Triple Self Portrait: With Apologies to Norman Rockwell

When I was a kid, Norman Rockwell was my favourite artist. I would eagerly search through each month's Saturday Evening Post for his work, and I'd feel let down when he wasn't on the cover. His art spoke to me like no other. I believe my love for visual storytelling stems from the early inspiration I found in the work of this Master Illustrator.

Now in my 60s, I often reminisce about my childhood. In 1960, at the age of 5, I saw Norman's Triple Portrait for the first time. I would study it for hours, and throughout the years, I kept returning to it for inspiration and further examination.
When I turned twelve, encouraged by my biggest fan, my mom, I wrote a letter to the man himself, accompanied by a couple of drawings. To my amazement, he actually wrote back to me. Looking back now, I realize it's incredible because he must have received countless such letters from young artists every year. Yet, he took the time to respond and even praised my keen eye, which he called the most important thing. He emphasized the value of learning to draw, something I had already embarked on by enrolling in the Famous Artists correspondence course, for which Norman was the spokesperson.

So, with all these memories flooding back, I decided to pay tribute to my idol by creating my own Triple Portrait. I stayed true to the original, but I replaced Norman with myself. I must admit, I rather like it! In fact, I liked it so much that I used it as the homepage image for this site.