Symbolic Portraits

My Fine Art I groups have been working like crazy this year- they go above and beyond my expectations each and every time, and I couldn't be more proud of them.  Thus far, I've stuck pretty close with the projects that did last year (my first year teaching Fine Art I) which means that after Composition Value Drawings, and Perspective, we moved onto Symbolic Portrait, which Amy over at Amy's Artsy Adventures tried out this September. Her results were really great- be sure to check them out!

When I introduce Symbolic Portrait, I talk about artist Marsden Hartley.  Specifically, his piece Portrait of a German Officer, 1914:

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We spend a few minutes talking about the colors, shapes and patterns we see.  Then, we look at the uniform of an actual German Officer from 1914:

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Kinda creepy, but this doll is perfect for showing the detail in the German Officer's uniform of the early 1900's.  Using a power point, we do a side-by-side of these two images and the kids start to really see where Hartley got his colors, shapes and patterns from.

From there, I let the kids brainstorm and sketch a bit before coming up with a final design (taking composition into consideration).  Before I allow them to begin painting, I have the kids complete a 12-piece color wheel using only red, blue and yellow acrylic paint.  Once they've proven tome that they know how to mix their own colors, I let them use all the paint we have to fill in their pieces.

Here are some of my favorites from this year:

This one is so accurate in its colors and shapes.  Love it!  The Simpsons was such a great choice!

 Legend of Zelda! I'm not a gamer, but the boys flipped out when this student (a girl!) chose this for her subject matter.  So much detail!

 Alice in Wonderland was done a few times this year, but this was my favorite version.  I adore her smoke vowels.  That last sentence is kind of weird, but it's true.

 Lilo and Stitch.  Super cute and this student did such a great job overlapping her objects and using her space.

This was one of many Hunger Games tributes (pun intended!) but it was by far the most realistic symbolic portrait completed this year.  Just beautiful!

I love the way this student used value to show changes in her shapes.  And she worked so hard on her Flounder!  Ariel would be proud!

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like Dr. Seuss would love this one.  Such bright, vibrant colors!

 This student is obsessed with "Dr. Who."  I've never seen it, but somehow she's managed to work a "tardis" into every one of her pieces.  I guess it'll be a theme for the year?

 I love how this student really took her background into consideration while working on her Finding Nemo theme.  Such great attention to detail on this one.

 The Pink Panther! An odd choice for a freshman girl, but she did so great!  I love that she chose something a little different.

I'm not such a huge Monty Python fan, but my Student Teacher couldn't get over this one.

The only boy of the group here did "The Thing," which I've never seen, but I must admit, I am intrigued!

 This student took the assignment to a whole new level.  It's not exactly what I asked for, but she did so well I couldn't tell her to stop.  She loved working on it too- she kept asking to take it home to finish.  Gotta love the ambition!