Caroline Wampole: Self-Portrait

This is the first, and only, large format self-portrait I have ever done (30″ x 40″, acrylic on canvas). I painted it during three weeks in my Paris apartment in March, 2004. I mostly painted in the afternoons, when the light had moved over to the west and was less direct (we were south-facing). It is entirely from life, which meant that yes, I wore the same outfit every day for 21 days (I think I burned that sweater and those pants after I was finished). The paintings in the background are other portraits I had done in Paris the year before.

Several people have seen this, and said, “Oh, I didn’t know you were left-handed!” But of course, it is a mirror image. Other comments have been that I look “angry” or “upset” in this portrait. I submit that I was not angry, only concentrating. Many people don’t realize how much intense concentration it takes to do a portrait, especially one of yourself. It is a strange process, not completely pleasant, unnerving in many ways, because the more you paint, the more you see yourself as a stranger, someone outside of yourself.

I was inspired by the self-portraits I had seen in museums in Paris, and also at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Among my many inspirations were Alice Neel (at 80), Otto Dix, David Hockney, and Norman Rockwell.

• Artwork by: Caroline Wampole
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