So often self-portraits are one-dimensional images creating realities similar to selfies posted on Facebook. These showcase an idealized version of one’s life that capture the surface, but not the emotions and the complexities of life. By contrast, a painting like Diego Velazquez’ Las Meninas explores the entirety of King Phillip IV’s life. It shows his pets, the members of the court, his children, and his wife. There is something so truthful about Velazquez’s painting, a quality that I am aiming for in my self-portraits. Like Las Meninas, I create portraits that show a more complete scope of myself than a traditional self-portrait. My works are not about being perfect. The imperfections are part of the paintings. The corrections in the paintings are visible, making the missteps apparent. They are multilayered, messy and complicated.