Self Portrait Playing Card

For my self portrait, I wanted to first think about things that most represent me and I thought of my family, as I view their perspectives as my own. I started to think back to memories I share with my family and one of the most vivd is the memory of us all playing cards together. I singled in on the single playing card to play with on my portrait as it is the item we use most. My family views me to be sharp, commanding, and confident because of how I present myself on the outside, but I view myself to be anxious, comedic, and lost due to self worth. This is where the personas and color schemes originated from. The king represents my families views of me, while the joker depicts how I view myself internally. This is then also where the saying on the back of the card comes from, "Decorated Nice, worth Nothin'", as no matter how nicely detailed a playing card is (my families views), they will always be close to worthless in value (due to my views). The connection between the king and joker is knotted to show the disconnect between perspective and the needle represents the blood connection between me and my family.

I used two 9 in x 12 in thin canvas' and connected them together from the back to make the canvas reversible, yet thin like a playing card. Thinking about design I was inspired by Menko playing cards and vintage jumbo playing cards. I used bright contrasting colors for each depiction of myself. I chose red for family views as it is sharp and bold, while I chose blue for the other side because it is calm, relaxed. I used acrylic plaint and acrylic paint markers, along with white gel pens for a cleaner finish. I wanted the card to look distressed and used multiple times, like it has a memory of it own. To do this paper peeling effect I used glue and white paint. I let the glue semi-dry and then I peeled it with my fingers. For the smudges I simply went in with my finger because I felt is was the most natural way to do it. I also included some scrapes with a pen. To finish the piece off I wanted it to be able to shine like a playing card does in the light, and for this I used clear gloss spray to get a good shine.