Laughing Self

Laughing Self   36x36 oil on canvas

I painted this self portrait in January 2012. This canvas

sat in my studio for a couple of months as I kept adding

palette scrapings intending to paint my portrait surrounded

 by all the paint. I thought I would paint my frustration

  with the many things in life that just don't make any sense

 and the insanity that is so much a part of our human existence.

 I looked in the mirror for the expression to convey those feelings.

 Laughter is what came to me. All the bird shapes just seemed to

appear as the painting evolved. I had a great time working on this

piece. I'm so thankful for the Arts, Love and all the 

stunning Beauty on this planet and beyond.

If you don't laugh, you'll cry.

Detail

 

I liked this photo with the sepia tones. It's interesting
to see all that color as values and to see how it sits behind
the figure. The form really shows against the flat shapes.