Cold light rain falling in the raw grey morning kept me from walking down to the woods by the river's edge with a sketchbook for my drawing break, and I didn't feel like drawing inert objects on my studio worktable. Since I'm the only readily available human subject, and I sure as heck need practice if I'm ever going to be much good at portraiture, I propped a mirror against my computer monitor and just ploughed into a drawing of my self.
Anyone who has ever tried to draw a self portrait from his or her reflection in a mirror knows that it can be a humbling exercise. The subject keeps moving. The face, rather than smiling for the artist, tends to glower or frown, and in my experience, to appear angry. What comes through, to the extent that the drawing conveys the moment, is the look of focused attention and effort to be true to a subject about whom the artist has the most intimate knowledge, along with all kinds of conflicting feelings. Do I really look that angry or depressed? Is this how other people see me? Self portraiture from life, at least for me, reveals some uncomfortable vulnerabilities that I'd just as soon not have to deal with. That, of course, is all the more reason to do it.
self portrait with whiskers, 8 1/4 x 10, Derwent Inktense pencils