vendredi 23 mai 2008

autoportrait(s) - self-portrait(s)

Moi / Me.
huile sur toile / oil on canvas
- 24x18 cm. 2008


De nombreux artistes ont peint leur famille ou leurs amis proches, et le plus souvent par nécessité. Le peintre Eugène Carrière a passé toute sa vie à peindre son épouse, ses enfants ou lui-même, habitude qu'il avait prise dès ses premières peintures quand il était encore fauché.

Travaillant seul chez moi, et passant l'essentiel de mes journées en ma propre compagnie, jamais très éloigné de la planche à dessin, des e-mails et du téléphone, je dois souvent me prendre pour modèle lorsque l'on fait appel à moi pour des illustrations. Que le dessin finisse en vieil homme barbu, en gamin farceur ou en reine de Blanche-Neige importe peu, puisque c'est souvent l'attitude que je recherche. Parfois aussi, lorsqu'une illustration est en train de sécher et que je ne sais pas quoi faire de particulier, je monte un chevalet pliable face au miroir et j'entreprends un autoportrait. L'autoportrait flatte peut-être l'ego, mais il me semble que c'est avant tout pratique, dans la mesure où l'on peut peindre tout de suite ce qu'on a sous les yeux, qu'on connaît assez bien les couleurs de sa propre peau, la structure de son propre visage. Les risques sont également assez minces de bouger en prenant la pose, puisqu'on dispose de la peinture et du miroir pour comparer sans cesse.



Quelques "autoportraits" / A few "self-portraits"
aquarelle
sur papier / watercolor on paper - 2007


Many artists painted their family or relatives when they needed and some usually did because of the money. Eugène Carrière, for example, spent almost all his life painting his wife and children and did self-portraits too, a habit he took when he was still young and broke.

Working alone at my place, a quite small studio (large when you consider the insane real estate situation in Paris though), never far from the drawing board, the phone and the computer, I often need to get a model fast to get an attitude done for the illustrations I work on and the easy way is to take the pose and use myself as a model. Eventually, the drawing will be an old bearded man, a kid, a man with a donkey face or even the evil queen in Snow White. Sometimes also, when the illustration is drying and I don't know what to do, I put my easel in front of the mirror and do a little self-portrait. One can think self-portrait is a pretentious matter, but in my humble opinion, I find it mostly practical and easy, since you can get a result quickly, without spending time looking for a model. Since I know quite a bit about my own features, my skin colors and my head structure, I also spend less time trying to figure them out. If you move, you can get the pose right by comparing with the painting, and you can paint as long as you want. And, of course, it is free and you don't bore anyone asking them to be the sitter.

6 commentaires:

Alicia Padrón a dit…

Wonderful self-portrait!! Love how you place your strokes...

I find SP to be tough actually. You are right, they are convenient because we have ourselves available right there to sketch but is the" taking in" of the information that I find difficult. Something happens to me when I try to convey and capture my own features.. I have no problem observing and sketching anything or anyone else but when it comes to myself I'm "blinded" by my own self image, the one I pr-established in my head, and it gets in the way. Its frustrating actually.

I can see that you don't have that problem at all. You did a beautiful job on yours!!

Cécile a dit…

Cher Armel,
je te reconnais bien dans ce portrait - cette expression que tu prends lorsque tu te concentres devant un miroir :) Les touches sont belles, les couleurs aussi, c'est crémeux et velouté... J'espère que tu posteras cet autre petit portrait blanc que tu as peint la semaine dernière, je trouve que les deux forment un ensemble intéressant.
Baisers.

Cécile a dit…

PS. Je te reconnais tellement aussi dans cette vignette des magiciens tout à droite, avec le personnage au feu qui jaillit de sa main. Quel oeil tnébreux! ;) Hâte de voir ton prochain poste...

armel a dit…

Thank you, Alicia. The strokes was my main goal in this painting, and self-portrait, just a way to achieve them, I guess. I understand your issue with your "pr-established" picture of your own face, I do have the same problem, and I think I do have it also with people I know (friends, relatives...). That's why I love drawing them, of course. It's always such a great challenge, and with Cécile, for instance, a way to keep looking at what catches my attention in her face, and still be amazed.

Merci, Cécile. Je vais essayer de finir ce tout petit portrait blanc. Il y a une ou deux choses que j'aimerais corriger avant de le poster, mais je le ferai, promis.

hj a dit…

très intéressant!

Unknown a dit…

I love all these self portraits, for the wonderful top one I picture you in a garret somewhere in Paris with Django Rheinhart playing in a cafe nearby. I love how you put yourself in these characters.