My ‘’let’s play’ self-portraits came into being as responses to various work situations and they
were created over a three week period of drawing every night after work.
The three sketches I have submitted for this show probably best show my sense of play. In brief, each evening I sat at my art table, arranged the coloured pastels in front of me, closed my eyes and drew blindly – feeling my away across the pages of my sketch book. As I drew without looking at the work, I tried to remember the shape of my face, eyes, mouth and hair. When I opened my eyes to see what had
emerged on the page, I was frequently filled with a sense of fun and I often laughed at my efforts.
Portrait 1: A dog in my mind
Portrait 2: The Welsh Mountains (I had prepared the background before working with my self-
portrait)
Portrait 3: A seeking mind
During those three weeks I revisited each portrait on a daily basis to remind myself to continue
to play but, also because I felt they were rather insightful! I hope you can ponder on them too and
maybe even try this fun way of drawing for your own playful needs and also to gain some personal
insights!
Jen Bromham – Painter currently interested in Portraiture