Discovering digital drawing, late bloomer I know, has been an interesting journey so far. Still restricted to the good old Samsung Galaxy 6, I am trying to find my own style in the digital realm. Wacom tablets still seem to be the thing in the world of digital drawing, so definitely will be checking it out soon.

I prefer merging photo and drawing, it adds that extra layer or texture to it. Below you can see my most recent experiment with a self portrait, exploring my Arab roots imagining myself growing up in the Middle East.

Warming up, before starting on the self portrait. Inspired by the Wadi Rum Desert in Jordan:

I was listening to this music whilst making the drawing:

Googling “Arabic self portraits” is kinda interesting, Especially the first drawing looks so much like the men in my family..

Other self portraits where I have combined photo and digital drawing:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJ5OobZjKYs/?taken-by=isabellaelhasan

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIcZ0PBDu5G/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BG0ZMqsLP3M/?taken-by=isabellaelhasan

https://www.instagram.com/p/BE0H0HDrP-_/?taken-by=isabellaelhasan

I want to go more in depth discovering the role of the selfie and why it is different from a self portrait, or is it? But for now I’m sharing these 3 interesting links that I’m reading:

https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/discover/exhibitions/dutch-self-portraits-selfies-of-the-golden-age/

http://www.dw.com/en/the-ego-as-a-work-of-art-from-self-portraits-to-selfies/a-18843991

http://www.alisetifentale.net/research-blog-at/2016/3/9/why-every-self-portrait-is-not-a-selfie-but-every-selfie-is-a-photograph

I’ll be back next week with a new post, don’t be shy to leave feedback or questions. 🙂

Wishing you a great week!

Salam, Much Love

Isabella