Art Portfolio

 

When I was first introduced to this assignment, I knew I wanted to do a painting that looked exotic and warm.  I would say that I love fancy clothing and jewelleries, which are major part of Mediterranean culture alongside with the dancing aspect that I have portrayed in my artwork. I get extremely fascinated by how the Arabic belly dancers portray themselves with their posh, authentic clothing and accessories. I would say that I love to learn belly dancing someday, because of the simplistic feminine movement that the dance consists of. They also have a factor of zealous and enthusiasm in belly dancing since its history revolved from dancing on special occasion such as weddings, to performing on commercial shows. My painting is trying to capture the expressions of a successful and passionate belly dancer, who is showing off her wisdom of dance. I have also captured the common features that exist in Mediterranean women such as big, brown eyes, sharp nose and fuller lips. I also included the principles of makeup like the cat eyes and bold eyebrows. I comprised of all the details of the ornaments that the belly dancers wear such as the round earrings, bangles, arm bracelets, and waist chains. I used gold acrylic colours to give it a realistic shine. The painting is a light side and a dark side to it since my figure in under the spotlight; the left side appears to be lighter and bright. The use of colours is what makes my painting look Arabic since colours like gold, sand, ombre, red and brown have all have deep connections with the Mediterranean culture. It gives my painting a very eastern touch.

 

The media used in this painting was acrylic on canvas, and I have various elements and principles of design in my painting along with a few acrylic painting techniques. Below is a list of the techniques I have used:

 

Elements of Design

Shapes- I have made use of all organic shapes since this is a human figure and human figure consists of organic shapes. I waves of the hair, the outline of the accessories and the curve of her body all portrays the organic elements. I have made her features strong yet soft with rounded edges.

Colour- I have used a unique range of colour harmonies, which give my painted the intended feel. I have used the common Arabian colours like red, maroon, brown, gold, sandal, ombre and sand. These colours belong in the warm category and therefore give my painting a warm

Value- I made use of the technique called Sfumato in my painting to enhance the quality of the figure and so it comes closer to the realistic factor.  I used in on the skin colour, on and abdomen, chest, face and on the red veil that goes around her body.

Texture: I have used a variety of texture, implied and real. For the background, I have used the “impasto” acrylic technique to create that texture using gold, a tinge of purple and maroon.

 

Principles of Design

Balance- I implemented balance in my painting by using similar colours and similar shapes. Most of my painting only consists of around five colours, which I have used over again to create this sense of unity among the painting. As I mentioned before, I have used all organic shapes for my ornaments, my figure and the clothing so it gives a sharp yet husky feeling to it.

Repetition- Repetition is used in my painting mostly for the layers and creases of the red veil, and her maxi skirt, her hair, and all the ornaments that she is wearing. The chains and the beads of the jewellery repeated many times creating a pattern.

Movement- I have attempted to create movement in the painting by including the “s” shape in my figure so it looks pleasing and calm to look at.

 

 

Since, belly dancing is a Mediterranean concept and a part of their culture, a lot of artwork based on that has been created in the past. I have included these paintings in my reference photos, and all of these paintings show movement in some or the other way. Every painting captures the flowing, sensual movement of the belly dancer and focus on the heart of the dance, which are her hips. The colours that these paintings use are mostly bright, and earthy just like the ones I have used in my painting. Thus, these influential paintings have inspired me to create this kind of expressive painting.

 

 

 

In my opinion, my painting is a reflection of the Baroque style of art since it has so much in common with the styles the artists of the Baroque period used. The common styles used in that period were overlapping objects; love theme, dramatic contrast in values, high contrast light and shadows, subjects in the work are direct and obvious, with bright noticeable warm colours and lastly, the proportional figures of the humans. My painting has recreated the Baroque style by getting my body proportions right, with my figure right in the centre of the canvas, being in focus.  I also have the veils and her hair overlapping on the rest of her body and I tried to imply the dramatic light and shadow techniques in my painting, and I think I am successful in doing so. Moreover, I have used bright, yet bright colours to represent my Mediterranean style that corresponds to the baroque painting style since artists then also make use of warm and bright colours. Lastly, I have created the dramatic look on her face with bold eye makeup to enhance the intensity of the painting, which again connects to the dramatic concepts of the baroque times.

 

 

One concept that this figurative painting holds is the subject and its background.  I am very captivated by how the Arabian culture has emerged with their authentic and original culture. Since I have lived in the Mediterranean region for quite a long time, I have always loved watching belly dancers and how they decorate themselves with their traditional sartorial.  Through research I have found that belly dancing has evolved from numerous kinds of unique folk dances form that area.  It started out as a ritual for women preparing for childbirth; however, it developed into a dance form later on. Having said that, there are several controversies that arise from this dance form for it being overly sensual or erotic because the stomach was shown while performing the dance.  This was the reason it was illegal in Egypt. The message that I want to give out from this painting is that belly dancing is a form of entertainment and adoration of one’s body. The red clothing and the gold jewelry portrays it as a part of traditional culture, and does not serve to amuse anyone in any way.