A photographer friend of mine had asked me: "Why is it that artists always seem to try self-portraits? I mean what's up with that? I have never tried to photograph myself in portrait ... largely because I know the results will be all too shockingly real! Maybe that’s why artists who paint are so keen to do themselves ... I suppose you can paint what you hope others see, and not what they actually do.
Do you think that’s what you look like or is that what you hope others see? Excuse my art-philosophy for a second, but I've always kind of wondered about these things."
I told him that I painted self portraits because it meant I always had a model available. And one who didn’t complain about the results when a painting session was over. Then I posted the question on a Painting Forum to find out what other artists thought. Here are some of the replies.
“Self-portraits are notoriously hard to sell. That being said, finding a (free) model is always difficult, unless you have very good or very narcissi friends! I always find that working from a mirror gives you a 'staring quality', so a close up photo is a good reference to help with self portraiture when combined with mirrors” -- Moondoggy
“I really like to look at the self-portraits the great artists have done. I think, to paint oneself, is one of the harder things to do, especially if the painter is honest. I also think it should turn out to be the best piece one does, even if others do not agree with you. You know yourself best, after all. I suspect the hard part is in being honest, not dolling yourself up, nor dulling yourself down. If you can do it for yourself, you can do it for others.
I've done one self-portrait and everyone says it isn't me. I'm neither that old or that ugly... they could be right but I was down at the time feeling both old and ugly and it sure came out.” -- Tema
“If you cannot capture the essence of your own self, how are you to capture the essence of someone else?” -- Bridgetbrow
”You're always available to pose for yourself, and it's one way of keeping busy if you're not doing anything else. It's also a way of charting your progress in a way, to see how far you’ve come, if you have at all, from the last time you did one.” -- Taffetta
”I believe that in doing so you show the world how you perceive yourself. Some of the masters have actually been quite shocked at their finished work and have shocked the art world as well.” -- Annasteph
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