free choice!

As I started brainstorming for my free choice project, I knew immediately that I wanted to do my favorite type of drawing- a portrait. I haven't completed a fully rendered portrait since last year in Drawing I, so it was unfamiliar territory but on familiar grounds. I was browsing on Tumblr when I saw a photograph of a girl's face next to a cat's face, emphasizing the resemblances. Thus the seed of my concept was planted; I wanted my portrait to show the similarities and correlation of humans and animals. My friend Nicolette Bemann was the perfect model, and my cat Tuffy cooperated as well.

My actual composition was in black and white, because this promotes the emphasize of the similarities of the two subjects. (The colors wouldn't correlate.) The symmetry and center balance also help with the emphasis of the duality of man vs. beast (woman vs. cat!). Since the piece is split vertically down the center, I incorporated unity through the shape of the faces, eyes, noses, and the textures of the hair and fur. Rhythm also comes into play with the hair and fur-- both extend outwards, almost infinitely. This brings the eyes from focusing on the center of the portrait, where the emphasis lies, towards the outside of the page, where blankness persists. Conceptually, this suggests that there are many further similarities between humans and animals.