For our first assignment in Digital Photography 1, we are required to take a self-portrait every day for the rest of the semester. This is a challenging assignment for me, because I have never paid much thought to this sort of exploration. In an attempt to gain better insight (and inspiration), I've begun doing some research on self-portraits taken by some famous and not-so-famous photographers that I admire..

Diane Arbus

Francesca Woodman

Joel Peter Witkin


Ralph Eugene Meatyard

Chuck Close


Sally Mann






Henri Cartier Bresson

Edward Steichen

Eugene Atget

Mark Sink

And, here are a couple self-portraits that I've taken.

other people's beauty

A strange train of thought and realization!

My last post about Alice in Wonderland has made me realize that part of my appreciation for art as an adult is derived from my love of children's book illustrations as a child.

While searching for Arthur Rackham drawings (he did a wonderful version of Alice), I found many great examples of his work that I loved. Some reminded me a little bit of Mucha, while many reminded me of the free line style used in Klimt and Schiele's drawings and paintings. These artists have made some of my favorite pieces (aside from Mucha, he's a bit too focused on femininity for me).

As a child, my favorite illustrated book was 'Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark'. The stories were not so scary, even for a 6 year old, but the drawings were terrifying!

In my preteen years, my taste in art began to change dramatically. I fell in love with Charles Renee Mackintosh's water color paintings, and more specifically, his design. It was quite a departure from Stephen Gammell's illustrations; as Mackintosh was not fond of chaos. His work was meticulously planned and organized. He designed Glasgow's School of the Arts (which I will be visiting in less than a week!!)

A logical connection; Egon Schiele. His work is an amazing middle ground, as he displays a controlled chaos:

and Klimt, who shares a similar freedom:

And, contemporary artists Jonsi and Alex from Riceboy Sleeps:

Lastly, a strange coincidence:

(photo by Keith Carter)