As an artist, I want to express the ideal of a person’s self-image and how outside social issues influence the way a person develops his or her self-image. The self-image is a mental visual description of what a person thinks of their self. This is separate from a person’s actual physical appearance. The self-image changes and reshapes itself with the influences of outside sources such as family, friends, media and society. People who are strong willed can hold on to the image of their personality, whereas those who bend under social pressures resort to changing only their outer appearance. My endeavor as an artist is to give a visual account of the self-image under the pressures of these outside influences. I use photography and paint to indicate how the self-image becomes layered and faceted by the build-up of these changing influences. Both processes allow me to express the uniqueness of a person’s self-image that undergoes constant change.