I have done many self portraits and mostly I toss them. I'd be interested to know how others work with this subject--I always seem to manage to have a lot of anxiety when I approach it.
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Kathryn,
ReplyDeleteI don't usually toss them until maybe when I need more room. I feel much less anxiety painting me because there is no expectation of a likeness. Much more comfortable painting me. Same with paid models, no expectation of a likeness. However, there is a lot of anxiety with commissions and unpaid models.
You are one of the artists whom I really admire so to hear you say you approach a self portrait with anxiety amazes me. Your work doesn't show it at all. Your strokes are confident, your colors, superb. Maybe it has to do with trying to capture a likeness of your face where you can only ever see it as a mirror image?
ReplyDeleteThank you William and Julie for the comments! It is strange what brings anxiety in painting and why. With my self portraits, it may be that its just easier for me to paint young people--I have no problem painting my daughters--whether the paintings look like them or not. Or it may be that it just feels a little crazy to look at myself in the mirror for a couple of hours. But I think of the self-portraits that Rembrandt did as he aged, and Cezanne, and they are a glimpse into the soul.
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