Pirate Self-Portrait

05/17/08
The final piece:

"Desire" charcoal, 18"x24"



05/15/08
Rendering the few remaining elements, last-minute adjustments, and DONE.
Here is the finished piece:

I am taking it over to have a friend take some good photos of it, and then to post it to the American Artist competition.

05/08/08:

More costume and props development.

05/07/08:

Let's add some swash to that buckle.
Now it's starting to look more like a human and less like a disembodied torso.
I'm playing with the exposure settings on my new camera.

05/04/08:
Developing the foreground, the hand, and the arm.


04/24/08:
More development of the background, and continuing down into the foreground with the hand and coin. I am using a replica of a spanish doubloon.

Now I am dissatisfied with the flag. It needs work.
However, I had a chance to work into some of the areas and strengthen a few things in the face that I was struggling with previously.

04/21/08: REDEMPTION.
After sitting down and taking a good hard look at the drawing, I decided that it could be salvaged.
Back to the drawing board...


04/18/08 – DISASTER!!!
I was working on the drawing, and finally pushed past the hurdles and the new drawing was pushing ahead of the old one. I had finally turned the corner. I was just beginning to think that I had made the right decision after all.

Suddenly, Clarence [the cat] jumped up and knocked the easel, drawing and all, over – on top of me! The central focus of the drawing – the face – was demolished. The eye, the nose, all the critical areas that I had worked so hard on… I was mortified! All the effort to get the light across the face, and it was a struggle….

Here is a close up of the damage:

AAAAAAUGH!!!
I just couldn’t even think about it for the rest of the night. I had to go into the other room and sulk.

04/17/08:
Developing the tones in the costume. At this point, I am second-guessing my decision to start over. The size on this one is better, but the light in the first drawing was more cohesive.


04/13/08:
Here we go with the body...


...and a close-up:

I think the piece is beginning to take on a bit of a revlutionary war look and feel. lol
As a side note, I am really enjoying the conceptual aspect and the narrative in this piece; it is developing as the piece moves along, taking on a life of its own.

04/12/08:


P.S I really like the drawing at this stage. I think this is my favorite phase of a portrait; just the face without any distracting elements. The face is at its most powerful and dramatic.


I am reading the biography of John Paul Jones. He was not only an American hero, he was father of the U.S. Navy, and considered by England as a pirate. His life story reads like a good adventure novel.

04/03/08:
I decided to start over on the piece. While I did like the light and the form, the coarse paper texture was beginning to drive me out of my mind. Also, I had covered the entire surface with the charcoal, and rubbed it in pretty good to get into the texture of the paper. Because of this, I was having difficulty removing enough charcoal to get the lights to be light enough. I would not be able to develop the form with the subtlety I desired.
Plus, I decided to make it more of a 1/2 body portrait, rather than just the face. In order to do that, I needed to start over on a larger piece of paper, and place the face higher, leaving more room at the bottom.
Here is the initial block-in. I left the bare paper in the area of the face in order to control the lights better:


04/02/08:
Further development on the face.


04/01/08:
Developing the form.
I fixed the location of the eye, this is much better.



Here is a thumbnail, for use as my avatar in the pirate forums:




03/25/08
Chiaroscuro in charcoal it is.
Here is the initial block-in using the rub-out technique.

I like using the rub-out techinique; I like the 'feel' of texture in the background. It looks like a smoky tavern or the dimly lit cabin of a Captain's quarters on board a pirate ship.
That eye on the left seems a little bit high. I blame the model, he was an unruly cuss.


03/14/08:
American Artist Magazine is having a self-portrait competition.
I could not resist the opportunity to do a self-portrait in my pirate costume.
I liked the idea of dramatic, chiaroscuro lighting. I tried several different angles, from a complete side view to dead-on front view. Once I began the initial sketch, the ideas just started to flow. This is going to be fun!

The conceptual sketch:


I am still deciding whether to d a chiaroscuro piece in charcoal, or a full-color piece in acrylic. Also, what to do with the background: black, like the classic chiaroscuro portraits, as if in his cabin, or outdoors under a blustery sky.
Additional props and accoutrements are still being considered.

The image of the pirate is a metaphor for adventure, independence, freedom and an unrestrained spirit. It represents the willingness to pursue your dreams, regardless of the risks.

Pirates have a special place in my heart. Through pirating, I have traveled to exotic locations, had adventures and experiences that most people only dream about, and met some very interesting people.
Along the way, I have learned a great deal about myself, experienced pirate luck, and my confidence in myself and my intuition has grown.