Here is the final peek at the self-portrait I have just finished, with the biggest clue as to what is in this painting.
You’ll have to wait until the exhibition opens to actually see the portrait, and I will also put up a video then that will show the different layers that went into creating this painting.
I like to take photos of my works while they are still in progress. It’s interesting to look back at them afterwards and see how the image has developed. Sometimes I know what the image will be from the moment I start, with the sketch all planned out, and other times, the work takes on a life of its own. For example, The Return Home, which is currently showing in Kingston, Ontario, was painted section by section, foreground first, then background. I had an image in my head of how I wanted to place the double figures, but I was not yet sure what I wanted to do with the background. It wasn’t until I had almost finished painting the figures that I finally realized there was a whole story to be told through the background elements. So here is an image of the painting without the background painted in yet. It’s amazing how different it looks!
I plan on posting more “in progress” photos of both older and current works on here in the future. Let me know what you think…does it add to your interpretation/appreciation of an image if you know how it came to be?