Mixed Medium Mug Shot

Found a Portraiture Mag published by Art News in 1992. Art News is no longer, but back then, it was my favorite source of what was going on in the art world.

This particular special edition is ragged from the hours spent pouring over it. And I poured over it once again yesterday afternoon. Once again it inspired me to get up off the couch and do something, anything.

I had enough of my daughter in-law for the time being and didn't want to get too serious with the paints before my granddaughter's seventeenth birthday party in a couple of hours and hours drive away, so I chose to do a quick self portrait using a combination of permanent markers and acrylics on bristol board--the stuff that was handy. Mug Shot resulted. It's obvious to see why I call it Mug Shot. When you're scrutinizing your punum in the mirror while your hand is drawing what you see, you don't even think of doing anything else more lively than staring at yourself analyzing how the parts of your face fit together.

As usual,I over did trying one color after another to see if it was more appropriate or I thought they would just be interesting. And they mounted up. Then I had to quiet them down. So I reached for the acrylics--titanium buff, cadmium yellow light, titanium white. Then the markers again. And then the pastels.

I love freely associating with color with no particular plan in mind. I find joy in making a mess and then trying to clean it up and get back to something respectable. I wish I could get past my love of playing around and get really serious. But I was going to celebrate a birthday for a great love in my life. It wasn't a time to be serious; it was time to party. I gave her the charcoal I did of her. And she was more tickled over the drawing than the poster of John Mayer, (who has a lovely left arm covered with very beautiful tattoos). I was tickled by her hug; it was the best.