Toby Hazel

Self-Portraits

Oscar Reaches Out

July 2009, 61x51cm
Acrylic on canvas

Self Portrait in Door Reflection

January 2006, 41x51cm
Acrylic on canvas

This is a painting of the reflection of my face in a door. The gloss paint on the door provided the high shine needed for the reflection, but the texture from many coats of paint on the door over the years meant the image was striped and almost pixelated.

I liked the way my face loomed out of the darkness (in fact, the painting works quite well in a poorly lit room) and the fact that I could recognise my features despite the lack of detail.

I found this intriguing since most portraits tend to be quite precise and detailed, yet the images we have of people in our minds are never so clear. This is equally true (if not, more so) of our own self-image. Whilst we are more familiar with ourselves than anyone else, we still find it hard to define ourselves in any clear way.

Self Portrait Contemplating the Future

July 2006, 51x41cm
Acrylic on canvas

As I was sitting at home, feeling forlorn about many things (myself, and my career as an artist, as well as the apparent inevitability of world events and my powerlessness to change what I see for the future of mankind), I noticed my reflection in the plastic wrapping on a blank canvas.

It seemed somehow to capture my mood at the time. I myself was grey and vague, almost indistinguishable from my surroundings, the only colour in the image, the glass in the window behind me, was distorted by the stretched cellophane. I had previously been wondering what to paint on the canvas, and now here it was, already painted on the canvas for me.

Last update: 07-12-09

Copyright © 2003-2009 Toby Hazel