I’ve been drawing a daily self-portrait since the beginning of last September. I started a couple of days before my last birthday (I was on holiday at the time), and I haven’t stopped.
I’m certainly not the first person to create self-portraits. Many artists, from Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, to Lucien Freud, and Louise Bourgeois, have painted self-portraits. And there are lots of variations on the theme: Ryan Gander, for example, painted the palette that he used to create his self-portraits, and there is an artist, Bryan Lewis Saunders, who painted self-portraits whilst on different drugs. (He ended up with mild brain damage). It is not original. I don’t really know why I started – something of a challenge perhaps? I have posted some of them on my Instagram page (annies_haul). It is interesting to hear people’s comments:
Boredom has set in at times, so I have experimented with slightly different media, but always restricting myself to black and white. I have longed for colour. I have also tried drawing with my non-dominant hand/with my eyes shut/from memory. Some of the most interesting self portraits have been with my non-dominant hand, and it’s amazing how (good?) some of the non-dom/eyes shut ones have turned out. Am I validating my existence? Is it healing? Do they represent aspects of self? Do I need to do this in order to be able to capture the essence of someone else? Is it a load of rubbish? I’m a stubborn person and I am hoping to continue this madness for a year. I have so far thought about making some kind of stop frame animation using the sketches, or perhaps some textile work… I think that my drawing and observational skills have improved a little. We are taught to draw faces from a very early age, but we don’t really draw what we see. It’s a bit like the house with four windows and the tree outside – how many of us really live in a house like that? So the staring at myself will continue. Maybe there is a song in it? Annie Tyhurst March 2019
7 Comments
UAP
6/3/2019 09:08:26
Fascinating exercise. I love the different textures used, and enjoy the questions Annie is asking in her blog.
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Annie
6/3/2019 09:42:14
Thanks for your comments. So many questions and thoughts !!!
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Annie
8/3/2019 18:51:00
Yes, I like the non Dom hand ones. They curiously seem to release me/us from the judgement stuff. And yes to stitching of course 😉
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Melanie
14/3/2019 19:34:48
Ha, found my way to your blog! So looking forward to seeing 365 of these - in order of making (?) in a big pile(?)
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Annie
15/3/2019 18:36:35
Have secluded myself in a room in St Dogmaels for the weekend with a pile of sewing stuff. During the day I’ll be on my Posh Ladies’ Craft Course !
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Lizzie
17/3/2019 20:08:26
I love St Dogmaels x Leave a Reply. |
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