Chuck Close Self Portraits

American artist Chuck Close (born 1940) is famous for painting giant portrait heads. He’s also well known for facing some big challenges in his life. Growing up, Close had severe learning disabilities that made it difficult for him to read. His talent for drawing and painting helped him to compensate for his academic struggles. He impressed his teachers by creating elaborate art projects to show he really was interested in his school subjects. 

In 1988, when he was almost fifty years old, Close suffered a severe spinal artery collapse. As a result, he has only partial use of his arms and legs, and he has to rely on a wheelchair. He now uses a chair lift and motorized easel that raises, lowers, and turns the canvas to allow him to work on all parts of a painting.

Year 2 students used a transferring and tracing technique from a photo of themselves to draw their faces. They ruled up grid lines inspired by the look of Chuck Close's portraits and then used watercolour pencils to complete their self-portraits: