I am so disappointed today. Also, in a quandary. I like to stay positive, especially on the eternal Internet, where nothing goes away. A full-on rant could be detrimental to future ambitions, especially if I cross post on LinkedIn, which I don’t think I will do today.

What’s this about?

I used to play Old Time American fiddle music. There was a tune that I liked very much; I liked the lyrics even better.  The tune is called ‘Old and Gray’ and the chorus is as follows:

Remember when you’re young

Old age to you will come

You’ll be old and gray

And only in the way.

Keep in mind that I live in Silicon Valley, where the above sentiments go double.

Usually, when one applies for a job, the job description lists a number of requirements; usually, an 80-to-90 percent match would warrant an interview. If one is young. If not, a 100% match will not get you in the door. How would they know one’s age?  Work history. Hiring people know that if a potential hiree has more than 20 years of experience, he or she is old.

Today’s experiment:

I had the idea of a self portrait yesterday. I was going to use my background studies (Just Background, Complementary) together with a head-shot sketch. I was going to split the background (and thus my head) into a cool section (blues, greens) and a warm section (reds, yellows), representing the two halves of the brain.

Disappointment breeds a different kind of creativity, and thus my portrait plans changed.

Have you ever noticed that the backward-facing camera flip things around? Here is my pencil sketch from a selfie:

Rough Pencil Portrait
12″x9″ 140# Cold Pressed Watercolor Block

I used a 2B pencil for the outlines, a 6B for the darker places and, just for good measure, inked in some of the crucial details.

Sequence:

I laid down a light wash of cadmium red on the left part of the picture plane, and a lemon yellow wash on the right side. After partial drying, I dropped in some blotches of Hooker’s green on both sides. After drying thoroughly, I glazed the left side with quinacridone red, and the right side with Prussian blue. I painted several streaks of English Yellow on the right side which was just wet enough to make it bloom. On the  left side I used cadmium red on a thoroughly dry surface and after it was dry, washed it with lemon yellow.

Self Portrait
12″x9″ 140# Cold Pressed Watercolor Block

I splattered neutral tint and cadmium orange over the pencil portrait after everything was dry. When the spatter was dry, I highlighted my beard and hair (that I have left) with white acrylic gouache.

The fact that the pencil lines disappeared was unexpected and serendipitous. The only details that remained were those that I highlighted in ink. I’m sure that, if I ever was fortunate to get an interview, the interviewer would only see the white highlights.