From the Artist: I am brand new to the world of art and am waiting for my first instructional course to begin in April. Painting will be a retirement hobby only. I am not at a point where I could paint a true likeness of myself, or imagine anything more impressionistic as in some of the other submissions. I think my landscapes are a bit better as they are more "free".
From the Painting Guide: As a first-ever portrait, I think you should be pleased with the result. For starters, because you tackled the challenge and finished it -- many beginners refuse to even attempt a self-portrait, giving reasons such as it's too complicated or I'm too ugly. You've got some lovely skin tones mixed there and beautiful grays in your hair.
Taking it One Step Further: To paint a self-portrait that's looser, I believe the first step is to stop worrying about it being a true likeness. Rather, think of your face as the starting point, the source of inspiration. Treat it as you should a landscape -- albeit a miniature one. Use the same size brush(es), the same brush strokes. Don't reach for smaller brushes to paint facial details; stick to the bigger brush and make as small a mark as you can with it.
I would also do something else with the background. As it is at the moment the purple looks a bit like a halo. I'd loosely mix the purple and gray to create a background with variation in it, rather than a solid color. Take a look at the backgrounds in portraits by Rembrandt (for instance in the Rijksmuseum), where he's got dark earth colors, but never a solid, flat color.
From the Painting Guide: As a first-ever portrait, I think you should be pleased with the result. For starters, because you tackled the challenge and finished it -- many beginners refuse to even attempt a self-portrait, giving reasons such as it's too complicated or I'm too ugly. You've got some lovely skin tones mixed there and beautiful grays in your hair.
Taking it One Step Further: To paint a self-portrait that's looser, I believe the first step is to stop worrying about it being a true likeness. Rather, think of your face as the starting point, the source of inspiration. Treat it as you should a landscape -- albeit a miniature one. Use the same size brush(es), the same brush strokes. Don't reach for smaller brushes to paint facial details; stick to the bigger brush and make as small a mark as you can with it.
I would also do something else with the background. As it is at the moment the purple looks a bit like a halo. I'd loosely mix the purple and gray to create a background with variation in it, rather than a solid color. Take a look at the backgrounds in portraits by Rembrandt (for instance in the Rijksmuseum), where he's got dark earth colors, but never a solid, flat color.