Self Portraits

I have gotten in the habit of painting a self portrait every couple of years.  I try to think of it as an exercise in self reflection.  But sometimes I think I must not have a very good mind/body connection, because when I am working with an image of myself, I really don't identify with it very much.  The process becomes almost one of illustrating abstract shapes and is therefore quite relaxing when I can get really lost in it.

Note:  I had some technical difficulties when uploading the images, so these images are not in the order I wanted them to be.  The first one I painted is the one that is predominantly pink.  The next one is the one with the doorknob.  The third one is the mostly black and white one.  And the most recent one is directly below.

Self Reflection

This self portrait was inspired by my Macbook camera and its special effects.  The dots in this one are much smaller than the ones I usually work with and are cut from magazines with a hole punch.  The dimensions are 24"x24".

Heliotrope 

(from the collection of Donna Maberry)

The frame is made of photographic transfers from photos of me taken at the same time as the one I used to paint the portrait.  The owner of this one swears that the eyes follow her.  The size of this one is about 40"x42".

Portrait of the Artist as a Forty Year Old Woman 

(from the collection of Michael and Catherine Lenz)

This is my first self portrait and one of my very first "dot" paintings.  It measures 42"x42".

Self Portal 

Yes, this was painted when my hair still had some pigment, and yes, that is a door knob on it.  This painting measures about 30"x40".