When it happens, it’ll be in oil. Painting with oils takes over your life. There is no way to do it cleanly or inobtrusively. The smell of the paint, the medium (I use Liquin) and the thinner permeates your body and follows you to work, home and bed. I invariably end up with permanent smudges on my nose and in my hair.
I love it.
Don’t know WHY I love it. For me, painting has never been relaxing. Ever. The product of my painting is a series of failures and compromises.
I still love it, though.
As far as painting a self-portrait, in a very vain way, I want everything I mentioned above to be about ME. Now, this isn’t becuase I feel I deserve the attention or that I have any illusions about my own importance. To paint a self-portrait you have to LOOK at yourself. Really look. I want introspection to take over my life for a while and take a good, hard, honest LOOK at myself.
