I've been wanting to do a self portrait for a while, so I decided to start small. I drew this about 2 weeks ago, and got a mixed review from my family. It didn't really look like me,..unless you squinted..and then, well, it did, just younger. I figured I probably wouldn't paint it. I took a picture of the drawing just in case it got lost, and then I could always refer back to it and know I tried a self-portrait once upon a time. But there's something funny about drawing a face. You keep looking at it, and it starts looking back. Then, after you've critiqued it to death in your mind, you figure it can't get much worse with paint on it, so you dive in. It took me about 2 hours, after I mixed a bunch of paint. Actually, I kind of like it, now! It looks like me with an extreme makeover! My husband asked me if that was the challenge: paint yourself 20 years younger? Ha, ha. Yes. I think I may have stumbled onto something. This could be the angle I've been looking for. "Portraits done on commission: Looks just like you, only better!" or maybe "Perfect portraits of the perfect you!" or better still "I'll paint you to look like you've always wished you looked!". So when your spouse says 'Wow! Now that's the girl I wish I could date!' you can tell him 'That's me, baby.... just keep squinting.'
I think it looks just like the you in your photo. The photo isn't from 20 years ago right?
ReplyDeleteHaha, no, the photo here is just from about a year ago! I drew this just by looking in a mirror. It was actually for a challenge on a different blog, but I wasn't happy with the drawing, let it sit too long before I decided to paint it, and then it was too late to send it in. But I'm glad I did it. It was actually the first portrait I've ever painted (of someone's face) so I figured it would be better to do an awful job on me, than make someone else look bad!...and that might be the last time I tried, so all in all, I feel good about my first attempt, and hope I can improve on the next one. Thanks for the comment!
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