I had the pleasure semi-recently of seeing a fantastic show in Paris of Tintoretto at the Musée du Luxembourg.

His mannerist style emphasized emotion over perfect harmonious proportions which had been the de rigueur template for (early) Renaissance painters. Some of his self portraits are among my favorite paintings. He showed himself, warts and all so to speak.

In this social media-Instagram  age, everyone goes for presenting an idealized version of themselves in self portrait. Or a faux-playful imperfection such as the pretty girl with her tongue sticking out.

My mantra has always been that truth is beauty and that truth is always in service to emotion. Emotion being  my personal raison d’etre for all my work.

When I do a self portrait, i do not look to send a message via symbols or program but stick to my raw reportage. It is me, as I am which is real, which is interesting.

“Black Eye” 5.5 x 8.5 Watercolor & Paper