Self Portrait Watercolor: Richard Hamilton and Walasse Ting Style
Written by Teresita Blanco (The Artsy Sister)
Today, I wanted to show you my two new self-portraits. Technically, they are eight self-portraits.
I did another four sets of paintings, in the style of one artist. I chose these two painters due to their unique styles.
I thought that it would make some interesting portraits. This painting series has been quite amusing.
I am always challenging myself with a new art style. I try not to repeat myself. I am going to talk first about Richard Hamilton.
His self-portrait where 4 photos with some paint slammed over the face. It seemed like something easy that I could mimic with watercolor.
Richard Hamilton is a British pop artist. He was super popular during the 70s, but then not so much in the years that followed.
Well, that is enough information about this artist. Above, you can see the painting that I made mimicking his style.
I first took 4 photographs. I tried to match the angles of the reference materials.
Using those photos as references, I developed the 4 portraits. I tried to make them more or less realistic.
Unlike the refenced, I added color backgrounds. I tried to make the backgrounds the complimentary color of the paint that I was to apply to my face.
The final touch was to add the swirl of paint to my face. I chose semi-opaque glitter paint. I didn’t want to drown out the work I did underneath.
I think it was an interesting mimicry. I think I ranted enough about this painting. Now, it is time to talk about the painting that employs Walasse Ting’s style.
Ting didn’t have a 4-panel type of self-portrait. I just randomly grouped 4 of his paintings together in order to make my portrait.
Walasse Ting was a Chinese American painter and poet. He was a self-taught artist, just like the Artsy Sister.
He wrote about 13 books. I beat him in that department. So far, I have written more than 40 books, mangas and children’s books.
Ting is considered an abstract painter, but his later work falls under figuratism. I don’t really know what that means.
According to the dictionary, figuratism is artwork derived from real world objects. So, technically, almost every falls under figuratism.
I don’t really care. Moving along…Now, I am going to talk about my painting. I took three selfies to use as reference for my paintings.
In two of them, I draped a curtain over my eye. I used a fake rose that I had lying about the house. It is easier to bite down on a fake rose, than a real one.
The fake rose doesn’t come with thorns. With the reference materials done, all that was left was to make the paintings. I used the glitter paint liberally.
To make the paint dots in my face, I used those things that folks use to clear the wass out of their ears. I do not know what they are called.
I could go read the name on the box, but I don’t really want to leave the couch. Plus, it is not important. You know what it is. I know what it is.
So, let’s move right along, shall we? The videos of how I made these paintings are already up and about in Youtube and Tiktok.
I hope you find the information I wrote in this blog amusing. I hope that it inspires you to experiment with your artwork. My name is Teresita Blanco, the Artsy Sister. Bye, bye and God bless.
