Self-portrait

[Alexandra Tyng]

When I'm not able to get to open studio, I try to persuade family members to pose for me with varying luck. This (14" x 18") was done in a little under three hours when the only available model was myself. I'm posting a closeup because I can only fit part of it in the scanner, but the scanner reproduces the color a lot better than my camera.

[Mari DeRuntz]

Brava!

Love that color is doing the work to describe and turn the form in the eye-socket, under the cheekbone, and the line of the chin.

And I love that you've posted this in open studio - this is, after all, a model who will not only always show up but will never conflict with our delicate balance of mood by playing bad music, or talking too much, or talking too little.

[Carlos Ygoa]

We can come from wherever we come from and have the most diverse of backgrounds but we all have the same expression when we look in the mirror and try to paint our own mugs...love the way this painting looks...as if you drew with the brush...no apparent overworking anywhere in sight...seems like the one of those days when the brush just flows, no?

Carlos

[Marina Dieul]

Oh! Alex,
what beautiful colors ! ( sorry I don't have the time to write longer but I like it a lot!)

[Alexandra Tyng]

Mari--thanks! It's true that we make reliable models for ourselves. I have to admit, though, that after painting a self-portrait the boredom factor sets in and I'm ready for the challenge of a new face. Maybe that's a good thing--it prevents narcissism and gets me motivated to start asking people to pose.

Carlos--Ahh, yes, that expression. My husband calls it the "Tyng look." Believe it or not, of the two self-portraits I have done, this one had by far the better expression. I'm NOT showing the other one to anyone, believe me!

[Alexandra Tyng]

Thanks, Marina! Sorry I didn't see your post when I was typing away here. I'm glad you like the colors. That was an interesting exercise because the value on the light side of my face was all very, very similar. It was the kind of thing that would look completely one color in a photo. So I really concentrated on reading all the color changes correctly. A very informative exercise as well as a lot of fun. I was "in the zone," as Linda Brandon says.

[Terri Ficenec]

Beautifully done Alex! So serious. . . Judging by your avatar, the likeness is dead on. I especially love all the color you've captured in your hair!

[Sharon Knettell]

Alex,

Great job!

Wonderful fluid painting. I don't know what the Tyng look means to your husband, but this portrait really communicates a presence behind the paint.

[Edgar Coleman]

Alexandra,

I like the way you kept this painting simple and elegant. It is both beautiful and haunting.

Edgar

[Julie Deane]

Hi Alexandra -

Very nice work - I am especially studying how you change the planes of the face with color.