Self portrait inwhite shirt
12 1/4 by 12 1/4inches oil on Murillo paper
Location unknown

I did two self-portraitsin a row, this one is the second. I always enjoyed the glow of a crispwhite cotton shirt, it is almost whiter than the white that comes out ofthe tube of paint itself. The challenge has always been to find what colorcan produce the illusion of being even brighter and bolder than pure white.While posed in front of a white tablecloth hung on the wall I discoveredan amazing field of luminosity between foreground and background, almostmelding the two and leaving my skin colors as an almost abstract shapebetween them.

This was a somewhatenjoyable painting experience, almost to the point of being fun. For onceI didn't feel as though I was pursuing the pastime of the damned.