Painting Self Portraits

I recently attended a workshop at the Ford Theatre in Los Angeles in memory to Frida Kahlo, one of my favorite and admired painters. Know for her detailed and vibrant self portraits, part of the evening was going to be spent exploring self portraits. What I thought was going to be a film and dance event, became an amazing experience in painting our self portrait. The out door theatre was turned into an art studio with the stage being lined with brown paper, acrylic paints and mirrors. Two professional painters were there to guide us. But other then some technique tips here and there, we were on our own. I began with an outline of my face and then attempted to to fill in the oval. It is challenging doing a self portrait with one size brush, but luckily we could paint over and over our brown paper until we got the image that we liked. I could feel my inner critic speak loudly as I tried over and over to get the image I wanted and feeling little control over the paint and my brush. As soon as I was able to let go of any expectations and just let the brush have fun, my self criticism silenced some what. My friends who came with me had a great time and the portraits that came out of the experience were fantastic. It was a beautiful experience and I learned to allow my self portrait to be more of a reflection of how I am rather than a perfect image of my features.

THE FEAR OF A R T

Staring at a blank page can be intimidating to say the least. Where to begin? What color to choose? What if I make a mistake? What will others think? What if it's not good enough? These concerns are all the voice of our internal critic playing havoc on our psyche. These messages might be the result of some childhood experience with art or any other experience, where we were told something to the effect of, that's not how you draw a (fill in the blank.) The internal critic is the creature who resides inside of us telling us that we are not good enough or perfect enough.

I remember a creative writing course I took years ago, where we were asked to write about why we were taking the course. I begin my piece by saying that I was taking the course because....As students began to read what they had written, I became numb and wanted to leave the room asap. When the instructor asked what I had written a chill encased my body and I said something to the effect of, "it is not very good and..." The instructor responded, we are all at different places with our writing and you must respect where you are in this creative journey. Hey, I like that I thought. Respect where I am in the process. That makes sense. Whether you are writing, painting, engaging in another creative or self-expressive process, respect where you are in the process. Beginnings can be challenging, but what are the consequences of not beginning? Where would we be if we did not crawl, sit up or walk? The same is true for the creative process. When I began writing poetry, I was told to begin with,"this is a poem about..." I could always go back later and change the first line. The same is true for art, though we can't always change the images, we can add to them, we can add color or shapes to them and we can allow ourselves to be present with the process instead of thinking about the product.

Tip 1: begin with collage - it is less intimidating than drawing. Though you can begin drawing experimenting with color, shape and images.
Tip 2: Focus on process
Tip 3: Remember to have fun
Tip 4: Tap into your beginnner's mind
Tip 5: Leave perfection at the door
Tip 6: Invite imperfection in
Tip 7: Let your heart speak

Next time you come across a blank page, ask it what it wants from you, where it would like you to begin and allow your heart to speak.

COLLAGING

The ArT of Collage

I'm a big supporter of the art-making process of collage. The Oxford Pocket Dictionary defines "collage" as work of art in which various materials are arranged and glued to a backing. I would like to add, that found objects such as shells, , fabrics, photographs, tree bark, string, yarn and different textured papers can be included in a collage. You can mix mediums and use them to draw or paint onto the collage, for instance including paint, colored pencils and markers. I use collage with clients because it takes the pressure of having to draw or paint away from the art-making process. What else I enjoy about working with collage is that whatever issue a person is working on or trying to understand in their life, collage offers a nonintimidating method to explore thoughts and feelings. Magazine cut-outs provide a variety of images that can be used to represent thoughts and feelings. For instance, lets say an individual wanted a deeper understanding of his or her relationship with their sister. I might suggest that they choose images that reflect what he or she likes about their sister and images that represent what they do not like. I usually recommend that they choose between 8 and 10 images so that they are not using the entire session to go through the many picture cut-outs. Once the pictures are glued down, I will ask clients to talk about the process and share any thoughts or feelings they have about the images they chose. Together we explore the art.

Try it for yourself:
Exercise: Introduce yourself with images. Instead of introducing yourself with words, you will do it with images.

Begin collecting magazine picture cut-outs such as people, animals, places, buildings, plants, sayings, words, things, etc. Keep them in a box.

You'll need: glue, scissors, large plain paper or cardboard.

This can be a work in process. Start by choosing images that you feel define who you are, where you are in your life and other aspects of yourself you would like to share.
Glue images to the paper/board in away you wish. Overlapping if you choose.
Continue until you feel your collage is complete. Reflect on the process and if you wish, you may write a short story or poem about the collage/process.

Title your collage.