John Holland has represented himself as a working, middle-aged artist, who from the evidence of his clothes, is making a reasonable living. A self portrait however is rarely, if ever, a neutral or objective image. Regardless of how ordinary Holland may have appeared to make himself, the painting is a very strong portrait. He has shown himself standing with a very frank open pose and expression. It is a dynamic portrait showing the artist in the midst of his work, holding the tools of his trade: a palette knife, brushes and a palette full of oils. One can speculate as to whether he would normally have painted in a three-piece suit or whether he would have worn an artist’s smock to have protected his clothes whilst he was working.