Hi Nancy, yes I'm so lucky to have discovered this long-forgotten portrait. And I'm glad I finished it despite the instructor's negative forces. It was tough but I did it.
My nephew saw the painting when he wa six and joyously and immediately recognized himself. Now that he's a young man, he's probably forgotten it, I'm sure.
Yes I will be doing a self portrait sometime in the future. I need courage and patience to stare at myself. LOL
How wonderful that you discovered this treasure in your closet. I'm sorry the process of painting it was harder than it should've been due to your instructor. But the main thing is you finished it and you were satisfied with it. Has your nephew seen it? And you should definitely try a self-portrait sometime. I'm sure it would be challenging for a lot of reasons, but probably rewarding as well.
Beth how I would love to see you pursue a self portrait! I’m so fascinated by artists who have done so, David Hockney, Vincent Van Gogh and of course Rembrandt immediately spring to mind. To meditate upon one’s own face is to contemplate the life that shines out of it. I know it would require great concentration and courage but I’m rooting for you!
Hi Gerry, thank you so much for your support of this future self-portrait endeavor. I didn't even think of contemplating the life that shines out of my face. That is powerful and humbling. I hope I have the courage and wherewithal to do a self-portrait. And by doing so, maybe I will learn more about myself. 🙂
I’m so sorry you had those experiences with your teachers. How awful. That would cause anyone to give up. I can tell you that the workshop I’m doing now is so far away from those old school philosophies and provides a truly nurturing environment for learning. When trying abstraction, just think of it as playing with no agenda and watch things develop. Your portrait faces will emerge when they are ready.
Yes, those poor teachers were indeed from the old school, and they were also pompous. As we discussed, the world has room enough for every artist. I've decided that I will be taking the workshop in 2025!! I would love to learn in a nurturing environment. One of my teachers, Konrad Hack, taught me with kindness. It helped me so immensely. I am so looking forward to 2025.
It always an exciting find to discover old paintings you did. I think the portrait is very good. Your nephew might really appreciate that, if not now, then later in life. Patience is so important to teaching! As far as a self-portrait goes, it does sound like a an intimidating process especially if you plan to do it from the same perspective as you did with your nephew. Maybe you could practice with an abstracted version first, or from a side selfie, just to get familiar with painting your own features. Sounds like a great exercise for a sketchbook or set of practice paintings. I did an abstracted self portrait that now hangs in my studio, but it is a full-body image in a yoga pose. The face doesn’t look like me but it represents me. I’m intimidated by drawing and painting faces myself.
Alene, thank you for your kind words. You've given me great advice about sketching my facial features or painting an abstracted version of my facial features. I definitely need to think out of the box with this one.
I love abstract art but all my attempts to do it haven't worked out for me. I guess I need to keep trying.
Thanks for your input. If my nephew is interested, I'd be happy to give him this piece.
Finally, having a good teacher is paramount to an art student's success. Hans was great at the beginning but then he got borderline verbally abusive to the point where I was paralyzed and could no longer paint. I dropped out.
A workshop I attended left me in tears. The obnoxious asshole who taught it told me, "You're going to paint this MY way." I dropped out and got my money back.
Hi Nancy, yes I'm so lucky to have discovered this long-forgotten portrait. And I'm glad I finished it despite the instructor's negative forces. It was tough but I did it.
My nephew saw the painting when he wa six and joyously and immediately recognized himself. Now that he's a young man, he's probably forgotten it, I'm sure.
Yes I will be doing a self portrait sometime in the future. I need courage and patience to stare at myself. LOL
Hi Beth,
How wonderful that you discovered this treasure in your closet. I'm sorry the process of painting it was harder than it should've been due to your instructor. But the main thing is you finished it and you were satisfied with it. Has your nephew seen it? And you should definitely try a self-portrait sometime. I'm sure it would be challenging for a lot of reasons, but probably rewarding as well.
Beth how I would love to see you pursue a self portrait! I’m so fascinated by artists who have done so, David Hockney, Vincent Van Gogh and of course Rembrandt immediately spring to mind. To meditate upon one’s own face is to contemplate the life that shines out of it. I know it would require great concentration and courage but I’m rooting for you!
Hi Gerry, thank you so much for your support of this future self-portrait endeavor. I didn't even think of contemplating the life that shines out of my face. That is powerful and humbling. I hope I have the courage and wherewithal to do a self-portrait. And by doing so, maybe I will learn more about myself. 🙂
I’m so sorry you had those experiences with your teachers. How awful. That would cause anyone to give up. I can tell you that the workshop I’m doing now is so far away from those old school philosophies and provides a truly nurturing environment for learning. When trying abstraction, just think of it as playing with no agenda and watch things develop. Your portrait faces will emerge when they are ready.
Yes, those poor teachers were indeed from the old school, and they were also pompous. As we discussed, the world has room enough for every artist. I've decided that I will be taking the workshop in 2025!! I would love to learn in a nurturing environment. One of my teachers, Konrad Hack, taught me with kindness. It helped me so immensely. I am so looking forward to 2025.
That’s great, Beth! You will love CVP. I’m glad you did have that one good teacher as an example.
It always an exciting find to discover old paintings you did. I think the portrait is very good. Your nephew might really appreciate that, if not now, then later in life. Patience is so important to teaching! As far as a self-portrait goes, it does sound like a an intimidating process especially if you plan to do it from the same perspective as you did with your nephew. Maybe you could practice with an abstracted version first, or from a side selfie, just to get familiar with painting your own features. Sounds like a great exercise for a sketchbook or set of practice paintings. I did an abstracted self portrait that now hangs in my studio, but it is a full-body image in a yoga pose. The face doesn’t look like me but it represents me. I’m intimidated by drawing and painting faces myself.
Alene, thank you for your kind words. You've given me great advice about sketching my facial features or painting an abstracted version of my facial features. I definitely need to think out of the box with this one.
I love abstract art but all my attempts to do it haven't worked out for me. I guess I need to keep trying.
Thanks for your input. If my nephew is interested, I'd be happy to give him this piece.
Finally, having a good teacher is paramount to an art student's success. Hans was great at the beginning but then he got borderline verbally abusive to the point where I was paralyzed and could no longer paint. I dropped out.
A workshop I attended left me in tears. The obnoxious asshole who taught it told me, "You're going to paint this MY way." I dropped out and got my money back.