The work of Clemente is very interesting to me, because he gives a different insight and completely different perception on portraiture and how it is viewed. When many people think of portraiture they think of the traditional sketched portrait created with pencil - with traditional shading, etc. In this case and in this portrait, the face is simplified, and the face is almost abstract in a way. The feature of the face are distorted and emphasized in certain aspects. For example, the lips are huge, and the eyes are disfigured, and rounded out. The nose is also slightly big, and the face rounded more, compared to a "normal" or "traditional" face. I also admire the color usage in this piece, and how certain areas contrast with each other well. (the red in the shirt, lips, eyes, and background contrast well with each other. The coloration and shades of the face of the figure are realistic in a sense, yet the rest of the piece itself is very abstract and distorted. The figure is very flat and two-dimensional, which intensifies the meaning being conveyed. The color usage is very significant to the piece itself and the title. When I think of fire, I think of red and oranges hues - which helps convey the point that Clemente is trying to get across. The red within the eyes to me indicates that the subject sees anger and hatred, and to this individual (could be Clemente

Image derived from: Clemente, Francesco. Fire. 1982. Painting. Artchive, Thomas Ammann, Zurich. Web. 1 Nov 2013. <http://www.artchive.com/artchive/C/clemente/clemente_fire.jpg.html>.

After viewing the work of Swoon, I have found an entirely new inspiration. His work amazes me in so many different ways its hard to even pin point a place to start. I really admire the contemporary style of this piece combined with the concept of figurative portraiture. The lines that make up the shading of the subject (the woman) convey a lot of emotion to me, as well as the contemporary style. I am really drawn into the print-style designs that make up the bottom half of the woman. They are block-like and solid, which not only adds on to the idea of contemporary style. I also like, the block-like designs, because they convey emotion in a different and interesting way. Although there is an obvious expression on the face of the subject that conveys the mood, It seems as though the embellished designs convey the idea of holding onto your emotions or past (dark) and carrying them with you wherever you go - and throughout your life in general. The background that appear behind the subject is very faded and the hues are almost transparent - which reminds me of a map and how the colors are faded. The ideas of the lines and arrows indicates direction, which also reminds me of the idea of a map. The piece conveys the idea of individuals holding their emotions with them and past experiences, carrying with them throughout life. 

Image derived from: Swoon. Zahra. 2010. Print. Juxtapoz Magazine. Web. 1 Nov 2013. <http://www.juxtapoz.com/street-art/swoon-releases-31-unique-variants-of-qzahraq>.