communicate an image that looks like you through careful examination of the values and structure of your face.

There are many skills necessary to paint a self-portrait value painting. Of these skills, the most important ones are the ability to see relative value, the ability to determine the level of detail necessary, and the virtue of patience. First of all, the ability to see relative value is necessary when painting a value self-portrait because it leads to a much more realistic final product. This is true because those who took the time to deeply observe the lighting of their original photographs as well as those who were able to improvise shades of value by paying attention to their work-in-progress are the ones who made the most realistic final results, as compared to those who merely mixed different levels black and white, painted their final product, and called it “good”. Continuing on, the ability to determine the level of detail needed in different parts of the self-portrait is necessary because it leads to an aesthetically- pleasing final product. Too little detail leads to the face looking unsophisticated and unrealistic. On the flip side, too much detail leads to the face looking convoluted and is too much to take in at once. The ability to determine which parts of the face require a lot of detail (like the eyes and ears) and which parts don’t require as much detail (like the cheeks, neck, and hair) is the skill that differentiates average self-portraits with great ones. Finally, the virtue of patience is necessary when painting a value self-portrait because those who lack this virtue are the ones who rush the process of creating art, which always leads to bad results. The level of patience of the creator can be seen in the final product; self-portraits with transparent spots, messy edges, and unrealistic changes in value are signs that the creator did not spend as much time as he or she most likely should have. However, works that do not have these flaws are the ones that people tend to be the most impressed in, as it shows the level of patience that the creator spent on his or her work.