Big Hair, Big Glasses
I often get asked how I come up with new ideas. How do I keep my creativity fresh and new inspiration flowing? The first thing I do is to observe and to make as many connections as I can. How does one thing or one person or one color or one sentence or one laugh or one shape relate to another. Once I start noticing small connections, my creativity starts flowing. I do a lot of experimenting with these connections, trying to decide what fits nicely together or what doesn’t. Sometimes, I want statements or compositions to be jarring. Sometimes, I want a smoother or more polished painting and message. I recognize that these are very abstract and, perhaps, theoretical ways of honing a process that is fleeting at the best of times. So, my more concrete answer is to do regular self portraits.
Self portraits have consistently helped my creative process and technique. I do about one a year and I’m fairly convinced that it’s the key to keeping my eye sharp and my hand flowing. Even if I haven’t changed that much year after year (pregnancy not withstanding!), my interpretation of how I look drastically changes. My hair is always curly and big, I always have a pronounced vein under my left eye, and my chin is always pointy. These things don’t change but the way I represent myself does. From realism to saturated colors and blocky shapes, I am always using self portraits to experiment with different ideas. A self portrait doesn’t always have to be of your face. Sometimes, I will use other objects or body parts in my pursuit of new ideas. Sometimes. I’ll crop my head out of the composition completely! Self portraiture really is a great way for me to keep creativity fresh and inspiration flowing! Here is a sampling of some of my self portraits over the years…
