{"product_id":"sitting-with-myself-portrait-of-the-artist","title":"Sitting with Myself - Portrait of the Artist","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOil on linen, 53 × 43cm\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eProfessionally framed in a white oak floating box frame\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb id=\"docs-internal-guid-b9e89ea8-7fff-702e-3c65-467385f832fe\"\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eDuring a period away from the studio, I had to face a hard question: who am I, if not an artist? If not painting?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRendered in black and white, this portrait was painted feverishly over the course of a month, in long sessions that followed the loss of a close friend.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen I'm not creating, life starts to lose its shape. But you can't force a creative season when you're meant to be still. There's something to learn in the stillness, something about coming to terms with who you are outside of what you make.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen I painted this portrait, I was exhausted. There was no light, just a relentless search for meaning. Painting it was cathartic, and it let me see myself more fully. Rick Rubin has described the way gazing at the ocean can offer a truer reflection than a mirror ever could, and painting this portrait became my own version of that same gaze, a way of seeing myself more honestly than any reflection allows.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"There's a reason we are drawn to gazing at the ocean. It is said the ocean provides a closer reflection of who we are than any mirror.\" - \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRick Rubin, The Creative Act\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI am in white, a thread that ties back into the existential undercurrent of the piece. Around my neck, a gold necklace catches the light and sways, echoing the glittering, restless motion of life itself. A shell necklace sits alongside it, a reference to my reflection in the ocean, a place where I have always felt grounded and a place of true self.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMonths spent looking at myself in an ever-evolving portrait, and I wanted only one thing from this painting: honesty.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"We tend to think of the artist’s work as the output. The real work of the artist \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eis a way of being in the world.\"\u003c\/em\u003e - \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRick Rubin, The Creative Act\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Carly Renée Studio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51033000411172,"sku":null,"price":4800.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0761\/4690\/1028\/files\/IMG_45912.heic?v=1783393914","url":"https:\/\/carlyrenee.co\/products\/sitting-with-myself-portrait-of-the-artist","provider":"Carly Renée Studio","version":"1.0","type":"link"}