There is a long tradition of artists creating self portraits. It’s not because we’re all screaming narcissists, although I suppose some of us are. It’s because we can’t always find subjects to paint or draw or photograph.
It was for this reason that my grandpa became a landscape painter. Jens Rasmussen was a naturally gregarious fellow who would talk to anyone. When he was younger, he’d periodically find someone to sit for him so he could sketch. If he’d had his druthers, he would probably have been a portrait painter, but most people didn’t have the patience to sit for him, so he turned his attention to landscapes.
When it comes to art, I, too, love to create portraits, but it’s difficult to find people willing to stand still long enough for a photo, let alone a drawing. (My son’s fiance had to wait until he was sick and asleep in order to sneakily capture him in pencil … and my son is also an artist, so he surely understands the need for models. Such is the aversion to sitting for an artist. Even artists won’t do it.)
Thus, I decided to use myself as a subject for a series of portraits using the macro feature of our digital camera, playing, as well, with the sepia feature. While this was great fun and there are some surprising shots and angles, quite a few of these portraits are unflattering. Eh, so be it.