March 31, 2021
I thought it would be funny to paint the most egotistical self-portrait I could think of. At first I wanted to paint myself as Napoleon, but I didn't have the costume to take a reference photo in. So I made myself a saint instead.
To paint this picture, I used a comparator mirror, which you can learn more about in the excellent documentary Tim's Vermeer. There are two pictures of the process below.
Basically, you set up a photograph and a mirror in such a way that you can constantly check your painting against the reflection of the photo. It's like tracing, but in color.
Click images for higher resolution