Selfie in oils

The scariest type of a painting - a self-portrait. I think it’s even more scary if you’re a woman. It forced me to stare at a mirror and see all the imperfections. This is the result of 30 min working on my first ever self-portrait in oils. I put flowers on my head because I love nature and flowers make me feel connected to it. What I’ve learned so far:

1) it’s easy to get distracted by all the facial features and forget to actually see where the light hits the most, and which parts are in the shadows. So don’t get distracted. Think of your head as a melon.

2) there might be this huge temptation to leave it UNFINISHED! Just as I am an unfinished work of art. I had to push myself through it and let go of my fears that I will “destroy” the painting when I start painting the eyes, for example, and something teeny-tiny goes off.

3) It’s worth trying to get to know yourself by painting YOURSELF.