A drawing done in pastel. 18” x 24”, ships rolled gently and in a clear plastic sleeve backed with plastic.

ORIGINAL, part of the “Enchanted Portal” series which explores introspection during the 2020 COVID-19 time of isolation.  I was thinking of the desire to record the self, the selfie as an art form and starring in and creating one's own private world. They will all have the presence of a mirror, and a phone in the drawing, with the mirror acting as a portal.

This piece is inspired by one of the first recorded "selfies" taken in history, by Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia in 1913. Her original selfie was taken by her at age 13. It was taken by using a Kodak Brownie box camera at the Alexander Palace. I thought it would be interesting to record this unique and historical selfie by Anastasia, a legendary figure in Russian history, who also took very interesting pictures. Anastasia spent a lot of her young life indoors, both in captivity and also carefully guarded in that Palace, and so recorded her thoughts and her being by writing and creating sketches, and taking pictures of herself. In her efforts within captivity, which is mimicked in our own quarantine situation, we see the universal desire to be seen and to record our existence.