Where are you in the picture?

This is a painting by me of Claire

A number of years ago I was lucky enough to go to The Slade for a few weeks for an Advance Drawing class.  The Slade is an art school in London, England, part of University College.  This was such a  thrill as it is a place where many famous artists learned their craft and to me is a holy place.

Anyway...when at The Slade the teachers would continually ask the artist "where are you in the picture".  I wasn't sure if this was a philosophic question or a literal one but for ever since it is something I think about.

Sometimes we see the artist's shadow, their reflection or their foot in an art work and this would be a literal interpretation of being in the picture.  Drawing the environment directly around the artist as well as the scene they are looking at also lets the viewer know where the artist is. 

 An artist being true to himself also places him in the picture.  Drawing with  my wiggly lines the stuff that I enjoy looking at makes me part of the work.   That's probably as philosophic as I get. 

Oil by me