Art fun: Black, white and grey self-portraits

Image found at Mugo.

The other day I taught an art class with a group of elementary children. The assignment was to make a self-portrait only using black and white paint. I also asked the students to paint positive descriptive words about themselves into the picture as well.

Here are some of the pictures they worked on that will be integrated into a larger mural project in the next few weeks.





To help the students grasp what I was looking for in blending two colors and still arriving at some contrast and detail, I painted my own self-portrait. It was fun but challenging to limit myself to two base colors, as I typically play with lots of color; but so far I'm pleased at the result. I'm still building on this painting and working to stay true to the simple base of practice it came from. It is helpful to work with a photo or with a mirror when doing such a project, but don't get too caught up in the realism that you inhibit stylizing your project.

I hope you give this a try and if you do - please post your results in the comments below.
Happy painting, happy life.