Oil on Masonite

         -My painting instructor, Frank Hobbs, gave us the prompt of a self-portrait that shows us interacting with our studio area. I thought for a while and tried to visualize and sketch out some ideas but all seemed flat and cliche. After a few minutes of spacing out investigating a wall it hit me, being interested in photography I will photograph myself as if the point of view were from that off the canvas, not from an observer. To me, this felt as the most pure interaction between artist and their medium. This is the result and it captures my expression of engulfment in my work, even though it looks like a cold stare, I can tell you that is my captivated and focused look. Mixed signals, I know.