Assignment #1:

Self portraits are important because they help us to see ourselves outside of our own framework. They help to build our mental body image to improve it or to just observe it. Many art masters made self portraits, the most famous being the Dutch Master Rembrandt. He painted one self portrait each year of his life starting as a young painter in his twenties. He produced a total of over 60 portraits.

In the age of the selfie think about how you can make a creative self portrait on your camera. Use the special effects tools to manipulate the image as you wish.

In this assignment you are to create a unique selfie of yourself and then print it out to the size of a 5x7”. Paste the selfie onto the right side of a page in your sketchbook. Now draw a frame the same size as your selfie next the photo. You are to draw this image using only a lead pencil. See how self conscious you are as you draw an image of yourself. That is the left side of the brain telling you to STOP! Ignore you left side of the brain and keep on going! You may do this drawing only as a contour drawing or using shading and blending as well.

Assignment #2:

Observe closely below one of Rembrandt’s self portraits. In the box below write a piece of fiction, a story, a narrative about the portrait. Pretend you are Rembrandt and you are trying to communicate non-verbally to the viewer. What is the message you are trying to send? Can you find clues in the portrait that would bring evidence to your pretend story?