PERSONAL INVESTIGATION I have always been interested in the human form and how it !

an be "ortrayed in "hotos and "aintin#s$ I love the way in whi!h you !an stret!h and s%uee&e the fa!e to !reate a vast array of e'"ressions$ I feel that in the "ast "ortraits have had to be ("erfe!t) or (visually a""ealin#) in order to be !lassed as #ood "ie!es of Art #ive eviden!e i$e$ find a %uote$ *owever re!ently with the in!linin# interest in artists su!h as +enny Saville or ,ran!is -a!on a #ood "ie!e of art doesn)t ne!essarily have to be beautiful$ The sub.e!t in the "aintin# is not ty"i!ally !lassed as beautiful but it is the te!hni%ue in whi!h it is "ainted that is visually stunnin#$ As well as this beauty is often a diffi!ult thin# to define as we !an tell from the "hrase (beauty is in the eye of the beholder) / 0ar#aret 1olfe *un#erford 234 A"ril 5677 8 39 +anuary 56:4;$ I li<e art that !hallen#es the traditional "er!e"tions of beauty 1hen I visited the Tate 0odern and the 1hen loo<in# at artists su!h as Sue Rubira it is !lear that the "re!ise detail and smooth oil "aint is im"ressive$ *owever her sub.e!ts 8 Older "eo"le or "eo"le "ullin# at their fa!e are not usually !hara!teri&ed as attra!tive$ As I e'"lored ea!h artist it hel"ed to form my %uestion What makes a portrait beautiful? Throu#h this I am #oin# to e'"lore the different te!hni%ues used when "aintin# and I shall "aint many different sub.e!ts$ I e'"lored this idea by loo<in# at many different artists su!h as =athe =ollwit& 2+uly 6 56>4 8 A"ril 33 5:97; Lu!ien ,reud 26 ?e!ember 5:33 8 3@ +uly 3@55; +enny Saville E#on S!hiele 253 56:@ 8 O!tober A5 5:56; ,ran!is -a!on 236 O!tober 5:@: 8 36 A"ril 5::3; and Sue Rubira 25:7: 8 "resent; the most si#nifi!ant bein# +enny Saville$ To answer the %uestion (what ma<es a "ortrait beautiful) I started by res"ondin# to artists su!h as +enny Saville$ I found her lar#e s!aleB !lose u" "ortraits a sour!e of #reat ins"iration and this te!hni%ue is somethin# that I have tried to a""ly to my own wor<$ Throu#h e'"erimentin# I made the de!ision that in my own wor< I shall only use female sub.e!ts$ I made the de!ision as to me when I thin< of beautyB it immediately !on.ures u" ima#es of women not men$ In my o"inion beauty is #ender e'"li!it only limited to women$ I started off by ta<in# "hotos of female members of my !lass$ -y usin# my own "hotos it meant that I !ould #et the sub.e!t to "ose as I wanted and !reate new and e'!itin# "oses that are not ne!essarily lin<ed with beauty$ 0y first "ortrait was of a #irl sti!<in# her ton#ue outB I used small brushstro<es and realisti! !olours$ *owever I found this %uite diffi!ult and I didn)t li<e the finished "rodu!t$ I then e'"erimented with lar#er s!ale "aintin#s usin# bi##er brushes and non/naturalisti! !olours$

In my se!ond "ie!e of "ra!ti!al wor< I made the de!ision to "aint a !lose u" "ortrait of a woman usin# warm !olours su!h as reds "in<s and browns$ -y "aintin# only a se!tion of the fa!e I felt I !ould !on!entrate more on the form and detail$ 1omen are and often for!ed to !reate a loo< in order to be visually "leasin# to the world around them no matter what "ain she has to #o throu#h$ I !hose the "hoto as I believe when I !ro""ed it it loo<ed as if the woman was in "ain lin<in# ba!< to the idea that beauty isn)t "ainless$ To "aint this I used a rounded brush whi!h hel"ed to !reate a smooth finish whi!h didn)t detra!t from the features of the fa!e$ 1hen loo<in# at my wor< I realised that the !olours reminded me of ,ran!oise Nielly and the !olours that she)s used in her "aintin#s$ I then thou#ht to e'"eriment with usin# a "alette <nife mu!h li<e Nielly to !reate loose "ortraits with bri#ht and vivid !olours that don)t ne!essarily fo!us on the features but more on the a""li!ation of !olour$ -y relatin# !olour with "ersonality I then realised I !ould !reate "ortraits that re"resent the "erson without fo!usin# on their beauty$ As for me I believe that a #ood "ersonality far outwei#hs a "ersons loo<s$