MIRROR, MIRROR on the table,
who is the self-portrait artist that is the most able?
What? You're kidding! Not me?
This is a preliminary sketch I made while using a mirror during my first session of the "Self-Portrait in Oils" class at the Curtis Center. The medium was charcoal vine and charcoal pencil on 9x12 inch newsprint paper.
In the last two hours of class I made several other sketches too, the above however remains the most accomplished of the group, and yet it's still far from ideal (I purposely left off the trimmed beard which I have worn since my twenties). The face is too broad and the nose too long, but the eyes are fairly accurate, especially the eyebrows, sagging upper orbitals, and lower bags. Yes, I'm old.
During the second session we turned to oil paint, but with my natural obstinance I chose acrylics instead. The surface I painted on was a 9x12 inch off-white colored linen board.
Utilizing the mirror method, I quickly lost control of whatever accuracy I was hoping to achieve. The face became too broad again, the nose too long and the lips too thick. Even the skin tones were wrong. So instead of trying to paint over and fix what I had started, I decided to just go with the flow and continue to create an entirely different face than my own. Except for some resemblance in the eye area, it's definitely not me, but nevertheless I sort of like the way it turned out.
At home, on the days leading up to session four, I put the mirror away and used instead a recent photograph of myself for reference. The result was a self-portrait on 9x12 inch white linen board that is 95 percent spot on. Yay! The 5 percent that is not are the eyes, which by opening them up and eliminating the sagging upper orbitals, removed 15 years of age from my face. A bit of artistic licensing on my part as it were (the eye on the right side seems nearly perfect to me but the left side eye is slightly off somehow--maybe I'll try and fix it later). I also minimized the use of the acrylic pen, which softened things up even more, adding further to my now more youthful appearance (disregarding of course the white hair and white beard).
During this session I also produced some experimental thumbnail sketches with the mirror, and also attempted a new portrait using just facial planes, none of which became presentable although I did gain some insight into values, warm and cool colors, and of course planes.
SO HERE'S a couple of things I discovered after the first four sessions:
Mirrors aren't my thang! (even if I'm guilty of saying much too often that the problem is in the mirror). And, while artists are illustrators, and illustrators are artists, I consider myself as an illustrator only, so utilizing photographs and pictures as reference materials are much more to my speed and liking.
I need stiffer brushes! So I asked our instructor, Elizabeth Rouland, what brand or type of stiff brush she might recommend for my particular style. Her choice: the Dakota 6300 Series from Princeton. They have synthetic hair bristles with excellent stiffness, snap, and shape retention. Apparently they're great for both figurative work and blending, and the fibers supposedly hold and absorb more paint while standing up to heavy-body acrylics and water-soluble oils. Yep, another trip to the art store is required!
THERE are two more sessions after the Thanksgiving break. Elizabeth would like us to go big on our final portrait, but we are also free to continue to paint in whatever size we like. One classmate is going to go full-on abstract, while another has promised a full body self-portrait on an 18x24 inch canvas. Now that's big!
I'm still mulling over what I will do, but on Black Friday while most folks are succumbing to shopaholicism, I will hopefully have a new plan in motion, one which will have me completing a preliminary sketch at home in preparation to painting it in class.
I'm still mulling over what I will do, but on Black Friday while most folks are succumbing to shopaholicism, I will hopefully have a new plan in motion, one which will have me completing a preliminary sketch at home in preparation to painting it in class.
And no, I'm not feeling any pressure with this final portrait, none whatsoever. Ha!
 |
| Here I am in class sketching on my portable easel. It has a carrying handle and a built-in drawer to hold supplies. |
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!
ADDENDUM (December, 2025):
Below is my final self portrait, completed over the last two sessions. Like the others it is also small, a 9x12 acrylic on linen board, which made rendering details a tricky business. For those who are curious, the brown trout was 21 inches in length.
I promised my fishing partner, John, that when I get enough practice in I will paint his portrait, but I will do it on a larger 12x16 illustration board. Smaller pieces, like the ones done here for this class, are better suited as just studies in preparation for going bigger.
[© November, 2025, Jeffersen]
