This self portrait was painted after I'd had a frustrating many years not feeling well. After losing much weight this portrait became a document of how I felt and how I saw myself. My hair although thinned out due to lose, always seemed to look great until a point after this when it no longer did.
No one really likes this painting and the comments that I have received over time let me know this to be true. I paint to document my surroundings and me in those surroundings. All my works are the places I see over and over again, for days or years. I paint in my mind until I have to put the work onto the canvas. The work is either a sketch or a finished piece on a canvas. I painted this self portrait at the same time that I painted my Sailing piece. Both are how I accurately saw my surroundings and felt as I was beginning to heal.
When other view the Sailing painting I receive it's good as a compliment or I didn't know you sailed. To this self portrait I've heard, that's creepy, that can't be how you see yourself or worse. This piece provokes the most emotion in others of any piece that I have done. As an artist I strive to reach others through an emotional interaction. I now put this out to a larger audience, for your reactions.

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