the first step in the process of elimination (or on making a decision)

I made a decision today. Out of all the potential subjects I could shoot for my final year I have decided on portraits; most likely headshots. It started after learning a bit about lighting in Darren's class, and just realising how much I want to explore more in that area. Today I went to a lecture by Les, it was based on digital light and the pitfalls of Photoshop, but also about colour, luminance and tone and the great painters and how right they got it. That reminded me of when I studied portrait painting at Deakin, how much fun it was playing and making colours, and investigating skin tone and making it work. They had us go to the NGV International and sketch studies of some of the great historical painters. One I remember was Hercules and Antaeus by Peter Paul Rubens. I will never forget how incredible it was to wander into the modern art section after spending several hours looking at much more conservative and 'realistic' portraits. The first one I saw was Picasso's Weeping Woman... the freedom, and extremities was just so incredible, and it worked! Who knew we had so much green and purple in our skin! And just to be able to communicate so well using techniques that you might assume would create the opposite effect... I love that. I love it when people are true, it's brave. And it works. His work is so him, which is why it can mean something to us. It's real.

Pablo Picasso, Weeping Woman, 1937, oil on canvas 55.0 x 46.0 cm, NGV International

Around the same time I borrowed some books about the works of Lucian Freud and I fell in love with his work, and his style. I'll have to look into him more.

Lucian Freud, Sleeping Head, 1979-80, oil on canvas, 40.32 x 50.48 cm, Private Collection

*Edited a minute or so later to add...

I was just looking at the Weeping Woman and I remembered that during the first week of uni I considered an idea that has stayed with me in the back of my mind... I was feeling depressed and listening to Claire Bowditch, and I had the same feeling I get when I'm depressed and watch Six Feet Under or Season 6 of Buffy. The feeling of really relating, connecting to someone, the creators and artists in these works. And then I thought about taking portraits of people crying. It would be hard, and depressing, but I think I like it. More on that later though its late an I wont go to bed if I continue.