2 more

I can’t believe that I’m just two portraits away from being finished. This is probably the first time in my career that I’ve been building everything up to such a definitive moment of completion. In the past it always seemed like it was a mental decision to stop working on a project; either I was bored or I felt like I had exhausted the content as far as I could. It was always a decision to stop working, rather than having a really specific, concrete goal.  In this case, it was sheer quantity and scale that I challenged myself to.  I find it refreshing to know so clearly that the project is finished.

I’m anxious enough to finish that I worked on and finished a redo of No. 22 today while many parts of it were still wet. No. 22 was a relatively quick piece, there is so much shadow on the face, and very few wrinkles in the skin that I really didn’t have to do all that much to it compared to other pieces.  No. 48 on the other hand was full of wrinkles all over, especially in the mouth which I found to be one of the more expressive parts of that piece.

(above) Self-Portrait No. 22