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Tim McCormack – Seven Kinds of Self-Portrait (Online)

In this illustrated talk, artist and instructor Tim McCormack explores seven different kinds of self-portrait.
Date recorded: Friday, April 10, 2026
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Artists have painted and drawn themselves for centuries, but self-portraits are rarely simple records of appearance. Instead they often become acts of inquiry, storytelling, or artistic declaration. In this illustrated talk, artist and instructor Tim McCormack explores seven different kinds of self-portrait, from psychological investigations to bold artistic manifestos, narrative studio scenes, and late self-portraits that confront the passage of time. Along the way we will encounter artists who used self-portraiture to question identity, shape their artistic reputation, or experiment with expressive drawing and painting, including artists such as Édouard Vuillard, and Edgar Degas. The talk reveals how self-portraiture has often served as a laboratory for portrait drawing, allowing artists to experiment freely with expression, character, exaggeration, and the passage of time. This session also introduces Tim’s upcoming course on narrative portrait painting and drawing, inspired by French artists from Daumier to Degas which explores portraiture as a creative process that balances observation with interpretation, and likeness with expressive intent.

If you enjoy this presentation or make work inspired by it, please leave a comment below.

About the Instructor:

Tim McCormack is an accomplished artist with thirty years of teaching experience to college students and adult learners. He was the Lead Instructor in the Figure Drawing Stream in the highly respected Bachelor of Animation Program at Sheridan College for ten years. He has taught portrait and landscape painting, as well as drawing for absolute beginners and background painting for animation. Tim creates landscape, portraiture and figurative art and is inspired by many drawing materials that he finds in and outside art supply stores. A graduate of OCAD, he has had several solo shows of watercolours, oils and pastels. His work is found in private collections.

5 Responses

  2. Hi Carmela, So glad you liked the talk! So many great self-portraitists. And, for time, I left out one of my favorite categories: humourous and whimsical self-portraitists.

    I also left out Suzanne Valladon and her work as well as Marie Laurencin will inform the portrait character class. Fun tip with Caram d’ache crayons – they draw great when you sharpen them with an x-acto, even if it makes them go faster.

  3. Hi Tim, Thanks for such an enlightening and fascinating overview of self-portraiture. Your slide selections are excellent examples of the 7 types that you discussed. The artists from the link above that appealed to me are Alice Neal and Helena Schjerfbeck. Both evoked a powerful sense of presence. Sorry that I won’t be able to join you in May. However, your sketch has encouraged me to use Caran d’Ache water-soluble crayons again.

  4. Here’s the full slide deck from the talk.
    I also added some remarkable self-portraits by artists like Mary Beale, Helene Schjerfbeck, Tove Jansson (creator of the Moomins), and Paula Rego — including a “self-portrait” that isn’t literally a self-portrait at all.

    One of the things I love about this topic is how many unexpected artists approach the self-portrait in deeply personal and inventive ways.

    If something resonates, follow that thread — look up an artist you didn’t know, or try a self-portrait of your own. Also, check out my upcoming class with Winslow:

    https://timmcco.neocities.org/portrait_offerings_final_v2%20(1)

    I’m curious—was there one artist that stood out to you?

    The slide deck:

    https://winter-nautilus-8d8.notion.site/Seven-Kinds-of-Self-Portrait-340c04bf67bb80058324e52c462cb4ac?source=copy_link

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