Is Art Separate from the Artist?

It's not a new question by any means, but it's still an interesting one.

My bedroom, no matter where I live, has always served as my art studio. I have boxes of art supplies, large backpacks full of old sketchpads, and, right now, I have a series of wooden panels propped up against my bookcase, and another against the wall.
It's the wooden panels that force me to realize that somewhere along the line I have developed a theme or trademark, and to me, themes and trademarks are a kind of language. Symbols with private, sometimes unconscious meanings which tell a story.

A story of what, though?

If you were to take the sum of all of your art, would it re-create you? And would it be a you that others could recognize, or would it be a private you that perhaps even you are not entirely privy to?

Furthermore, is art honest? Is it possible to lie in art?
I am thinking of a self-portrait by Vincent Van Gogh where he had shaved his head and wore oriental robes. In this portrait, he had drastically altered the slant of his eyes, making them appear more Asian. This was during a time where he was particularly obsessed with oriental art, and one artist in particular whose name alludes me now.
Surely, such a representation of himself was a lie. Every other self-portrait shows very different features than what he presented us with in this particular piece. Yet, that seeming deception told a deeper truth; it showed a man with an impressionable identity, someone who perhaps wasn't entirely comfortable with his own self, with a desire to be something he considered greater than what he was.

In that regard, it is almost painfully honest, as well as relatable. Is art then somehow incapable of true deception?

Does color tell a story? Certain colors evoke a specific range of emotions in individuals, does the use of those colors give us a glimpse into the artist's mind? What about the amount of color?
Some people utilize an extremely limited range of colors, while others seemingly attempt to use them all. Both people have varying degrees of aesthetic success.

As a kid, I used a lot of colors (I think that's pretty typical?), as a teenager I found myself eliminating color altogether with the exception of a bit of red or blue.
Now, I tend to pick a pallet of two or three colors.
The interesting thing is, is I don't believe that I understand color very well. With a limited pallet, I feel that I can organize my theory of color. More than that, I feel as though I have created an enormous mess.
Does my use of color not only shed light into my mind in an emotional way but also more scientifically in the sense that there are indicators that point to my being colorblind?
It's an interesting thought.

We cannot bring up the topic of Art vs The Artist without touching on Hitler. He was an artist to some extent, and supposedly his work was very nice. People viewing his work never seem to detect anything dark or violent. Was his art then very much separate from him?
I don't think so.
In fact, there was a movie made about Hitler that was banned in many countries because people believed that he was given too human of a portrayal. I believe Alex Guinness played the part.
However, the dark truth is that Adolf Hitler was a human being, and evil always believes that it is doing good. To Hitler, every evil thing he facilitated was for the betterment of society. He was misguided, and in turn, misguided thousands more. His poison words still echo today, and those who use them still believe that they are ultimately doing good.
Evil never recognizes itself as such, and in turn is capable of creating beautiful images. It's not separate, we are just so much larger than the holes we find ourselves in.

For some reason, art forcibly reminds me of language. There are the things you can communicate with words, though there are other things that can only be communicated through physicality and body language. Still, more things can only be truly communicated through music, and maybe then only through a certain instrument. Some experiences do not even have a place in a particular spoken language, only finding expression in German or one of the many Eastern languages.
Likewise, I believe that certain things can only be communicated through art, they won't find expression through oral explanation, they can't be translated. And that is the part of the artist that can never be separated from their art.