the self in portraiture - academy of art...

The Self in Portraiture

Damon Hurbon

Academy of Art University, Graduate School of Fine Art Painting December 5th, 2016 2:00pm (Pacific Time)

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Table of Contents

Autobiography ........................................................................................ 5

Resume ................................................................................................... 7

Timeline ................................................................................................... 9

Thesis Summary ........................................................................................ 11

Thesis Project ................................................................................... 13 - 15

Thesis Paintings ................................................................................... 17 - 45

Influences .............................................................................................. 47- 49

Promotional Materials ............................................................................. 51

Statement of Future Plans ............................................................................. 53

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 54

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Autobiography When I was very young I remember looking at a small painting on the kitchen wall of my Italian grandmother's house. I loved how the thick, heavy-handed brushstrokes of yellow, burnt umber, and white captured more than a simple still life of a bowl, half a lemon and a peel. There was a mood and an atmosphere, as if I could see the whole table or even feel the day. I was fascinated. I knew that I wanted to be able to create something like that, but had no idea how. When I discovered my mother had made the painting in college, I realized I too could learn. Even though my mother did not pursue art as a career, both of my parents were interested in art, and they would often take me to museums. The paintings and their many styles enthralled me. I knew by the end of high school that I would study art in college. My final semester I studied in Florence, Italy where I discovered The Florence Academy of Art, a non-accredited professional atelier for traditional realist painters. I was again fascinated by the paintings, but I never thought I would have the opportunity to return there to study. I saw a viable career in graphic design and graduated from Towson State University with a BS in Graphic Design in 1993. Upon graduation I found a position in a small design company. As computer technology advanced, companies began to eliminate full time staff and hire freelancers to fill design needs. Three years later I was let go. Though I continued to look for work in design, I also applied to The Florence Academy of Art. After six months, in 1996, I was hired by the American Physiological Society (APS) as an Art Editor, and was accepted to The Florence Academy of Art. I decided to follow my love of painting. Over the next several years I went back and forth between working at APS and studying in Italy. I completed The Florence Academy's drawing program but was unable to sustain further studies abroad. I returned to work at APS permanently in 2003. While I continued to work for APS, I desired to paint and eventually teach. I wanted to build on the classical realist training I had begun at The Florence Academy, and earn an MFA. It was several years before I found the right program, one rooted in the classical realist tradition and the perfect balance between work and school. I began my MFA studies at The Academy of Art University in 2008, and expect to graduate in 2016.

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Timeline Fall 2008 FA 606 Still Life Painting, Jeannie Brunnick

FA 626 Chiaroscuro, Christine Hanlon Spring 2009 FA 600 Figure Studio, Jeannie Brunnick FA 602 Head Drawing, Cathy Locke

Summer 2009 GS 602 The Art & Ideology of the 20th Century, Sandy Nelson

Fall 2009 FA 605 Landscape Painting, Bryan Taylor

ILL 607 Situation & Environment, Jeannie Brunnick

Spring 2010 FA 604 Figurative Painting, Tae Park

Summer 2010 GS 606 Crossing Borders: Art and Culture in a Global Society, Tressa Berman

Fall 2010 FA 616 Portrait Painting, Brandon Christensen

Fall 2011 FA 644 Quick Study, Suzanne D’Arcy and Beverly Lazor Spring 2012 FA 630 Color Theory, Jennifer Almodova

Fall 2012 FA 801 Group Directed Study, Process and Thesis Development, Jesse Mangerson

Spring 2013 FA 801 Group Directed Study, Figurative Painting, Zachary Zdrale

Fall 2013 FA 801 Group Directed Study, Figurative Painting 1, Zachary Zdrale

Spring 2014 FA 801 Group Directed Study, Figurative Painting 2, Zachary Zdrale

Fall 2014 FA 801 Group Directed Study, Figurative Painting 2, Beverly Lazor

Spring 2015 FA 801 Group Directed Study, Figurative Painting 1, Romanoos Mattonen

Fall 2015 FA 801 Group Directed Study, Figurative Painting 2, Albert Ramos Cortes

