Self Portraits-March Prompt Submissions

Starting with mine this month. I am going to start trying to use these prompts as a way to paint stuff just because. I've done a lot of the prompts that developed more into finished work. But I like not making a thing out of it. Just experimenting. Trying something out.

Tia @tia.thistle  @mortesmanor

Tia wrote:

This self portrait has a lot to do with my mental disorders and the struggles to hide the “demons “ I carry heavily with me inside my head every moment of everyday.

Little does anyone one know, I’m fighting my own gruesome war inside my head while wearing this suffocating disguise like armour just to appear “normal” or with a “smile on my face”. 
Appearing everything is “fine” in my world.
When really… it’s not.
It’s exhausting.

The mask I wear hides the loud, endless static of aggressive chatter, echoing through my head while visions of invasive images and thoughts re-play over and over like a never ending horror movie with no way out.

This piece is done using Procreate.
It is done using several layers of selfies of myself (eyes, teeth and face are all me) and manipulating by drawing and painting areas using Procreate brushes to give it a plastic and surreal feel.

Katrin @mutmalerei.katrin.uffelmann

Katrin Said:

My “self-portrait”. We have so many personalities and faces within us and play different roles in life. We are many, all in one. Sometimes the bear comes to the fore, sometimes one of the other traits. So I chose this little painting, that shows some of mine.

DA @doobsolo

Self-Portrait, 9 x 12 inches, mixed media on paper. This self-portrait isn't symbolic or deep or filled with hidden meaning. This month I wanted to try new layering techniques, and to create something that just looks cool. I used watercolor, technical pen, paint marker, and gel pen layers on smooth bristol paper to create this colorful (morbid) cartoon version of myself. I borrowed a lot from the Choir Master on this one, yet the style feels distinctly mine.

Lulu @biblicallyaccurateboygirl

I love art that invites the viewer to reflect on how they define themself. My favorite example of this is a piece by Ralph Stedman called “Self Poortrait.” I have a massive poster of it on my wall. Looking at it reminds me to always keep my work authentic, to let go of perfectionism, and stay true to my roots as a proud creator of shitty doodles.

I’ve probably drawn hundreds of Self Poortraits throughout the years. There are tons from my childhood in my parent's garage. Scratchy stick figures in the margins of notebooks from my teenage years. Odd swirly digital paintings depicting all the complex emotions that come with growing up during college. Even the worst of them are perfect. They are all a depiction of how I felt, how I saw myself, and how I could portray it at the time. I'm making art in relation to the time in which I exist.

This Poortrait feels joyful and silly to me. Ripping up and rearranging all of my art was pretty cathartic. It was exciting to see where the pieces lined up, notice repeating motifs and distinct patterns, and see the evolution of my art style. The remnants of all the 2D gods and monsters I imagined swirling around me with scraps of my environment blended in. I love how it encourages you to search for little details like a bizarre Where’s Waldo page. It's undeniably me. I’m not a serious artist, but I'm free to do whatever I want and I plan to take full advantage of that.

Kat Strack @KatStrackPaints

I've always wanted to do a self portrait and I saw this as an opportunity to get my thoughts together about it, while not worrying too much. I unfortunately worried about it a lot. I spent way too much time considering and staring at myself. It felt... inappropriate?...to consider myself to this extent. How do I want to portray myself 'to the world'? Where are the gaps (and how large are they) between the image of myself in my mind, and my reference photo? Which one is 'correct'? Why can't I get my paper version to resemble either the head version or the photo version? I don't do much figurative drawing so I tried to forgive myself for off proportions or overdrawn lines, but I got spinning in my head about it because this is supposed to be ME! and I know I'm a well proportioned person with a normal sized nose and arms of an average length. I tried to accurately capture my flyaway newly gray hairs though.

Joanne @artist.joanne.callaghan

Joanne's is a work in progress. She said "I am putting together a sort of large scale self portrait made up of monoprints , paintings, other mediums" These are some of the mono prints being used for that. It's called "Something on my mind."

Sheena @sheenamathieson

I've called this one Gaze; as I stare into the mirror with my phone. It is a mixed media work on hosho paper. I have taken an intuitively created monoprint, made using ‘old’ audiotapes, which I have drawn over using the 'not-looking-at-the-page' method. This drawing has then been embellished, with the mantra of 'less is more'.

I like how different every piece is.

I probably say that every month at this point.

I'm looking forward to the next one.

Good work everyone.

Have Fun

Goodnight Sweeties