Self-Portrait Project, 2009 - 2011
50 oil paintings on canvas
each approx. 10 x 8 inches, canvas dimensions vary.
During my first year in graduate school, I discovered a website for the Yayuan Art Company, that was advertised andkas an oil painting manufacturer located in Shenzhen Dafen Oil Painting Village in Guangdong, China. With a specialization in custom oil paintings, they offered many artworks for sale including reproductions of European masterworks, picturesque landscapes, modern and decorative paintings, and even the possibility of creating a custom oil painting reproduction of any photo you could send them.
Via correspondence, I learned that there were 50 staff painters employed by the company. Between 2009 - 2011, I had purchased over a hundred works from the the company that culminated in several projects including the image above, which is a self-portrait painting that was ostensibly created by each painter. The next two images show the paintings in detail.
Every Artist's Favorite Color, 2010
50 oil paintings on canvas
In addition to the collection of self-portrait paintings, each artist mixed and painted a 4 x 4 inch canvas with their favorite color, shown together above. Below is a single detail image of one of the favorite color paintings to the left of a painting that was created by one artist in response to the prompt to paint the room you are in right now.
Every Artists' Favorite Color, 2009 (detail)
oil on canvas
50 paintings in total. 4 x 4 inches each.
Artist's Studio, 2009
oil on canvas
18 x 24 inches
This painting was created by the Yayuan Art Company in response to my request to paint the room you are in right now.