Spring 2016 GLA 612 Writing and Research for the Masters Student, Thomas Donahoe

Fall 2016 GLA 674 Professional Practices for the Fine Artist, Cheryl Coon

Credits 63

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Thesis Summary Living and studying art in Florence, Italy strongly influenced my artistic development and ideas about portraiture. Though a wonderful experience, living on my own in Italy was difficult. My decision to leave my career and live off of savings for several years in order to study painting in another country filled me with anxiety. I felt scared and alone, but others saw me as calm and relaxed. I realized how our perception of ourselves might be different from how others perceive us, and thought that if a portrait could capture aspects of the person from their perspective then the painting would be a more intimate depiction of the person. The Self in Portraiture is a body of fifteen works that uses a series of three paintings, each from a specific point of view, to represent the internal to external perception of an individual in order to create a more complete depiction of that person.

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Thesis Project The Self in Portraiture is a group of fifteen paintings where I create three portraits of five different people. I used multiple paintings of each individual that together express how we see that person and how that person sees him or her self. Every painting in a series (of three) shows a distinct view of the person’s face, from full, to partial or shadowed, to no or almost no face at all. These distinct views represent how aware the person is of being observed and convey more internal or external characteristics of the individual depending on the amount of face that is shown. Specifically, the three views are: 1) A front view that shows the whole face and presents the model as completely aware of being observed. This view depicts the most external perception of the individual or what we might perceive the person to be thinking and feeling. 2) A partially obscured view, which shows a portion of the face or hides the face in shadow. This view represents the moment when the model is somewhat aware of being observed and shows a combination of both internal and external characteristics of the individual. And 3) a 3/4 back view where the sitter’s face is either mostly obscured or not seen at all, where the model is completely engrossed in his or her activity and is unaware of being observed. The 3/4 back view represents a moment when the individual's inner character is outwardly observable, a moment just before the model is aware that anyone else is there and he or she feels as if they are still alone. It is the most internalized aspect of the person's character. While each painting stands on its own individual merit, each portrait works together in its series (of three) to create a more intimate, insightful, and convincing depiction of the person. I first started thinking about the difference between how we see ourselves compared to how other people see us when I was studying drawing and painting in Florence, Italy. My goal was to become a figure painter and to focus on portraiture. It was a time in my life when I was relatively young, in my twenties, and I had left my home, family, and friends to go live in another country for an extended period of time. As wonderful as the experience and location was, it was very difficult for me to be in a foreign country with no emotional support structure to rely on. Even as I started to make friends I felt alone, nervous, and scared at times. However, my new friends commented from time to time that I always seemed calm and relaxed. I began to realize how different the perception we have of ourselves might be from how others see us, but that both perceptions are true to who we are. I thought if a portrait could capture aspects of the person's character from their perspective, then the painting would be a more intimate, insightful, and convincing depiction of that person. During this time I had an opportunity to go to Venice for Carnevale. People were packed shoulder to shoulder as they moved through the city's narrow streets. It was easy to get swept up in the steady flow of the crowd and lose yourself in the festive atmosphere. When people put on a mask it seemed that their demeanor changed. Unlike an actor who dons a costume to become a different persona for an audience, the masked people at Carnevale acted like no one was watching.

