Teresita Blanco Self Portrait Van Gogh and Gustav Klimt Style

Written by Teresita Blanco (The Artsy Sister)

Today, I wanted to show you two self-portraits I made over the weekend. In the old days, Self Portraits was a way for artists to promote themselves and their skills.

In the spirit of that tradition, I made two self-portraits. The first one I made it Van Gogh style. I have a lot of similarities with Van Gogh. I came from a big family that suddenly felt like giving me the cold shoulder.

I have a Theo and a nice mother to boot. My big brother Fernando is my Theo. He has been supporting my writing and my artworks since day one. Unlike Van Gogh, I still have hope.

I still have two ears and I live a clean life. I don’t smoke, drink or mate. I spend all my time dedicated to my artwork. So, you can see that I am super serious about it.

The Van Gogh self-portrait was made with markers, ink and watercolors. I first drew the lineart. I like to have the ink set down first. It helps me keep control of the watercolors.

This is the one aspect that doesn’t match the traditional Van Gogh style. I first drew it with pencil, and then I added the ink over it. I erased the pencil lines, before starting with the watercolor painting.

For the background, I mimicked the swirling pattern found in Van Gogh’s later work. Van Gogh liked blue a lot. When he wanted to add darkness, he added dabs of blue into his painting.

I did the same thing, in my face, hair, hand and neck. I made certain to apply the color with dabs. I wanted to mimic his brushstrokes in a flat surface. The face was done with markers.

I am not very good a mixing color. So, I used markers that were designed for drawing faces. I think overall it was an interesting effort. The second self-portrait is based on a famous Gustav Klimt painting.

It is called the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer. Of all the self-portraits that I made; this one took the longest. This one is a true mixed media project. I used glitter, acrylics, markers, ink and watercolors to make the painting.

I started by drawing out the patterns with pencil. I inked it, and then I was good to go. The first thing I did was the glitter background. I painted a first layer of yellow underneath.

This was to account for any holes that might show up underneath the glitter. I used acrylic gel medium as glue. I added a first layer of glitter. I used 3 types of glitter to create that peculiar dot pattern you see in the Adele painting.

Once the first layer dried somewhat, I applied a layer of matte varnish over it. I used the varnish as glue to add more glitter into it. Once I was satisfied with the glitter background, I continued with the rest of the painting.

I painted my face and skin next. I didn’t spend that much time there because it was such a small surface to paint. With that out of the way, I started the slow meticulous process of painting all the other small details.

You may or may not have noticed the giraffe. I wanted to integrate elements from my original dress to the Adele outfit I was mimicking. This artwork I also signed Gustav Klimt style.

You can see my name in a box, as well as the year it was made. The golden glows I made it with pearly, glitter like watercolor paints. I also painted my nails as well.

I like Gustav Klimt because of his art philosophy. Believe it or not, Gustav Klimt wasn’t too popular back when he was alive. One day, he decided to stop trying to play to a crowd.

He decided that if he couldn’t make art for the many, he would make art for the few. Since he was born rich, he could paint whatever he felt like. The proof of his opulence is show in the gold he applied to his paintings.

He could also make his artworks pretty big. Since I don’t have Gustav Klimt money, I made this painting with watercolors and markers. Instead of Gold, I used glitter. All in all, it was an interesting effort.

They say that imitation is the best form of flattery, and with these artworks I am trying to flatter those two dead painters. I hope that it makes them happy, wherever they might have ended up. My name is Teresita Blanco, the Artsy Sister. Bye, bye and God bless.