Reflected Self Portrait

Three posts in one day is a bit much, I know, but I've been really busy lately!

One thing about studying online as I am is that there are no breaks. You finish a unit on Friday and begin your next one on Monday. If you want a break you have to take the whole study period off. Well, as I've had so many off in the last year I'm keen to catch up a bit, so here I am at the beginning of a drawing unit having just finished a painting one.

The first exercise was to do a self portrait reflected in something round and mirror-like. I chose our slightly egg-shaped stainless steel wine cooler. We could use black and white paint or textas. As the image had to be A1 I opted for paint. My drawing is actually bigger than A1 as I had some really strong paper 100cm x 70cm.
Ha! It makes me laugh every time I look at it! I really enjoyed doing this. I find the distortions in the final image fascinating. I love the way it slims me down and stretches me at the bottom so for a moment I could forget about how much weight I need to lose. The exceptionally long pinky finger is a bit of a give away though. The rest of the distortions I find deeply disturbing, so be careful what you say in the comments please!
This is how I worked, with the cooler propped up so I could see myself without moving or having to hold it. The exercise did call for me to hold it, but I thought this worked just as well.
And this is me trying to look like I did while I was painting, while I am taking the photo. Not overly successful, but you get the idea.

Moly_x_portrait1 Update

Yes, still catching up on my exchanges. This one is of Remi and myself done as part of moly_x_portrait1 exchange. For this exchange we do a portrait of the books owner and a self portrait before sending it on it's way. I got the idea from a photo of Remi on Flickr in which he was looking very French. A little bit of escargot and a meat pie and tomato sauce later and voila!