I used the photograph below in a previous post. It pictures my older brother getting ready to slam his arm against his chest. Mike is autistic, low functioning and nonverbal. The doctors were not sure if this type of self harming activity was voluntary or not. If it was involuntary, like a sneeze, I suspect the expression on his face would not betray an inner feeling. One can get some unusual expressions on a person’s face who is about to sneeze. On the other hand if his action is a voluntary expression of his inner state of mind, he must be feeling awful.
The Wind-up
Study #1 – watercolor
The study below is a watercolor copy of the photograph. The mouth is slightly exaggerated and the framing is different than the original, but it seems to capture the drama of the original photograph.
The Wind-up
10″x7″ 140# Rough Watercolor Block
Study #2 -sketch
Instead of playing with watercolors and their semi-permanence, I decided to sketch a slightly more expressive version of ‘The Wind-up’. Again, the framing is different than either of the two images above. I emphasized the open mouth, which is now the focal point of the study. Mike’s hand, positioned near his ear, is an incidental detail to the composition. There is no question that there is some emotion here. This is no sneeze.
The Wind-up – Sketch
12″x9″ Sketch Paper
Study #3 – abstraction
The final image in this post is an abstraction of Mike’s face. It struck me that the important elements of the above images can be resolved into triangular forms. I am not sure if emotion comes through in this study or if I included too many shapes in an attempt to recreate an image of a head and neck. I omitted the hand and arm, leaving only the large black triangle as the emotional element. I suspect that the black shape representing the eyebrow acts together with the mouth in providing emotional content to this study.
The Wind-up Abstracted
10″x7″ 140# Rough Watercolor Block
I am sure that with further work I could abstract the above image even more. It might be worthwhile including all the components of the original photograph. Of course that would make for a more complex composition. It could work.
I must have some photos of Mike where he isn’t screaming or hitting himself. My goal for tomorrow is to find some happier expressions to portray.
