One of the most difficult subjects to paint is yourself. After searching through hundreds of family pictures and selfies, I found a couple of photos that would help me capture a likeness that would contribute to the concept I had in mind ... that of a blackbird resting its wings protectively around my head. Following onto the Blackbird series I've been working on, this self-portrait is an imaginary study of how the blackbird creature has become a magnet for my creative heart.
Beginning with an ordinary self portrait and then adding feathers, fabric and beads, I was hoping to capture the feeling of being somewhat mesmerized by these intelligent birds. Throughout time, they have been both demonized and idolized depending on the watcher's perspective.
I have always found them to be symbols of something mysterious and magical.
"As an artist, like an actor, sometimes you slip into character as you create. In this work, I started thinking about what the blackbird searches for in life. Would it be happiness, truth, or love ... or just the next worm?
Capturing the Likeness
I picked a photograph that had enough light and contrast on the face to be a good foundation for an oil portrait. I began with a pencil sketch on canvas and then refined it with Quadricine Red Oxide acrylic painted lightly over the pencil lines.
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Painting the portrait
Once dried, I began painting in oils.
Even so, I really don't consider myself a "painter" given that I work in multiple media. But sometimes a piece needs that traditional oil portrait to create a dichotomy between the expected and the unexpected.
Creating the story
The portrait floats on a background of the black of the blackbird and my feathered mythical hair. I'm stitching batik dyed strips of fabric, embellishing threads and fibres, jewels, keys and feathers to capture the spirit of the blackbird in my self portrait.
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Feathering
Adding one feather at a time, the colors of are fascinating as the light reflects from each one. When completed, the blackbird rests protectively over my head, keeping my ideas of flying into the clouds safely inside my imagination.