Today, I added my self portrait to the imaginary brother I have been experimenting with for the past few days, based on inspiration from Willem de Kooning (Imaginary Brother – New Ideas, So Simple, and Yet…, Imaginary Hug, with Feeling. Tri-Cyclopean Portrait).
I think I was spoiled by using oil paints on my last portrait. Compared with watercolors, the oils were bold; they added a third dimension to the painting and they were opaque. I could paint white, and it would stay white unlike watercolor white, which would be absorbed by the colors beneath it.
I returned to watercolors today. For boldness, I added charcoal outlines to the portraits.
Imaginary Brother with Self Portrait
12″x9″ 140# Cold Pressed Watercolor Block
As in Tri-Cyclopean Portrait, I took the left half of Mike’s face from a family snapshot of my older brother. The right side of his face came from my imagination. I tried to get a proud, older brother look as I made him gaze in my direction. (Mike is autistic, low functioning and nonverbal. He lives in a geriatric group home now.) I’ve always wanted him to pay attention to me. He does now, in this picture. I hope he would be proud of my efforts to reach him.
are you the one split in two?
That’s Mike. Half, as how he really is and half as I want him to be.
I knew I had it wrong, ok I’m going to reexamine it. But interesting to think you might also have dichotomous feelings towards him.
Dichotomous at the very least. But the part of him I made to look at me is probably me, since it is a fantasy.
btw, beholders are seldom wrong, bringing their own truth to any piece of artwork.