“Hello Kitty Bandaid”
Gender exploratory self-portrait created off of personal reference.
ink and watercolor; May 2023.
This was the first time I wanted to model something for reference beyond idle posing. I knew I wanted to do something with Hello Kitty Band-aids covering my face, but wasn't sure I'd be able to get the strips sitting on the face correctly without reference. So, I did an impromptu photoshoot in a bathroom, which also let me explore poses and compositions before sketching anything.
Another reference poses I considered, but ultimately decided against.
The reason the bandaids were on the subjects face in the first place was to cover wounds and injuries; the bright cutesy art contrasted with the violence they cover. However, I didn't know how to do faux-injury makeup, so I tried mocking it up in photoshop with this reference image. It looks sloppy, but it would be fine as reference for the painting.
Fast forward a couple years. I had taken the reference pictures for this piece in 2021 and didn't feel like trying to paint it until 2023. I wanted to try doing the sketch in watercolor pencil to try a new process, which I think helped to give some elements of this piece a dream-like lack of solidity.
Here's the final, pre-scan. I changed the color of the hair to match better with my hair at the time of painting. I also added more bandages to make the body and hand of the subject feel more in-line with the overall piece.
The final, post scan.