portrait oil painting a girl In the mirror

In the mirror

70 x 90 cm1200 $

This painting was created in 2019. This year is the third year of college. I started to prepare for my graduation work, so I tried paintings with more concepts, depth and formal unity. In these paintings, you Being able to begin to see a more specific me. Such attempts did add weight to the work, but it was only a small step compared to the depth that would later come with the weight of life. Then came the COVID-19 epidemic at the end of the year, and the future that people expected changed its face, either urgently or slowly.

Inches: 27.5 x 35.4 in
Size without the frame: 70 x 90 cm
Country: China
Date: 2019
Materials: Oil paint on linen
Condition: well preserved

Creative themes and style | My works revolve around the creative concept of "The land of humanity, People on the land". The people in the painting are people in nature, and the lines, shapes, and colors are close to nature. The nature in the painting is nature in the eyes of humans, existing in interaction with humans.I don’t pursue a series of works with a fixed and continuous style. I hope that the style of the pictures will synchronize with the changes in my life and always remain oscillating. The performance of the work must be in sync with the development of one's own life in order to be Sincere and powerful. Ideas are later.

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Reference view

wall painting a girl in the mirror wall picture a gril in the mirror

The drawing a girl in the mirror on wall

Artwork Interpretation

In the Mirror constructs a dialogue field between the individual and the surrounding world with a unique visual language. In terms of composition, the figure occupies the main part of the picture, and the abstract forms in the background, like a hazy mirror image, break the conventional spatial logic. It can be compared to Chagall's poetic reconstruction of reality in his works, interweaving real - world elements and illusory artistic conceptions, making the figure seem to shuttle between reality and surrealism, expanding the narrative dimension of the picture.

The use of color is restrained and layered. The low - saturation color tone creates a gloomy atmosphere. The gray tone of the figure's clothing merges with the dark purple and gray - green in the background, similar to how colors in Modigliani's paintings set off emotions. With a soft and restrained color language, it conveys the loneliness and contemplation in the individual's heart, making color a link connecting external vision and internal spirit.

The brushwork technique combines realism and freehand brushwork. The delicate depiction of the figure's face and clothing patterns anchors the foundation of realism, while the spontaneous smearing in the background adds freehand ease. It can be compared to Freud's precise capture of the texture of figures in his paintings. By means of different brushwork rhythms, it distinguishes the subject and the environment, enhancing the wonderful texture of the interweaving of virtual and real in "the mirror", making the picture have both the warmth of reality and the abstract reverie.

In terms of content and theme, it focuses on the metaphor of "in the mirror". The abstract symbols in the background seem to be fragments of the world projected on the individual's spiritual level. The figure stands silently, becoming a medium between the self and the world, coinciding with Bonnard's exploration of the individual's inner world in "intimate painting". However, it abandons the ambiguous daily life and uses more contemporary visual symbols to explore the individual's identity cognition and spiritual dilemma in the complex world, an artistic inquiry into the eternal proposition of "who I am".

In terms of emotional expression, it is implicit and profound. The figure's drooping eyebrows and eyes, and the quiet posture convey lonely self - reflection. The haziness of the background is like the spread of thoughts, as if telling the confusion and exploration of the individual in the face of the complex world. In the context of contemporary painting, it weaves a spiritual map from a personalized perspective, continuing art's deep gaze at the human inner world, like a prism, reflecting the complex emotional spectrum in the game between the self and the world.

Recommended Works with Similar Styles

Salvador Dalí, The Persistence of Memory：Grotesque forms and soft tones metaphor time passage via melting clocks.
René Magritte, Man with a Black Hat：Realistic forms and symbolic metaphors build surreal puzzles with daily elements.
Xu Lei, Virtual Scenery：Meticulous brushwork and symbolic colors interpret contemporary philosophy with traditional symbols.
René Magritte, The Treachery of Images：Calm brushstrokes and paradoxical composition create cognitive conflict via words and images.
Lü Shengzhong, Little Red Figures：Repeated forms and vivid colors carry life metaphors with symbolic images.

FAQs

Q1: What is the central subject of the painting?

A1: A downcast woman wearing an oversized dark hoodie with the blurred word “PAINT” across her chest. Her expression is calm yet carries a subtle sense of sorrow or introspection.

Q2: Why does the background appear like a “curved surge”?

A2: Behind her head, the background arcs outward like a distorted urban skyline, with chimneys, towers, buildings, and scattered blocks that seem to float or dissolve. It does not depict a literal city, but rather a fragmented memory or psychological projection—suggesting the external pressures weighing on her inner world.

**Q3: Why is the painting titled “In the Mirror”?**

A3: The woman’s lowered gaze, her posture, and the blurred cityscape behind her together create the impression of looking into a mirror of the mind.

The reflection here is not just a surface likeness, but a fusion of environment, inner life, pain, and solitude.
“In the Mirror” thus becomes both a literal visual metaphor and a deeper psychological reflection.

Q4: What does the relationship between red and gray convey?

A4: The painting is dominated by cool grays, heavy and oppressive, yet along the skyline faint traces of crimson and orange-red emerge. This color tension evokes the pull between pain and hope: gray as the weight of present reality, red as the lingering ember of emotion—symbolizing passion or resilience not yet extinguished.

Q5: What is the overall emotional tone of the painting?

A5: A sense of loneliness under external pressure, yet with a quiet clarity of self-awareness. The viewer perceives a disconnection between the figure and the fragmented cityscape—she is present, but does not belong, embodying an intimate reflection on alienation.