I’ve been a little busy lately and now that things have calmed down a bit, I decided to update my blog with a few personal projects that I’ve finished within the past few months. One project that I’m really proud of is my self portrait.
I finished this self portrait in on March 30th, 2024. I waited 6 months for the painting to fully dry for varnish on September 29, 2024.
The gloss varnish made the colors and details more vibrant, but I feel that I lost some of the brush strokes.
This was how the painting looked when I finished it on March 30th. It was a little hard to photograph, because the paint was very shiny. I was very satisfied with resolving proportions, details and colors.
I started this painting around January 2023. I was originally thinking that I could finish it for my 40th birthday on February 26th. It turned out that I was a little rusty at painting, and this painting took a lot longer than expected.
What made this painting challenging, was getting the facial proportions and expression correct. There was a period of time where I thought a purplish background would have looked good. I ended up using a darker neutral that was less distracting from my tan skin tone. I really wanted to emphasize bold shadows and highlights from a strong light source.
This painting was a great experience. I might be tempted to work on another self portrait in the near future. Hopefully, it will be quicker with the knowledge I gained.