New Question/ Ideas

New Research focus                    

Originally I planned on creating a large scale nude to shock the viewer with the question being How can I present the female nude through an oil painting in an empowering way, that subverts the tradition of the male gaze allowing the subject matter to gain control over their sexuality? while my new question has a lot of similarities to that theme of empowering women and gaining control over ones sexuality, the fact that I was using myself as a model transformed it into not only a painting of a naked woman but myself so I thought how does this represent me as a sexual being? How does this reflect me, if I'm using myself as a model? This caused me to change my idea somewhat into How can I show woman as both a sexual being/in control of her own body and a dedicated hard worker, Using myself, my passions and my own sexuality as the model for a large scale oil painting ?

• Inserting myself into the painting transforms the meaning into one that is personal, becoming a self-portrait.
• One of the things I will need to do is look more at female artists and how they have represented themselves and shown themselves to the viewer.
• With my artist models I will try to make sure that it remains a girls only club.

Judith Leyster

Self-portraits are very common among artists, but what self-portraits stand out to me are the ones done by female painters who all have a very similar way of representing themselves that has remained consistent. One of these portraits is of painter Judith Leyster, Leyster has decided to depict herself wearing lace cuffs, rich fabric and a huge collar something that wasn't typically worn while painting but is simply their to illustrate her status, wealth and success. In doing this she distinguishes herself from less skilled artisans of the time and showcased her technical abilities. Judiths paintings have a momentary quality - she is turned partially to the viewer with her mouth slightly a gasp as if she is about to speak, possibly engaging with someone possibly a patron or the viewer. While this painting doesn't represent Woman (or Judith) as sexual beings due to the time period in which she lived, she still portrays herself as a hard working woman, illustrating her personality and serves as a piece of self promotion, advertising her products and skills.

Still incomplete, the canvas on the easel, showcases a type of painting for which Leyster was well known: the so-called merry company. These popular genre scenes depicted revelers, costumed actors, dancers, and musicians. The figure of the violin player in the self-portrait reprises one from a merry company Leyster had painted a year or so before. Leyster also incorporates her personality through a subtle sense of humor, as shown through where their end of her paint brush is pointed at the crotch of the violin player in a mocking way, possibly to show that she is just as competent as any male in her trade.

Anna Lois White

Self Portrait (Nude at Easel)

Anna Lois white is a New Zealand Painter A nude that was also a self-portrait was uncommon in the 1930s. Mitzie Price explained that her cousin took up the practice as she had great difficulty securing models, so ‘She used to strip in front of a mirror.’ Adding that it, ‘Probably shocked the hell out of [her Mother].’ Unlike the usually passive nude model, White takes an active role, recording herself in the act of painting. Anna Lois Whites picture depicts her as active within the scene her nudity is normalized as she stands eyeing the viewer down as if she is depicting us in her painting.