'I See You, Do You See Me?'
Self-Portrait
Self-Portrait
12x9
oil on canvas
I must confess that I have been allowing Toulouse-Lautrec to influence my paintings lately... especially some self-portraits I have been exploring... but of course Van Gogh is still in the picture too (pun intended). Creating a self-portrait is a fun adventurous experience because one never really knows where your brush will take you. By choosing to utilize Vincent and Henri's influence I am able to play with reality... exaggerating color and perspective.
My portrait journey will include other people and each portrait will be an exploration...
In 1886 Van Gogh became a fellow student with Toulouse-Lautrec in Paris at the Cormon atelier, and they participated in a group show at the Cafe du Tambourin. This Cafe may be the setting for a portrait Toulouse-Lautrec painted of Van Gogh (pastel on board, 1887) in profile sitting at a table, perhaps caught unaware, deep in discussion. Discovering that they studied together and perhaps (as some have written) they influenced each other's work makes their art all the more meaningful to my art practice.
Frank Milner's beautiful book, 'Toulouse-Lautrec,' has been entertaining me over the noon hour lately... and I was starting to feel a tad guilty.
Maybe today we can all have lunch together!