The Process of a Merged Self-Portrait

Reflection

While in the initial process of imagining my merged self-portrait, I found internal self-limiting beliefs. I took last semester off, so I quickly realized how rusty I am with Adobe Apps and creating a coherent mood in my art. I originally wanted to have a very ethereal, dreamy vibe to my piece while having a deeper color scheme. I know myself too well to know that my first sketch will never be what my final is to look like, and I shifted my sketches a lot throughout my process. I tried much different makeup and hair looks before I was satisfied. I also did some major deep-diving into Pinterest for adequate images for a vision board; I went with a more psychedelic collage mood with much trial and error. It was important to me how I incorporated chakra colors, my shadow self, and humanity. My final piece was totally different than what I had originally imagined, and I am grateful that I was patient during my peculiar creative process.
I enjoyed researching the different archetypes and conceiving an art piece that communicated a connection between The Everyman and The Sage. The idea of human connectedness and the philosopher were two of my driving motives for choosing such a combo of figures. A favorite quote of mine that influenced my portrait comes from a philosophy Eckhart Tolle illuminates in his novel The Power of Now,

“Through you, consciousness is awakening out of its dream of identification with form and withdrawing from form. This foreshadows, but is already part of, an event that is probably still in the distant future as far as chronological time is concerned. The event is called – the end of the world.”

 

A Divine Discovery