Life as Art Blog | I challenge you to create a self-portrait; it's exhilarating and frightening. That was the notion Lenore put forth to a small group of friends who meet periodically to talk about our creative endeavors. After months in Covid-19 isolation, Lenore needed to "see" our faces, if not literally, then figuratively.
The basics for drawing the human face are mathematical. My handy little cheat sheet for creating a pocketbook of Mini-Masterpieces provides a diagram for dividing the face into perfect measurements and proportions.
The reality of drawing one's own face is tenuous. What makes your appearance distinct from others? Using a hand mirror, one can closely replicate the shape of the eye, the curve of the lashes, the size of the pupil. The lines on the face; the size of the nose. Ears – what a strange feature. The pieces of one's own face may be fairly rendered, but the overall results more Picasso-like than realistic.
If you stare at your face long enough, be prepared for a barrage of self-criticism. I thought I looked better than that. My nose looks like a pig's. Look at all those acne scars on my chin. Now I know why adults warned me not to squish those pimples. I never realized that my face is a web of wrinkles when I grin. Let me practice a more ethereal Mona Lisa smile, less wrinkles, for my next "selfie", another form of self-portrait.
When you get over mirror shock and start to work with pen and paper, you might conclude that the person you are is so much more than an assembly of features. You may decide it necessary to not only show how you look but something about who you are.
A month after Lenore's invitation, my friends shared their self-portraits by email. As you will see, most chose to portray more than their appearance, perhaps their feelings at the time, their interests, their thoughts, and how they wanted to be seen by others. I think you can see from their artwork, that I enjoy a colorful, interesting, and talented group of friends.
Since childhood, Alison was fascinated by Byzantine and Medieval Icon paintings. Alison now paints modern day icons of women who, through their courage, dignity, and wisdom, reach for a higher truth and inspire us to do the same. Visit her work at www.alisonpvernon.com
Last summer, Alison fulfilled a long-held dream to see the Byzantine Mosaics in Ravenna, Italy. Their beauty brought her to tears. For her self-portrait, Alison decided to impose her face on the mosaic of the Empress Theodora, an AMAZING woman who rose from prostitution to become Empress. She fought for women’s rights and freedom from prostitution; and served as a valuable advisor to the Emperor. Our friend Lenore described Alison's self-portrait as "clever, even brilliant - showing women's rights past, present and future. A strong female leader anchored in history in a Byzantine tile, with Alison's beautiful face peeking out in our present time, gazing into the future, through the "window" of a yet to be Time Magazine cover."
Patti’s creativity is apparent in everything she does, from the home she and her husband have been renovating, to her garden, and to almost every aspect of her life. Recently retired, Patti can now explore new avenues for her creativity. We can expect something honest, a bit cynical, and humorous in whatever media she chooses. Her creativity and talents are under-stated and a little mysterious, refreshing.
Anita is a book sculptor and painter. She finds it exciting and challenging to give a relinquished book a new life. Over the past several years she has revined the process of remodeling damaged and discarded books and their jackets into sculptural art pieces. Through the process of folding and cutting away parts of a book's pages, she reveals its interior, while the remaining fragments are still attached to the binding.
In the time of Covid, she has also returned to oils, exploring a two-color tonal approach to capture her local landscape. Here her self-portrait peeks out from her landscape, present in the moment, as is she always. You can see her work at
Jill paints realistic landscapes, tackling difficult techniques such as the sun's reflection on snow or the splash of a wave. She produced this self-portrait last year as the Coronavirus set in and moved all of us to a more home-bound, inward space. It was her first attempt at painting a
close-up of a face.
Since then she produced three portraits as family Christmas gifts and discovered a unique style in portraiture. She sees her family portraits as an extension of her own self-portrait, and these gifts from the hand and the heart gave her ultimate satisfaction. Development of this skill is the most important focus of her art at this time. Jill's pragmatism, determination, and search for beauty are the guiding stars in her artwork.
As an art student, Lenore was never without a camera. In 1980 she decided to photograph a self-portrait, wearing the gown of her father's mother, whom she never knew. She chose a winter fallow corn field as the setting, wanting to illustrate walking on the earth as her grandmother once did. Flour falls from her hand to the earth; a symbol that we take from the earth and must also give back. Like the corn and fruits of our labor we grow and then we are gone. How will we be remembered? How does one remember someone they never knew?
Lenore 's contemporary work is both visual and musical. In a series of paintings and musical scores called Still Life Deep Creek (2012) she plays with patterns of light and sounds she found in nature while kayaking along the marshes of the southern outer banks. She translated the visual patterns of sunlight and shadows, a fallen branch, and the ripple of water into paintings. Musical patterns emerged from each painting, sometimes, waking her in the night, with a near-finished composition playing in her head. Over time the work included 40 paintings and musical scores. Together, these were performed as a symphony in 2017.
Sally is known for her bold paintings inspired by color and the natural world (www.sallyanger.com). Lately she is having fun hiding these aquamarine pebbles on her daily walk around town. She placed this one in a "heart" in the sidewalk, and then noticed her reflection in it. She took a photo and submitted this as her self-portrait, with this note, "I like how it fits my move toward reflection and Buddhism - I'm just a wee bit of the vast cosmos."
Mine was missing. Being the least artistic of my group, I was reluctant to try, but also intrigued as to how I would experience the process. When I started the sketch, I decided to make it symbolic. As I drew the features, I couldn't help but think about who I am, which is more important than what I look like. That required symbolic elements.
Grateful and Blessed – When we lived in the Andes, I loved to visit village cathedrals. Near the altar, in a purple velvet shadow box, worshipers pinned up small tin or silver icons to represent their prayers. There were pleas for God to heal an ailing heart, deafness, lung disease, or a marriage. For me, the most touching icon was a heart with these words, Gracias Recibido, which represented gratitude for an answered prayer. I feel so grateful for my blessed life; and so I chose to place my face in such an icon.
A Garden of Friends – The flowers on the border represent my dear friends and extended family who surround me with love and support, and also for the joy I get from the flowers in my garden.
Feather Quills – The three quills on my forehead represent my husband and children who are an indelible life force; and of course my passion for writing.
Imperfect perfection – I have one slightly deformed ear exactly like my dad's, which thrilled me as a child. I liked being the child who looked most like him. My ear tells me that I belong in a family and continue its history. My DNA findings remind me there are other ancestors who shaped me in ways I wish I knew.
Life scars – I have a scar on my lower lip where I climbed from my high chair, fell, and required stiches – an explorer at an early age.
Strengths– my eyes are considered my best feature and I consider myself an observer. So I drew my eyes big.
Weakness – The mouth is incorrectly sized. I gave it less space because one of my greatest faults is that I talk too much. I need to remember to give my mouth less press.
Destiny –I am wearing silver conch earrings. In the Buddhist culture, the conch is considered one of the eight auspicious symbols. It represents fearlessness in proclaiming truth. The conch is a magical gift from the sea, a place that calls me home.
Outlook - I get up every day and dress myself for an event, because it just might occur. You will never find me without jewelry; each piece comes with a story and memory. I am always looking forward to possibility and know the importance of also looking back from where I came.
Aging - My hair is gray around the temple and lines form crevices in my skin. I am getting old, too fast, with so much more I want to do in life. A reminder that beauty fades, so we have to be more than our looks.
So with this blog, I invite you to join my friends and me in a little journey of self-discovery and the satisfying act of creating something with your hands that speaks of you. Please share your self-discoveries, writeme@deborah-llewellyn.com.
"Art does not reproduce the visible, rather, it makes visible." Paul Klee
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