How it started:

I had been painting self portraits here and there over the years, sketches of myself from my reflection in my phone screen in a sketchbook and then a few paintings on paper and small panels in 2020 &2021. towards the end of 2021 I tried out a couple mirror studies and they felt really interesting. I had painted them a few months apart but had learned a lot each time.

In 2022 I challenged myself to paint a mirror study every month for a year. with each one I wanted to approach it differently. Test out new colors, move the mirror around, use different materials, different levels of abstraction, changing the lighting, things like that. With each passing month it got less and less difficult to remember and felt less like a super difficult challenge and just became something I was going to do that month. By the time I painted the 12th one, “completing my challenge”, I had learned and was learning so much that I just couldn’t imagine stopping while it felt like I was still in the foothills of the mountain of knowledge I could attain if I stuck with it. so I just kept going, one mirror study at a time. I am now entering my 5th year of monthly studies and the journey continues.

In May of 2025, I learned about Anders Zorn, I saw a demonstration of using a limited palette to create so many colors with very few to start with. It made my brain light up, and I had to try it. The last 7 self studies I've utilized 6 different limited palettes and all I can say is that it’s completely changed the way I navigate my paints and see color. It makes me so glad I didn’t stop after the first 12 self studies and move on. Studying with limited pallets and seeing really just how far I can push my paints is showing me how much I already have.