Different selves

[Susan Hosken]

Dear friends,
Like all of us I have different selves. I have the part of me that loves traveling and adventures and the part of me that likes to stay home. Part of me is creative while part of me likes to sit and be quiet and still. Part of me likes exercise while part of me doesn't want to do it.
At times I am in conflict with my different aspects. How do you reconcile the different parts of yourself? WHich part of you wins out? Who loses? Why?
lots of love from susan in australia

[Ang Monsoon]

i'm a charity shop addict (are they called thrift shops in the states/some states?) anyhows i found myself a black teeshirt with lots of little silver dragons on it, "great" I thought "cos my chinese sign is a dragon". I realise now of course that I'll be setting myself up to be called a "bit of dragon" (polite phrasing). Anyway, I'm not bothered, I'll wear what I darned well want n whilst people are talking about me they're giving someone else a rest! (As my mum used to say). Yeah, there's no avoiding it: "happy ma day to angie too"!!

[Jules]

I did this life size charcoal self portrait a few years ago...I think this is my example of what you are talking about.

I called it duality
It reminds me of all the duality in my nature-(the many people you speak of) happy/ sad - strong/breakable - independent/dependent- easy/ stubborn- loud/quiet- outgoing/shy...I could go on and on.

As someone else mentioned, I jusy allow them to exist- and try not to let one or the other run the show too long without giving the others a chance to be recognized.

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

Wow, Jules!
Kind of reminds me of Gary Saderup's work, on the viewer's right ...
he does rock stars and stuff, and the edges sort of disappear into the background in places ...
very KEWL :)

[Susan Hosken]

Jules, I love the drawing talented you.
lots of love from susan in australia

[DJ]

Oh, Jules, this is wonderful.
I love the contrast, both in values and in mood...
The eye/face on the left appears to look downcast, and speaks volumes...
Love it! Love it!
Whee.

[Jules]

Thanks Barb, Susan and Dj! Barb, I will have to look Gary Saderup...I do not recall that name.
I did this for art class (only time I ever do self portraits) and the instructions were it had to be large and an unusal perspective. I had two mirrors and moved them here there and every where and could not find an angle that interested me- in exasperation I leaned one mirror over the other on the wall and sat down with a heavy sigh- glanced up and this was actually how my image appeared- splitI
(the bar in the middle is the frame edge of the top mirror).
I said out loud 'ah-ho- there you go!! Sweet!' LOL that is what I say when I find a morel too!
Anyway I just knew that was the view that said waht needed to be said in this self portrait! So even though technically its not a good idea to split the canvas in the center, I knew if I drew what I was seeing it would work with the tone of the picture and the theme that instantly developed

[Boneita Edlund]

Too bad that this topic has been passed by for over a month now. I must resurrect it. The self-portrait that Jules did is very moving to me. I have been fascinated by every self-portrait I have ever seen. It 's like peeking inside someone's psyche. I've always been too timid (uptight?) to do my own. However, I had to take a self-photo for a college class several years ago (long before digital cameras were invented). What did I focus my viewfinder on for this assignment? My two feet - but that was because I was standing on a sheet of crackled ice that made a unique backdrop for the photo. And it was shot in B&W for added panache. I wish I knew where the negative was for that memorable moment - it deserves a place on my wall to remind me of how far I have come out of my temerity and how far I have yet to go.

[DJ]

Believe me, Boeita...We wish you knew where that negative was too! :-)
We'd love to see the photo.
I'm a sucker for black & white photography. It seems to clarify the forms to an almost graphic quality...
Your pic sounds really neat. Let us know if you find it!