Self-Portrait 1982

This is Sam Francis's self-portrait. It's a small etching, just a few inches tall, made with black ink on white paper. I can imagine him hunched over the plate, scratching into the metal. There’s such an immediacy to the gesture, like he’s trying to capture a fleeting thought. The image emerges from a constellation of marks, a bold and graphic, almost brutal, likeness. It's kind of fascinating to see how he represents himself with such minimal form. The large, dark strokes suggest features, but dissolve into abstraction. It reminds me of the way Cy Twombly used to make marks. It's raw and full of energy. The spattering of ink around the face is so evocative. It's almost as if he's capturing not just the face, but the whole atmosphere of a person. Artists are always looking at other artists and learning from each other. What a great conversation this is! Painting is, after all, about expressing yourself and finding meaning in the process. And that is so amazing.