“In his view, painting and drawing are exactly the same difficulty and take roughly as long as each other.”
(William Feaver, art critic and one of Auerbach’s regular sitters)
Asked whether he has learned something new about his face, [Auerbach] said he has never thought in verbal, emotional or psychological terms about his subjects as that “undermines what one is doing.”
I’m simply trying to use the subject to make an image of my impression of it.”
(Frank Auerbach)
Auerbach’s commentary on his practice strikes me as state-of-the-art language concerning what picture making can be about.
(Dalya Alberge, “Frank Auerbach: how artist drew himself for Covid ‘plague years’ drawings,” theguardian.com, 9-18-22)
(c) 2022 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved
EthicalDative 
Brilliant. There’s a lot that one discovers about one’s self in a self-portrait. Much more than in a mirror…
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A propósito del tema de conocerse que mencionas acertadamente, acabo de leer esto en el blog de Javier Sánchez “Las palabras de Javier”: “No te asustes si, un día cualquiera, te miras al espejo, y no reconoces al reo que esta encerrado allí. Tanto tiempo. Y lo ves sonriendo. Tocando el vidrio y diciendo: Eh! Nos toca.” Un saludo, Francisco.
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Un saludo y feliz finde.
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Yes I agree – a perceptive comment about picture-making.
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Thank you, Sue. I relish a certain down-to-earth flavor from artists’ talk about their work, if they say anything at all. The work should speak for itself in most cases, shouldn’t it! But I do enjoy the comments that you append to the pictures you post. They are always aptly descriptive, well phrased and unobtrusive.
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Thank you, Jim. It’s so pleasant having these long-distance conversations with you! I do try to think quite a lot about what I do with my paintings and hope it has some effect on them. Regards. Sue
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Your kind comment has lain appreciated and unacknowledged too long, Sue. A good dialog is a rare find and a bonus pleasure of the blogging. Our exchanges in comments and the thoughtful context you provide for your art are invigorating for me. Greetings from here! — Jim
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As always, I have no idea what you are talking about. (Smiley Face)
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