1. Shape, Color, Rhythm, Pattern
Kehinde Wiley
Shape, Color, Rhythm, Pattern

2. Elements And Principles
Shape-An area with a defined boundary within an art piece
Color-Hue
Rhythm-A combination of elements repeating in a regular arrangement
Pattern-Symbols or objects that repeat in a uniform manner

3. Kehinde Wiley Born in 1977, lives in Los Angeles
Mother encouraged his artistic abilities
At twenty, he traveled to Nigeria to meet his father
References “Old Masters” with his work, mostly paints Black Americans in regal poses
Frequently cites his sexuality as a reason for “gender- swapping” poses between male and female models
His work is characterized by his use of patterns that overlay the figures in his pieces

4. Inspiration
“I loved when I walked into LACMA as a kid and seeing Kerry James Marshall’s grand barbershop painting. But it was thrown into very sharp relief when thinking about the absence of other black images in that museum. There was something absolutely heroic and fascinating about being able to feel a certain relationship to the institution and the fact that these people happen to look like me on some level…I think it’s important to destabilize yourself, and I do it because I want to see people who look like me.”

5. Napoleon Leading The Army Over The Alps
By Jacques-Louis David
By Kehinde Wiley

6. Napoleon Leading The Army Over The Alps
What does Wiley do to allude to David’s piece?
What color theory do you notice in this piece?
Notice the overlap of the pattern. What does this do to your sense of space?
Would you consider this an homage or plagiarism? Why?

7. St. John The Baptist In The Wilderness

8. Triple Portrait Of Charles I

9. Kancou Diaovno

10. Portrait Of A LAdy

11. Portrait Of Natasha Zamor

12. The Three Graces

13. Your Assignment
Choose a person that you admire. Draw a portrait of them (either face or entire body) in pencil on the provided paper
Trace your hands over the piece. Make sure they overlay the person in various parts.
Erase the lines where the hands overlap to create larger shapes. Erase some parts of the person where the hands overlap them, but keep others.
Using colored pencil, create two patterns. One should be in the hands, and the other should be outside of them. One should be warm, the other cool.
Using colored pencil, add detail and color to the person you have drawn.