10 Short Lectures on Self-Portrait (By Beauford Delaney)

I utilized Mary Ruefle's structure, which was an inspiration for her brief lectures, to comprehend and analyze Beauford Delaney's Self-Portrait.

Short lecture on pigment

Yellow, green, Yellow-green, hints of red
Malachite, teal, sage, jade, seafoam, should I add the green at the end? Yellow lemon, gold mustard, chartreuse beige, and saffron flax
Merlot, blush, currant, crimson
Thick colors layer on top of one another creating a new pigment Malachite is guided by the inky black slashes

Short lecture on strokes

The impact of the surface of Delaney’s brush

Bristles that fight like cats and dogs
Visible thick paint pulled against the surface
Impasto, impression, impact
Cables of green move like fish
Stippled red are washed with white pigments
Splattered blue and muted reds are off-center
Triangular mixed pigment are blended into the white surface

Short lecture on psychology

Abrasive eyebrows rest on top of sincere folds of skin Docile reds wash out into cautious greens
I don't think about science when I think about my mind Zealous black brush strokes guide impulsives yellows around Does my behavior think about dopamine?
Does my brain change the more I look at myself? Spiteful white smudging protect curious browns
What can I see in the mirror? I cannot see my emotions Emotive blues consume by sight
Manic crimson hides within my beak

Short lecture on eyes

Dark almond roundness

uneven holes, hooded, and with blue and white Furrowed brown, angled and thick
White floaters drift across brown marbles Decentralized pupils seesawing across my face The cornea corroded by blue smudges

Black jagged pigments are cradled by rounded greens and reds

Short lecture on Blue

Teal surrounding the base growing from royal pigments The sky and the sea, delaney in between
Brilliant blues, millions of hues
Somber, sinister uneven pigmentation

Teal roundness bound by blackness is separated from pigmented royal hues Horizontal splashes are cut by white vertical movement

Short lecture on ears

Robust, angular skin folds
Pigments of brown intersect with thick black linear folds
Is my other ear folded?
Brown exists within the black clusters encapsulating red, yellow, and blue Unintentional whiteness fiddles with the black line
The curvature is accentuated by brown strokes following the black barriers Red spots exist in the brown fashioned similar to the black strokes

Short lecture on race

Brown, black, african-american, light skin, melanated
Who thought Three primary colors: red, yellow, and blue would oppress me? Are you impressed?
Life is like a box of chocolates, what is your favorite flavor?
Running the race of my face is not a kind space

Short lecture on man

Central placement, facing outward
Can masculinity and vulnerability coexist?
Breaking the fourth wall, do you feel dominance the longer you gaze? I am your protector, in control amongst my four corners

Short lecture on sexuality

Do you like what you see?
Does the black in my iris draw you in? Does the blue on collar comfort you?
Does the curve in my spine do anything for you? I cannot grasp it either

Short lecture on seeing

Why do my eyes look distorted?
Robust lines that do not connect, negative space within my left iris Pigments of blue consume the darker irish underlined in blood
Framed by furrowed brows resting on a gradient of greens
Egg white pigment surrounds the brown centers
A green thick curve adorns the top of my lid
My eyes are separated by thick black strokes that form a sturdy bridge.