Self portraits coinciding with the smart phone selfie

During the chaotic year of 2020 and moving into 2021 I have certainly increased my screen time. Its a love/hate relationship. I find it perfectly convenient to have around me, when i’m painting away, then to flick through and distract myself whether that’s on social media, or yoga on YouTube. Here I have painted some of my lockdown moods, from putting on makeup for my own therapeutic desire and using my phone as a mirror, because i’ve felt too lazy to find one or taking selfies at random times throughout the day.

I find there are positive ways we can express ourselves with our devices. Take a selfie for instance. I am constantly being told that we take selfies as a way to seek approval or gratification, but maybe instead its for our own experimental hypothesis and form of expression, whilst feeling good in the moment? During our own indivudual experiences of lockdown it has been such a vital time to reconnect with our selves and enjoy these moments of solitude. For me my phone camera is a brilliant tool for taking snaps of myself or others when I want to paint a figure and have some personal reference to draw from. From digital to analogue, then back to digital.