Portrait in GraphiteLUDMILA RAYNAL
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ARTIST STATEMENT
My name is Ludmila Raynal and I am a sophomore attending Mission Bay High School. Although this is my second year taking art class in high school, art has always been a big in my life as my grandmother shared with me her passion for painting. This piece of artwork was part of a portrait unit. I wanted to chose a more unique and out of the ordinary face that would fit into a contemporary urban setting. Pyper America Smith was the perfect fit for the idea that I was trying to illustrate.
Besides Pyper America’s mesmerizing facial structures, I was also inspired by the the New York skyline as I had just recently visited the city a few weeks before. I chose well-known buildings such as the Rockefeller Center Tower, the Empire State Building, the Clock Tower Building, the Chrysler Building, the One World Trade Center building, and the Bank of America Tower, as shown respectively on the drawing. Each building required a lot of precision as there were many meticulous details on each piece of architecture. The skyline was a fade created from the model’s blouse. Because of the fact that I’ve always had a deep appreciation for realistic drawing, being assigned to draw a face in graphite was quite exciting. First, I worked on sketching out her facial proportions. Then, I started shading the facial features of her face, which took some time due to the fact that there were very dark places. The most challenging part of this project was having to work on the texture of her hair. |
Instructor Resources
INSTRUCTOR
Heather Henkes
Mission Bay High School
My name is Heather Henkes and I have taught art at Mission Bay High School in the San Diego Unified School District for 17 years. This lesson is taught to second year art students although grade level ranges from 9th-12th grade. The class experiments with a variety of media but this specific lesson focused on using graphite. Students learned facial proportions, practiced drawing specific facial features, reviewed value range and shading and textural techniques. This unit reinforces and improves drawing skills that are the foundation skills used in all projects in my curriculum.
I was inspired to develop this project as I wanted students to be exposed to portraiture but I wanted it to be meaningful to them personally. To motivate students I allowed them to choose subject matter for their portrait and required they accompany the portrait with symbols that spoke to the character of the individual selected. This is a difficult project for students but most students are excited to draw someone they are interested in on a personal level.
This unit begins with a PowerPoint that gives selected samples of portraiture in history, a couple short videos: one about Alexandre Farto, and another time lapse video of a portrait drawing in progress. The presentation gives an overview of the skill building activities and final project samples with requirements. Together as a whole class we complete a guided proportional drawing as I demonstrate on the document camera. Students then complete a facial feature worksheet to practice features up close. Next, they draw a thumbnail sketch for their final portrait and upon instructor approval students complete their final drawing using graphite drawing pencils. After the final drawing is complete students follow up with a guided written reflection.
Ludmila’s art piece was very successful as it met all assessment requirements. In addition, she captured the likeness of the individual and was able to express an urban vibe to the viewer by her choice of symbols and her dramatic value range.
Heather Henkes
Mission Bay High School
My name is Heather Henkes and I have taught art at Mission Bay High School in the San Diego Unified School District for 17 years. This lesson is taught to second year art students although grade level ranges from 9th-12th grade. The class experiments with a variety of media but this specific lesson focused on using graphite. Students learned facial proportions, practiced drawing specific facial features, reviewed value range and shading and textural techniques. This unit reinforces and improves drawing skills that are the foundation skills used in all projects in my curriculum.
I was inspired to develop this project as I wanted students to be exposed to portraiture but I wanted it to be meaningful to them personally. To motivate students I allowed them to choose subject matter for their portrait and required they accompany the portrait with symbols that spoke to the character of the individual selected. This is a difficult project for students but most students are excited to draw someone they are interested in on a personal level.
This unit begins with a PowerPoint that gives selected samples of portraiture in history, a couple short videos: one about Alexandre Farto, and another time lapse video of a portrait drawing in progress. The presentation gives an overview of the skill building activities and final project samples with requirements. Together as a whole class we complete a guided proportional drawing as I demonstrate on the document camera. Students then complete a facial feature worksheet to practice features up close. Next, they draw a thumbnail sketch for their final portrait and upon instructor approval students complete their final drawing using graphite drawing pencils. After the final drawing is complete students follow up with a guided written reflection.
Ludmila’s art piece was very successful as it met all assessment requirements. In addition, she captured the likeness of the individual and was able to express an urban vibe to the viewer by her choice of symbols and her dramatic value range.
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