Portrait Artist of the Week....
Added 2020-06-05 14:56:39 +0000 UTCSo I did it! I used the #mypaotw hashtag and entered my portrait of Noel Fielding into the Portrait Artist of the Week contest.
I'm definitely not a portrait artist, and I knew that going in. I've done a few portrait sketches, some ink portrait commissions, and some caricatures, but never anything approaching a fully painted portrait. And let me tell you, it's a completely different beast.
I wouldn't say I particularly succeeded, nor did I fail, but more important than the final image is that I forced myself to do something new.
I'm a very competitive person, but I also easily get lost in the fantasy of "winning", to the point where I stop myself from entering if I can't win. That's a very destructive mindset, and I'm working on it.
Entering a competition like this is a huge step for me. The competition is fierce, and there are so many REAL portrait artists out there. So loosing is inevitable. But this has made me open my eyes to how insanely difficult portraiture is, and sparked my will to take it more seriously in the future. So that's a win in itself.
