Artist as Subject

In my last post “Self As Web Icon” we discussed the notion that the "buyer is buying You the Artist, not just the Art" and how I played with this concept to design my first website in 2002. Most of us would rather create the art then sell it. For those of us who are Introverts, the idea of putting our physical self in front of what we create is completely mortifying. We wonder, why can’t it just be about the work? But what if we were what we painted? What if the Artist is the Subject? Art school advice: Paint what you know! What do you know more than your own face? The popularity of Frida Kahlo and Vincent Van Gogh’s self portraits would suggest that the sale ability of self portraiture could be a viable option. Right? I mean sure, if your beyond awesome, or really lucky! However, be real with yourself. Is the Subject, you the Artist, interesting? Are you a character? Do you have an interesting life story? What is the message you want your portrait to convey? These were the hard questions I was pondering in the early days of the Internet almost a decade before Instagram was established in 2010. I concluded that yes I would be the subject but not in a typical portrait. See for yourself. These are some paintings I created while working toward creating “Art with Meaning and Intent”. My objective was to establish Face as Brand recognition (before it was a thing-so innovative!) using the Artist as Subject and focusing on the more confrontational concept of “The Female Gaze”: