Celebratory Self-portrait by Allison R. Mitola

Craft curator Allison Mitola

This project focuses on celebrating your physical body and appearance by making a self-portrait. By focusing on happiness and our favorite aspects of ourselves while painting, we can feel even more love for our bodies. 

You will need:

A canvas

A pencil

A photo of yourself

4 colors of acrylic paint

A thin paintbrush

A wider paintbrush

Step 1:

Begin by painting the background of your canvas a solid color. I wanted a bright, happy color, so I chose this light blue. You can use a pre bought canvas, canvas paper, or even a more accessible material like cardboard. While it dries, select a photo of yourself that you would like to reference - the kind of photo (pose, clothing worn, etc.) chosen should be based on your own comfort. Try to pick a photo that exemplifies the happiest and most confident version of yourself. 

Step 2:

After your background dries, begin drawing your outline on your canvas using your pencil. This can be done by tracing, by measuring or creating a grid, or by freehanding; whatever feels most comfortable to you. I chose to freehand my drawing, beginning my marking where my joints were then adding more shapes. This initial drawing doesn’t need to be too detailed, just make sure to get all of yourself depicted and include any outlines of clothing. 

Step 3:

Start painting within the lines. I wanted to remain within a bright color scheme, so I used a light pink rather than a flesh tone for my skin. For my clothes, I picked a solid black. 

Step 4:

After your first layer of paint dries, it will likely be translucent and you will need another coat. When waiting for my skin and clothing to dry, I began working on some decorations. I chose to use the same color as my clothing for my decorations. 

Step 5:

Once the clothing and skin have as many dry layers as you would like, you can add some shadows to the body. Looking at my reference photo again, I went in with a darker pink to add in shadows around my body and face. I used this same color to add further decorations. I used a swirling motif around my body and in the negative space, but make your accents your own. 

Step 6:

Add the final touches to your painting! I finished up my background using my two colors of paint, plus added some dots for my eyes.