Try this LAYERED SELF PORTRAIT art workshop

Hey Frogs & Toads, it’s time for your weekly check-up! Oh…. Ummm, that’s lot of pus. 

But first - feel like making some art? Today, I’ve got a powerful prescription to administer to you. It’s a DIY art workshop that you can do yourself at home; I call it THE LAYERED SELF PORTRAIT. 

The goal is to create a self-portrait that shows who you really are, inside and out. Remember, there’s no such thing as a right or wrong way to do this - the goal is to just have a good time and make something weird. 

Here’s the general idea; we’re going to create four different self portraits (one for your skeleton, or your foundation, another for your insides, like your guts and organs and all that gooey stuff, then another for your physical body, like your skin and hair and body parts, and finally, one for your aura - the glow emanating out of you), except here’s the catch - you’ll be doing them all on top of one another, on the same surface! 

There’s no set materials for this - use whatever you have, or whatever speaks to you. That can include, but is not limited to: paints, pens, markers, crayons, pencils, ink, etc. There’s no wrong way to do this, so go with whatever makes you happy. 

To start, draw your bones. This can even just be a rough outline of your skeleton, it certainly doesn’t have to be medically accurate. You can even use surreal elements, like what if your skeleton was made of vines? 

Once you have your foundation, it’s time to add your innards. What’s important to you? Is it your heart, your liver, your muscles, your guts, your brain? You can try adding some handwritten thoughts or notes to yourself; overlay text snippers, song lyrics, or positive affirmations. 

Now it’s time to add some flesh. This is where things get personal. Play around with shading, color, and movement—what makes you you? Maybe try self distortion? Exaggerate features based on emotions—elongated fingers, melting skin, oversized eyes for perception, etc. Or you can incorporate collage elements, like cut outs from magazines, newspapers, or old anatomy books. 

The final step - add your aura. There are no instructions for this part - just feel it. You can go as big, as small, as loud, or as subtle as you’d like. Whatever shape or color calls to you, let it take over. You can include abstract shapes or colors. Feeling calm? Add some blue. Feeling energetic? Scribble wildly! 

Once your Layered Self Portrait is complete, soak it in. Look it over and ask yourself the following questions: 

How was the experience of making it? How’d it feel?

What stands out to you? What surprised you most?

Is the artwork telling you anything? How do the layers work together?

Which layer felt the most natural to express? Which was the most challenging? 

Did any emotions surface during the process that you didn’t expect? 

If someone else were to look at your self-portrait, what do you think they’d learn about you? 

If you’d like, my good buddy Brad and I tried this art experiment for ourselves and made a video out of it. You gotta see how our Layered Self Portraits turned out lol… Just throw on the video below and join us! 

Oh, also, if you haven’t gotten it already, my FREE workbook “Make Art, Feel Good” is available now and is full of awesome exercises just like this one. Grab it here: 

If you enjoyed this, or it resonated with you at all, please don’t hesitate to share it with a friend. I’m attempting to grow a fun lil’ art community here, so I greatly appreciate all efforts to grow the tribe.

Anywho I just found out my favorite deity, Thoth, is pronounced “T-Hoth” so I’m a little rattled. I think I’ll go sit down, I have a lot to think about.

Until next time - make art, have fun, feel good. Bye!