This I painted in 2012 after a break-up. It represents where my head was at during that time. It’s a combination of anxiety and confusion and hope and excitement. I did this mostly for therapeutic reasons, which is really why I paint in the first place. There’s a face in the disordered paint, hence the self-portrait title. The title is taken from a song my friend Sam Elison wrote a very long time ago.
Self-portrait, Oct. 2012: The effect of heartbreak on the olfactory glands, 2012, 23 x 36 inches, acrylic, spray paint, and water on canvas
Before the intentional obfuscation