This week Warren shares a sketch of himself and his wife Kitty.

Artist, Model, Studio

By Warren Cullar

This drawing is from time immemorial. Every artist at one time paints his model and studio. Picasso is probably the most famous. This is me painting, and my gorgeous model is my wife, Kitty, with her flowing hair and curvaceous body. I’ve employed a very abstract, Picassoesque, approach. Whimsy is added to this drawing with hearts on the wallpaper, flowers on the shirt, and the ever-present cat, “Pickup,” which appears in many of my drawings.

There are three paintings from which to enjoy. This is a three for one, so the eye never tires of enjoying the many facets of this sketch.

Jacob’s History Note:

Curiously, self-portraiture was not common in Europe before the renaissance. Most portraits were of clients rather than the artist himself. Even when self-portraiture started gaining popularity, the artist was often a single character in a larger scene, rather than the subject of the painting.

Self portrait has a longer history in the East, where “scholar portraits” depicting the artist painting or writing contemplatively at a desk, were a traditional genre.

Next week it’s back to travel sketches. Warren will be sharing a sketch drawn near the island of Ibiza, Spain.