Lessons:
I-9 Amrita Sher-Gil
Head of a Girl
Overview
- Discuss Head of Girl by Amrita Sher-Gil.
- Learn about symmetry and proportions of a face.
- Create a big eyed portrait.
Reflection
- Who lives in the house that you created?
- What colors and objects did you add to describe mood of the house?
- What is the title of your artwork?
Head of a Girl by Amrita Sher-Gil, 1937, Oil on canvas, 28.3 x 36.4 in (72 x 92.5 cm), image credit: Amrita_Sher-Gil_Head_of_Girl_1937_Simla.jpg, Whispyhistory / public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Discussion Presentation
Discussion Questions
What facial feature do you notice first?
Sher-Gil painted a portrait of a girl with big eyes. The eyes and pupils are out of proportion or size in relation to the other facial features. Importance has been created by making the eyes big.
Why do you think we have two eyes?
Two eyes facing forward allow us to see depth, and two ears allow us to hear sound in stereo. Imagine a line down the middle of the face, there is symmetry, what is on one side is on the other side.
What would you change to alter the mood?
The girl’s expression and background color palette creates a sense of mood or emotion. Changing the position of the pupils and shape of the mouth would change the expression and alter the mood.
Biography
- Amrita Sher-Gil (ahm•REE•tah shair•GEE) was a Hungarian-Indian artist from northern India.
- She loved using vibrant colors to show the real lives and feelings of people in India.
- Many people call her a pioneer because she changed the way modern Indian art looks today.
- She “bridged” very different cultures (Paris, France and her own India) with her portraits of Indian people.
Project
Materials
- sketch paper
- 9×12 almond paper
- drawing pencil
- tempera paint (peach, magenta, yellow, brown, blue, red, yellow, green)
- 1/2 in. tempera brush
- 1/4 in. tempera brush
- water container
- paper towels
- How to Draw Big Eyes and Face handout
- How to Mix Flesh Tones handout
Warm Up & Brainstorm
- No warmup required.
Project Directions
Big Eyes Portrait
1. Draw a face.
Use pencil to draw a face in proportion, use How to Draw Big Eyes & Face handout.
NOTE: The drawing will be a mirror image after the transfer. Draw hair parts on the opposite side.
2. Transfer drawing.
Place pencil sketch face down on 9×12 almond paper. Use pencil to scribble on top of the sketch lines. This transfers the graphite onto the paper.
NOTE: After the transfer, do retrace transfer with pencil.
3. Make paint palette.
Select paint colors for face, hair, clothing, and background.
4. Paint face.
Start with skin tones, don’t forget neck and arms, whites of eyes (allow to dry, paint iris and pupils last), teeth (if showing), and lips.
5. Paint clothing, hair, background, and pupils.
Color in clothing and hair. Then paint background. Paint color iris and pupils last.
6. Give artwork a title.
Pre-Lesson Preparation
- Pre-mix 1-2 darker skin tones that peach or white can be added to lighten.
Day of Lesson Setup
- Discuss how eyes and eyebrows show emotion.
- Do Step-by-Step draw with students: How to Draw Big Eyes and Face handout.
- Demo transfer, point out that transfer is a mirror-image, for example hair part on sketch is on opposite side on the transfer.