Finished a self portrait today.

[lunatica]

14. You were on my mind a lot

The last time you posted was months ago when the pandemic was really affecting your family. You posted your self portrait with you wearing a mask. You said you hadn’t been able to sleep.

Your paint experimentation worked very well. It’s great when you push yourself to try a new approach and it works! I really like your heavy brushwork and rough texture contrasting with the beautiful softness of the colors. There is body and depth applied to the canvas with your strong brushstrokes which are discernible and bold and adds the extra element to your painting which has value in itself as part of painting. As an artist myself this kind of process is something I look for and love to find because I can see how you painted as well as what you painted. This gives me a gratifying thrill.

Your color palette works perfectly. I love the warm and cool color scheme you chose and the strong light source illuminating your face, hair and throat from the left side of the canvas, which normally would be rather harsh but works really well here because your shadows are very soft too. The lighting looks diffused, glowing and gentle. You painted the background with the lighter part on the shadow side of your body and the darker side on the side your face is being highlighted by the light. This also works to keep the lighting from being too harsh. So the result is a soft and glowing lightness on your face that seems to come from within.

You picked great colors and mixed them to perfection and the result is lovely, a feast for the eyes!

I’m so glad you’re back! I’ve missed you.