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The masks gave people a sense of anonymity that allowed them to relax and be themselves. I understood then that it is in these moments when we feel alone, even if surrounded by other people, that we feel comfortable enough to allow more of our inner character, thoughts, and feelings to be outwardly expressed. I thought that if I could observe someone in the moments when they think they are alone then it would be possible to see and express those characteristics in their portrait. In my initial Midpoint Review, I proposed a series of portraits of people wearing physical masks to represent the characteristics of the inner self along with a traditional portrait to represent their external characteristics. The idea was that the mask hides the external appearance but reveals the inner self. Though the concept was found to be interesting, it was determined that further development was needed in order to make a complete body of work. My initial proposal was rightfully rejected. The accepted resubmission proposed using pose, light, and shadow to obscure the face instead of a literal mask. The whole project would consist of sixteen paintings - a series of four portraits from four models. Every series (of four) would start with a formal portrait and progress through three specific views that would obscure different amounts of the face. However, early in development, with guidance from Jesse Mangerson and Zachary Zdrale, the formal portrait was deemed unnecessary and dropped from the project. Therefore, I added another series of portraits to compensate for the reduced number of paintings. As the project evolved, so did my understanding of what masking the face represented. I thought at first that it was important for the viewer to not see the face in order to understand something of the model's inner self, but I realized that it was the model that needed to not be seen, to feel hidden or alone, in order to feel comfortable enough to allow characteristics of their inner self to show through. This was a subtle but important distinction in my thinking and solidified my understanding of what each of the three remaining poses represented. Once I understood this significance, it presented a challenge as to how to generate reference photos for the works where the model needed to feel alone, as my very presence would intrude on this feeling of solitude. Since I was going to locations that were unfamiliar to me but were personal to each individual, such as their home or workplace, it was important to rely on conversations I had with each person to guide me to the ideal setting for each of the three distinct views in the series. Using what I gleaned from our conversations it took three to four photo sessions to create a situation where it looked as if the person was alone, uninhibited, and in a meaningful moment in their own personal space. I better learned how to scout suitable locations, compose, and light reference photographs for my paintings as the project progressed. I also learned that I could not force myself to paint in a manner that did not yet come naturally to me. In my Midpoint Proposal I suggested that I would create my paintings in a loose painterly style. But rather than trying to directly impose a particular method of painting onto my work that I wished to emulate, I learned to allow my own individual style to continually develop and evolve organically.

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Thesis Paintings

Doug 1 20" x 16" Oil on Linen

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Doug Playing Yellow Guitar (Doug 2) 24" x 20" Oil on Linen

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Doug 3 20" x 16" Oil on Linen

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Bob 1 20" x 16" Oil on Linen

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Helen 1 20" x 16" Oil on Linen

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Dianna 1 20" x 16" Oil on Linen

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Bruce 1 24" x 18" Oil on Linen

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Bruce 2 24" x 18" Oil on Linen

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Bruce at Work (Bruce 3) 16" x 20" Oil on Linen

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Influences

Figure 1

Figure 2

Rembrandt's work, especially his later portraits, embodies everything that I love about painting. Within one painting, his paint application and colors can range from thin, loosely applied neutrals to thicker, tightly focused colorful impasto. His brushwork is vivacious and fresh without ever losing a sense of the real. He gives you a likeness of the person and the eyes seem to reveal the person's soul. Staring at his self-portraits I have often felt that I am no longer looking at a painting but at the person. The works of Rembrandt are what inspire me to create a similar connection to the individual in my own work.

Paul Cezanne is a painter who influenced me from an early age. His works always seem to show more than what was there. In his paintings, there is always a mood or atmosphere that is more real to me than accurate rendering. I felt as if I knew the places he was painting or felt like I was in the room quietly observing the scene. Though my painting style is different, I have tried to capture this same feeling of serenity that Cezanne accomplishes through his honest observation of nature.

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Figure 3 Figure 4

I was introduced to Warren Chang's work when I took a class that he had designed at the Academy of Art University. I then saw one of the lectures he had given in 2009. Seeing a successful contemporary artist who’s process, materials, and palette were similar to my own was inspiring. He described some of his pieces as biographical interiors, and it was encouraging to see similar aspects in my own work. I felt that I was moving in the right direction.

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Promotional Materials Business Card

Post Card

DAMON HURBON“Doug Playing Yellow Guitar”

[email protected]

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Statement of Future Plans I intend to establish a professional studio space where I will work to produce enough works for two to three solo or group exhibitions. I will continue to paint portraits with a similar feel to my current work, though most likely single portraits rather than series. I would also like to expand my repertoire and paint other genre such as figure, still life, and landscape. While I continue to paint I will also begin to market my work and find suitable gallery representation. I also intend to begin gaining teaching experience. I wish to teach the skills and knowledge I have acquired to others, and earning my MFA is an important step in this direction.

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Bibliography Figure 1. van Rijn, Rembrandt. Self-Portrait. 1659. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. NGA. Web. 30 October 2016. Figure 2. Cézanne, Paul. The Card Players. 1895. Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France. Web. 30 October 2016. Figure 3. Chang, Warren. Artist in Her Studio. Date Unknown. FineArtStudioOnline. www.warrenchang.com. Web. 30 October 2016. Figure 4. Chang, Warren. Crochet. Date Unknown. FineArtStudioOnline. www.warrenchang.com. Web. 30 October 2016.

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