This is one of three paintings I’ve done for an upcoming show at the Charlevoix Circle of Art. The theme is “paintings inspired by book titles”. I’ve always been a Tom Robbins fan and one of his novels had this title. That’s a self-portrait I did, looking into a mirror. The cowboy hat and John Lennon-style sunglasses were from Amazon.
In case you missed my earlier posts, here’s a shot of my setup. That first day I wore sunglasses, but later wiped them out. I realized it was better to try to get my face accurately drawn in first — and THEN add sunglasses.
I was aiming for a quiet, introspective-type look, rather than dramatic tears. And that hat! I found it impossible to draw it in accurately because I’d never return to the exact, same position. Oh, what to do? Then one morning I woke up with the answer: use one of my Buddha statues as a model:
I put my hair into braids (oy! whatta job!) and discovered that braids are just a bitch to draw! Then I decided I wanted to add my hand. In the painting it looks like it’s my left hand. But it was actually my right hand — I was looking into the mirror. Sounds simple, but it was pretty tricky. I’d look at my hand, then grab my brush (I’m right-handed) and try to draw what I remembered seeing. Back & forth like that. It took hours. So yes, everything was HARD! But fun.….
