#and figuratively

[virtualizes]

rena's big bug needs to be babysat can u guys watch him

[seospicybin]

Uhmmm guys, I'm not feeling well 😣😣😣

[notsogracefullyput]

Eddie needs to let his hair down, literally.

[herdarkandquietspace]

[gloomfries]

What if i posted my art 👉👈 ....

[thedinosaurprince]

King Charles III diagnosed with cancer, Buckingham Palace says

The King "remains wholly positive about his treatment", says Buckingham Palace.

PREPARE THE CRABS!!

[artocello]

Cello 2023

A portrait of the artist as she appeared in Dec 2023, bundled in a soft chenille sweater, silver-streaked pixie playfully styled into salt and pepper spiked curls, forehead gently furrowed by time, skin spangled by a generous scattering of freckles, age marks, and moles, her hazel gaze nestled in a fine webbing of crow's feet crinkles, a small smile quirking the corners of her lips and narrowing her right eye slightly.

It remains odd to write a summary about yourself in the 3rd person.

I meant to do a self portrait in 2022, and somehow never got around to actually doing it, so it's been about 18 months since I last tortured myself with the gentle artistic agony of perceiving myself this keenly. It's interesting to see just how much finishing two marathons has not changed my face very much, though my cheekbones are a little bit more pronounced, an affirmation of my firm belief that, generally, you cannot tell how fit someone is just by looking at them.

What's really funny is painting yourself and realizing how many tiny scars there are in your skin, and not remembering how you got any of them. Well. There's the one chicken pox scar in my left eyebrow, I remember THAT, but most of the rest are mysteries hidden by the veil of time and my own forgetfulness. I did my best to represent myself honestly in the face (haha) of all those little things that I wish were just a little different than they actually are.

Along the way I (re)learned that painting spiky salt and pepper hair is infinitely more complicated than neatly organized longer black waves. Skin textures are always fun, but capturing the way the backlighting catches along the left edge of my face, my lower eyelid, and the bridge of my nose was especially satisfying. I have also relearned that while I like to knit, I do not like to paint knitted things; that chenille sweater was a slog of epic proportions; not quite as tedious as chainmail, but I'm not keen to paint any more sweaters any time soon.

Photo used for reference was a selfie taken and edited by me.

About 25.5 hrs of painting time. I think I spent 5 hours just on the sweater.