''You don't post selfies.''

My preference for the aesthetic of black and white photography, as opposed to full color photos, is partly because of how stylish they appear, because I like for my paintings to be the focal point concerning what I post and because black and white photos are often not photos that people online feel inclined to take or use without consent.

I am told that I don't post many ''selfies''. This has been said by a few people. Recently I was again told this. It's laughable but I guess even something as silly as a statement like that can be thought-provoking. ''You don't post selfies'' ...and from what I've seen, when you do ''finally'' post a candid photo of yourself, it's referred to as ''a rare selfie''. It all sounds very ...I don't know, self-absorbed? It almost brings to mind Sir David Attenborough narrating the exquisite movements of some​ enigmatic creature, hidden behind the shadows of a remote jungle, rarely emerging from its lair within a high budget nature documentary. Lol. The phrase implies that an ''appearance'' is expected — that you are somehow meant to show off or be loud in being seen online and when you're not, you are somehow ''hiding'', even if you are not hiding. Is it curiosity? Or maybe people have become so accustomed to others posting intimate photos of every moment of every day, that it is now accepted as a social norm. ''You don't post selfies.'' Well, yes... that may technically be so but as an artist what good would that really do? Maybe I am dealing with a lot and don't necessarily feel compelled to take a bunch of ''selfies''- one after the next. Maybe I'm not the most confident cherry in the bush. Maybe on some level I'm aware of how superficial people can be and don't want my art or myself as an artist to be relegated to cosmetic preferences, projections and vapid fixations, based on how I appear to whomever. I am passionate about art. Painting is therapeutic​ and writing is an extension of that. So maybe those things are more important to me than trying to look ''appealing'' or appear however someone appears when they post a myriad of self-photos and personal previews across multiple platforms. If I post a photo, I'd prefer that it relate to my art somehow and be genuine. As an artist, this is important to me. So, with all of that being said, here is a photo taken earlier of me in the morning, while in the middle of doing some ​r​eading, drinking tea and drawing an outline for a new painting.