lfw
I made a series of self portraits in 1999, doing one a day for a period of 90 days. Many of them were not very good but I wasn't too bothered by that. What interested me was the daily ritual. I am by nature pretty un-disciplined, or at least I had been for most of my life. Who wouldn't like to be a disciplined hard-working artist, lawyer, garage mechanic, engineer or school teacher? Sadly, I was none of the above, I shifted about in various guises before I got serious much later in my life.
In truth, I was always afraid of Art; creating art specifically speaking. I was an obsessional perfectionist who had great difficulties to finish anything. Alas, that was me then, anyway.
The 90 portraits in 90 days was my foray into a disciplined ritual. I learned a lot about my face naturally. Most of them are not even great likenesses but in most there was something of me under all that paint. There for the most part quite cropped with even a hit of shoulders, barely a line or two to express the neck. I was looking for a direct image, a graphic image almost plastered on the canvas board like a guy glueing a movie poster in the old days.
This one above I always liked. I had at the time a small studio at the Château noir just a hop from my apartment there. There was a skylight so the light was good. I think I made all of these self-portraits in centre-jour which seemed to work in that space.
More to be revealed.
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