SWAT- Selfie

Hello! Happy June!

This month we begin with a Selfie challenge at SWAT! Creative Embellishments has a great prize for one of our participants, a $20 gift card! Link up to us with your selfie project and have some fun!

Henri Mattise



Vincent Van Gough

I decided to take a completely different spin on the selfie trend and go retro. Self-Portraits are the original selfies. Some of my favorite artists are Henri Matisse, Vincent Van Gough, and Frida Kahlo. Their portraits are self-critical, emphasising the flaws perceived in themselves, which is an interesting contrast to today's selfies, which focus on looking perfect.


Frida Kahlo

Generally, I feel pretty imperfect, and I thought that a selfie is a great way to reflect on my life for the moment. I tried to include elements of things around me.

For mine, I used mixed media to create a selfie. I used Uniball pen to make the face, and acrylic paint for the colored background. To get the background, I did a couple of Gelli Plate prints, and then rinsed them off in the sink. The detail work is a mix of Uniball and Sensai pens. As I was finalizing this project, my youngest insisted on helping. First instinct is to tell her no, of course. However, I asked her what she wanted to do, and she said "draw".  She reminded me she also said please. I gave her a pen and she decorated the space around my head with hearts, and then connected the hearts with lines. Her details were a perfect fit, and I am proud to have a collaborative work created with my daughter.


Budgie working on the hearts
 

 My selfie ended up an image of how I see myself, and how she sees me, which is with a lot of love. I'm pretty lucky.

Share with us at SWAT! Have some fun, and reflect on yourself for a bit.


~Venetia