Self-Portrait... my second attempt!

At some point in an artist's life, we all attempt a self-portrait; how we see ourselves.  And so, this year, I thought to see if I could do it.  My first attempt wasn't very successful; I found my portrait was distant and cold.

However, my second attempt had me up close and personal and very colourful with a darker background with vibrant colours in the face, eyes and skin.

As I did with my portrait with the Jim Morrison portrait, I didn't paint this one true-to-life.  I painted it with colours that would express my personality and feelings so I didn't look like a porcelain doll or too posed.

 

And instead of getting a pencil out, I used a white on green outline with a paintbrush - something I've never done before. From there, it kind of worked itself out; seeing my last portrait had so many mistakes in it, I found this one was one where I saw those ones coming and fixed them on the way through.

The nose was one thing that was worrying me - as I mess them up usually.  But this time, I didn't and I love it.  The eyes still need a lot of work as does the mouth, but otherwise it's looking good so far.  

Most of what's left on this is just detail work on the face and the hair to be fixed up along with the background.  Otherwise, I'm happy with the last week's work I've put into it; and would love to do another one in a few years' time.