It has been a long time since I have done a self portrait. I don’t really consider them as part of what I do. The vast majority of my work is rooted so much in the landscape and the abstract that I never give the time to drawing myself. I do draw other people, whether that is friends I am with, or life drawing, or Alice (mostly Alice.) I see these drawings as more personal, sort of diary entries for myself, or as exercises in trying to be accurate.
When in Scotland last year one of the first things I did, besides drawing a map of the studio I was in for some reason, was draw myself. It was a way to get started and to loosen up. There was a mirror and a comfy chair there, the perfect set up, and so I decided to start every day like this.
I would sit and draw myself and then write down things I did the previous day. This process really helped with my overall scope and outlook towards working. Going into the residency without a predetermined idea of what I wanted to make could have resulted in stagnation, but this routine of drawing and writing prevented it by getting me started.
It helped contextualise my process of making, focusing more on the action of creating, rather than concept. Drawing myself prepared me for drawing what was around me without overthinking the reasons for doing so. As the drawings I was doing began to develop and evolve beyond the landscape, doing these portraits everyday anchored my approach.
I really enjoyed doing these portraits. Towards the end of the residency I had a few painting boards left over. For the whole time I was there I had various small boards on the walls I would tinker with, adjusting daily. I kept one eye on transportation though, not wanting to stick too much paint on anything to prevent carrying wet paintings back on the train with me. As a result I did less painting then I thought I would, so at the end I decided to give some painted portraits a go with what I had leftover.
I don’t think I have ever painted a self portrait before. These first two weren’t so great, but then I realised it was because I was doing them on my lap sat down so all the proportions were wrong.
I set myself up so that I could stand and paint, these worked better.
And these two were my favourites. At first I would do an outline drawing, much like I had been in my sketchbook, then paint into that. The result was quite static. You can see on the one on the right here an under drawing that I abandoned, preferring instead to be lead by the paint, treating the brush itself the same way I would a pen. They are some of my favourite bits of work to come from the residency. I never thought I would be able to paint a portrait I was happy with previously, they stand testament to repetitiveness in practise.
Here are the landscape paintings too, which I worked on everyday for the two weeks I was there, moving between them each time I got stuck. I used the landscape out the windows of the studio and the drawings from my sketchbook as reference.
Also,
A group of friends and myself are putting on a show at Amp Gallery in Peckham with the opening night on the 12th April, running through that weekend. I’ll share more information about it soon but all are welcome.