I Thought it was Funny, so I Painted It...

Painting 1: Self-Portrait after Albrecht Durer

I don't really like doing self-portraits. But occasionally I think of a funny one to try, and give it an attempt. I find it viscerally important to try not to take myself seriously. "Don't be serious - be sincere" is a personal goal. A few years ago (the painting says 2023) I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror and saw Albrecht Durer's self-portrait looking back at me. I thought it would be fun to do my twist on it, with my hand holding my phone taking a selfie instead of whatever AD is doing with his hand in the original. It was meant to be a quick joke painting, but I ran into trouble pretty quickly. Which just made me want to get it to work. It was a whole process, where I ended up re-starting the painting at least twice. I probably got too serious about it. But the end result turned out pretty well, and I really like it! It makes me laugh. Sincerely.

-ZR