New Self Portrait - "The Wait and the Reward"

"The Miracle of Love" Before you were conceived I wanted you Before you were born I loved you Before you were an hour old I would die for you This is the miracle of love. Author: Maureen Hawkins When I first came up with this idea for a maternity self portrait, I didn't realize how difficult it would be to pull off. In many ways, the patience it took to conceive and execute the painting was a direct reflection of the patience it took to get through pregnancy. Not only did I have to wait to start the portrait until I was "big" enough to look REALLY pregnant, but I had to wait until after my daughter's arrival to complete it. The entire project was a test in skill and patience, two things that every artist spends their lifetime trying to perfect. How does one capture … Read more »

New Self Portrait - "The Wait and the Reward"

On Pregnancy and Beauty

Well, January just flew by! I started writing this blog post a couple of weeks ago, but the bump has grown considerably since then. Wow. Thankfully, my time has been anything but wasted. I taught many private painting classes and day workshops in January, and started half a dozen new and exciting painting projects. I'm so grateful to feel motivated  again, and even more grateful to have the energy to act on that motivation. I posted this painting on Facebook shortly after completing it, but wanted to write a little more about how it came to be. I had been planning on doing a couple of self portraits while pregnant, but wasn't really sure how to pull them off, especially during the times when I was feeling more apprehensive and scared than excited. I used the creation of this painti… Read more »

On Pregnancy and Beauty

The Model That's Always There...

Okay, okay. Before you call me a narcissist, let me explain why I paint so many self portraits. 1. The model is FREE. 2. I can paint at any time without having to schedule it. 3. It allows for some crazy experimentation. 4. It allows for more practice working with a model that doesn't hold still. There are many more reasons, but those a few of the main ones.  Today I did a quick self portrait in about an hour and a half. The inspiration was, ironically, that I had no inspiration, but still felt like I should paint for a little while, at least. Recently, I put up some beautiful vintage-looking curtains in my studio. They block out direct sunlight without overly darkening the room, and the colors are lovely. I've been thinking about setting up a model in front of the curtains for a… Read more »

The Model That's Always There...

New Self Portrait - "To Paint or to Play"

As promised, I thought I'd share some more about the process of painting what turned out to be a very challenging new self portrait. The idea for this painting has been brewing in my head for almost a year and a half now. I've only seen a handful of artist self portraits that incorporate other figures or elements, but those are usually the most fascinating to me. The one I felt most inspired by for this project was a self portrait by Gustav Osterman, "Self Portrait with His Dog". If you take a closer look at the dog, you can just make out one crazed eye which, for me, completely makes this painting! For my own interpretation, I wanted to depict my dog the way she is when she's impatiently waiting to go for our walk. Whether I'm at my computer or my easel, she fre… Read more »

New Self Portrait - "To Paint or to Play"