Creating a self-portrait of having fun "riding a wave" is a very enlightening and engaging experience for students of all ages, but the author's second-graders had an especially wonderful time with this art experience. To begin the unit of study, the author and her students looked at self-portraits created by Vincent van Gogh, Rembrandt, Rauschenberg, Chagall, Roy Lichtenstein and Picasso. They noticed that each artist had done more than one self-portrait, but had his own style. They observed that in some self-portraits, one could tell more about the artist than just physical characteristics. In some self-portraits, the artist has painted or drawn himself riding a horse or attending a picnic. By analyzing the self-portrait, the viewer can discern the hobbies and interests of the artist or some of the artist's experiences. This unit of study seemed to rejuvenate the students and excite them to create wonderfully executed self-portraits that told a story. The students looked at the self-portrait in a new light.