Another birthday.
Another birthday self-portrait to add to the growing series. You can see the others
and
and
and
.
My goal is to do a self-portrait for every birthday. This year I was inspired by fashion illustrations done in ink (think
). I'm not sure I achieved my vision, but that doesn't matter. It's the experimentation that matters.
This tradition of painting birthday self-portraits is inspired by Rembrandt. He painted 90 self-portraits over the course of his life. He was very experimental, and often showed himself in a not too kindly light as he aged (wrinkles and all). I'm not sure I'll be brave enough for that! His self-portraits
are like an autobiography in art, recording his changing moods and appearance. Maybe I can do the same, in a very small way