Imitation Self
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Four self-portraits, more or less in the manner of four Old and New Masters I admire and envy for all the ways in which they are unlike me: Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Picasso, Bacon — all burning with single-minded dedication to their work while I flicker and flit.
Painted digitally in 2006 on my Wacom graphic tablet as part of a series posted on my blog, Blaugustine.
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Born in Paris, raised in South America, USA and Europe, Natalie d’Arbeloff lives in London and has dual nationality, British-American. Her father was Russian, her mother French. Her alter ego is the cartoon character Augustine and her blog is Blaugustine where she sometimes interviews God, among other celebrities. See her website for more about her work as a painter, printmaker, book-artist and cartoonist.
qarrtsiluni 
Thank you for including my imitations, Siona and Dave. It’s a thrill to be in qarrtsiluni again, and in such stimulating company.
Natalie,
I enjoyed these very much, and I like the whole concept of this issue!
I love these. I think I saw them on Blaugustine some time back, but they’re still just wonderful!
These are perfect in this issue, and delightful pieces that I’m happy to revisit.
It’s amazing… each photo has deepest meaning. They remain me as Van Gogh painting. And the best is you did it with your wacom tablet.. Cool..
I couldn’t stop looking at these! I especially love the addition of your fuchsia t-shirt in the van Gogh imitation!
These are splendid, Natalie — both as echoes of the masterworks and as echoes of you!
These are brilliant and SO cool – great to see them here!
I love this. Have you seen Alberto Muñoz Molina’s recent piece on the dogged perseverance of the artist? http://antoniomuñozmolina.es/2012/01/trabajar-siempre/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=trabajar-siempre
Thank you very much to all, I appreciate these comments immensely. And thanks for the terrific quote from Muñoz Molina which I would like to be tattooed on my heart and brain!
Superb! I love the joy and wit in these. Well done, Natalie!
Marvelously thought-provoking work in terms of imitation but especially in terms of perspective–the artist’s perspective, the viewer’s perspective, and one’s sense of who one is as an individual. Also very funny, some of them. Cindy Sherman even comes to mind…Nice!
Ah, brilliant!
Wonderful!