They say—and I am willing to believe it—that it is difficult to know yourself—but it isn’t easy to paint yourself either.
Vincent van Gogh in a letter to his brother Théo, September 1889
Whenever I hear the words, “Self-Portrait”, Van Gogh in the blue suit always comes to mind.
About five months ago, before the world turned upside down with a virus, the members of the Whatcom Art Guild were given their quarterly artist challenge. Render a portrait of yourself in any medium and prepare to bring to our next meeting.
Well, of course no meeting in March was allowed so the board got together online and we contemplated what to do. Would people want to participate during this worldwide pandemic? Would it provide a distraction or would it be a burden? We decided to give it a try, promoting the self-portrait as a way to stay connected with our members during a time of profound separation.
We received one of the early entries all the way from the other side of the world! A self-portrait from a member living in Spain. I received this message from her today, as we get to the end of the challenge:
I am so delighted to see how lovely the Facebook WAG site is!
Thank you for your taking the time to make it such a super, fun place! And thank you for posting my work!
I have been living here in Spain for about 2 years now and I have been looking for community for my art and for the past year I’ve been wondering how I would find this.
Well— look no more! I am just so grateful to be in the WAG, and I have plans to return home when we are able to without the worry of being in the world of pandemic. But in the meantime, we’re able to connect with the internet and our art and it’s the best of both worlds!
So, it’s been very nice to have you reach out to me, and I will give you a holler when the spirit moves!
This self-portrait art challenge has been so very interesting. So many deep, meaningful, inspirational and fun submissions. Some did a literal reflection, looking in a mirror and putting pen/paint/brush to paper. Some did a spiritual reflection while others were more abstract in presenting the depth of inner selves.
We are so used to focusing on what we see in others or worrying about how we are perceived that we often don’t take time or refuse to take time to self-reflect.
This was the perfect project for the times we are in. Where people may be more self-reflective as their daily life came to a halt and they were forced to look at their lives, their activities, and their families in a whole new way. A blessing in disguise for many. A devastating time for others.
Time spent in reflection, pondering, prayer, and meditation is never time wasted. The forces of life-changing opportunity are at work.
My own self-portrait is a reflection of my life, the people who have impacted my life the most, and the abundant blessings I’ve been given. Consider a self-portrait for your own life, spirit, personality, or reflection.
From my entry: Each blossom represents a part of my life. Passion flower eyes for my trip to Israel. Hibiscus butterfly heart for my mom. Red roses and blue hydrangea for my grandmas big rosebush and blue hydrangea bush. Daisies for my childhood playing “he loves me he loves me not”. Pansies for the first flower I ever loved as a child. Pink peonies for my daughter. Camellia blossoms for historical beauty. Burgundy and pink hydrangeas for my wedding. A blue feather for my brother who is an eagle. Hellebores and cosmos and a mix of flowers for my “flower ladies” who bless my life in doing crafty things with flowers! An orchid for the love of a husband who cheers me on in all I do Dogwood for the cross of Christ that strengthens me, blesses me, encourages me, and saves me. Little purple flowers for my son whose eyes captured my heart nearly 30 years ago and who is my very heart. Petunias for my mother-in-law who cultivates flowers and love. Lavender for the power of nature. And the whole collage for my Refind Creations business and blessings!! There could be oh so many more but this was a good start!
