My Work - 'Venus' and 'Girl with a Chanel Earring' - A1, Waterolour.

Recently, I created two pieces of artworks, for my Semester 2 Portfolio. They were done on A1 sheets of paper, making them the largest scale paintings I have ever done. Due to this, they look much longer to make than I am used to, and it was harder to keep it neat and atomically accurate, as I struggled to see the 'bigger picture' all at once. Furthermore, the calligraphy aspects slightly differ in size and level, because of the alien feeling of writing on such a large piece of paper. However, due to the sheer size of the portrait I was painting, I was forced to study my reference picture more closely, as to include all the minute details and nuances, since the audience would have a clearer view of it. This meant that I gained more of an insight into the technicalities of painting, such as how to form subtle shadows on an area which had already been highlighted, and how to capture the essence of facial features without overworking. Overall, these struggles I faced caused me to have a greater appreciation for painting as a whole, and, since the outcome was how I imagined it to be, I was proud of myself for performing well through all the difficulties.

Each piece was a take

on a classical, famous portrait of a female. The first was Botticelli's depiction of the Roman goddess, Venus, in his masterpiece 'The Birth of Venus'. I took her face, and a slight part of her decolletage and hair, and scaled them up to become the entirety of the work. This was placed central right, and surrounded by a title 'Venus', above, and phrases such as 'Ways to style your tunic for summer', to her side. This particular composition was inspired by "Vogue" magazine, and this was done to show how beauty standards for females have changed and been manipulated over time. In the past, Venus, the goddess for beauty and love, was seen as a powerful figure, specifically in Botticelli's work, and how she is the centre of attention, placed above and pigmented brighter than other figures. However, today, females (such as those who appear on the front cover of Vogue) are positioned and prepped to become simply something for others to look at. A goddess is reduced to her blonde hair and full lips; an item of pleasure from which the audience to gain.

A similar approach was taken with Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'. However, the original piece already displayed a women as an object; something to

be looked at. So, instead of keeping this image on her magazine cover, she was transformed into a means for gain. Her traditional headscarf became a luxury designer accessory, and her renown pearl earring was swapped for a "Chanel" one. This instantly changed the entire significance of the

original masterpiece, from simply a 'girl with a pearl earring', to the items she is selling overtaking her own value and importance. This female is now merely an attractive thing on which to place other, more attractive things.