Today, I didn’t paint on paper.
I became the paper.
I imagined myself creating a watercolor portrait but instead of using a sketchbook, I used my own face and hands as the canvas.
I started with white face paint, covering my face and neck the same way I’d prep a blank sheet of paper. In watercolor, we don’t always fill everything in. Sometimes, we let the white breathe.
Then using a brush, I softly outlined my face shape and eyebrows, just like drawing the first lines of a portrait. I then used my fingers to smudge and spread some colors around the areas I outlined because watercolor never stays where you first place it. It moves and flows so I let it do the same on my skin.
For my cheeks, I added more water to the paint and let it drip naturally, mimicking the way watercolor travels when the paper is soaked.
Just like in watercolor portraits, not every area needs color.
Some parts should stay white.
To bring focus, I darkened my eyes, using deeper shades for eyeshadow and black to draw the lashes. In painting, darker tones guide the viewer’s attention and here, I wanted the eyes to feel alive, like a portrait looking back at you.
I repeated the same process on my neck and hand, turning them into extensions of the artwork.
For the final touch, I painted my lips with vertical strokes, carefully following their natural lines. I didn’t blend them anymore because I wanted them to look like a watercolor splatter.
Sometimes art doesn’t need a canvas.
Sometimes, you are the canvas.
Photos are all mine. The first photo is edited using CollageArt