To Thine Own Self Be True

While I had originally planned a larger, more playful painting with perfume-bottle-shiny colors and a wry smile for my second portrait example, I soon decided that such a work would require a different sitter than myself.  I am by no means a grim character, but I do tend to lean toward a certain measure of aesthetically tasteful asceticism in my lifestyle, admire the soul-searching of the Romantics, translate Latin, and read a great deal of German philosophy (usually whilst listening to Bach, Chopin, Wagner, or Schubert).  My first piece was stately, larger-than-life, and grandiose; my second needed to be modest in scale but straight-forward, plain but piercing, and full of steady, tranquil blues-- a piece about a modern character who nevertheless has a close affinity to the humanities-centered education and general sensibilities of an intellectual from the late 1800's.  Even so, I did not want to end up painting a piece that looked as though it belonged on the cover of a fantasy novel complete with fanciful castles, impossibly large libraries, and a noble falcon on my arm (at least not this time).  The result is this head-and-shoulders study of me in my striped sweater and wool pea coat, with hair a bit tousled, gazing at the viewer in contemplation.