About Self Portrait

All my work essentially began with this simple act: looking in the mirror and drawing a self portrait. This was the most truthful, honest and fundamental form of picture making and it came naturally without any particular thought.

It was many things to me. Mostly this was my own form of self awareness. I was confused about my real identity as my mind and feelings were changing constantly – I felt I had no point of reference. Whenever I was experiencing something strongly, I would study my face in the mirror and record it as a true reflection of what I was on the inside. I carried a sketchbook diary with me at all times and did this over a thousand times during my first 10 years of development as an artist.

I became aware of several phenomena: Firstly, I observed that my face changes continuously, bringing out different aspects of my personality and secondly, the hand never lies- it expresses exactly what is going on inside. Drawing even the simplest of faces projects on paper the inner landscape. I began to see the forms of the face as the most fundamental and abstract elements conveying in an almost scientific manner the total psyche. Thirdly, I noticed a lateralization of emotions and experiences on each side of the face. Certain thoughts and emotions activated(or stimulated) one side of the face or the other(see right/left side link).

The self portrait paintings in oil were attempts to record the more elemental and “objective” face of the period. They involved a longer process; combining many different impressions and feelings into a single image.