Self-portrait in progress

for an upcoming show at London Miles Gallery,
titled "Idol Hours", i've decided to take on the subject of self portrait.

each artist is to choose an older masterpiece from the past to re-interpret,
which is such a daunting task (for me, anyway).
i chose Egon Schiele's Double Self-Portrait (1915) below :


the reason for picking it among all the other amazing works was
because i thought i could tackle it from the angle of subject matter, at least,
without tainting the original artist too much...

many people have told me that they thought i paint my own face...
(like this piece, for example).
but this above is my first time...

and you can obviously see that i don't model for my paintings normally,
as the face is drastically more... boring & flat.

i've always wanted to experience painting a real person,
and i never thought i'd be my first real model, and what an interesting experience it has been.
after painting made up, nationality-less faces for years,
it's odd to paint a face that i can't... "control" the looks of.

now, i feel oddly detached from the images of my face as if it weren't my own,
but maybe the uncomfortable familiarity has settled in.
the painful imperfections and all.

at the moment it does look quite a bit like me (according to matthew),
but who knows what i'll end up adding onto this.

some sketchbook warmups :


click the image below for more info :