Masterclass 1

"I am fascinated by self-portraiture because it can be simultaneously the most intimate form of investigation and a very public presentation of oneself. In its most traditional form, the mirror image, it produces a reversed image that no one but the artist sees in the same way, and yet we somehow look at these images as true records.

In its simplicity and lack of affectation, drawing seems to me to be especially linked to this idea of recording and to the kind of intense observation that is at the heart of self-portraiture.

In order for me to produce this sense of record a likeness must be there - my features have to be in the right place - and this usually involves some kind of measuring. With a mirror image, this can be relatively easily done by using the mirror itself as a measuring tool. To make and use measurements directly off a mirror you will need, aside from the mirror itself, a straight edge, a fine tipped black marker pen (optionally a red one), a stick of soft pastel and tracing paper."