I realized last night that it has been more than a year that I’ve been doing my “Self-portrait Saturdays” challenge. I remember being so nervous about my first one, back in January of 2011. I hadn’t yet done anything like it on IG, where I tended to share reflections, still-lifes and landscapes. But then, by chance, I saw that one of the artists I follow was going to participate in another users challenge of “self-portraits”. So, I gave it a shot. Here’s that original photo:

I look about as foolish as I felt, taking my own photo. It turned out to be a real turning point for me, though, because it allowed me to open up as an artist and be more self-expressive, self-aware, and challenge myself each week.

I’ve done at least one selfie a week since then, although I forgot to do one on Saturday, Christmas Eve. (I made up for it a few days later, though.)

Now, it’s practically all I share on IG. I love making the self-portraits, as I’ve said in other posts, because I’m my best model. I’m not afraid to add layer upon layer of color, texture, or other images. To me, bringing out features like the lips, eyes or contrasts is super fun, and I can’t imagine ever stopping now!