4. Space - A Self Portrait

I sat down with a mirror, a pencil, and my sketchbook, ready to tackle the daunting challenge of turning my face into a series of lines and tones. It felt a little strange at first, but I told myself to let go of the nerves and just enjoy the process.

Stage 1: The Initial Sketch

The first stage was, honestly, a bit nerve-wracking. There I was, staring into the mirror, pencil poised, trying not to overthink it. I started by mapping out the basic structure of my face: the oval shape of my head, the rough placement of my glasses, and the general outline of my features. It wasn’t about perfection – more about getting something down on the page. I tried focusing on the negative and positive spaces as well as where each main shape should sit alongside each other.

Looking back at this stage, it’s clear my lines were tentative and light, almost as if I was afraid to make a mistake. The proportions were a bit off here and there, but that’s part of the learning curve, isn’t it? It felt a bit like dipping my toes into cold water: hesitant but necessary to get started.

Stage 2: Adding Structure and Depth

In the second stage, I started to build on the initial outline, adding structure and depth through cross-hatching and shading.

Cross-hatching was both tricky and fun. It gave the drawing a real sense of form, though some areas – particularly around the eyes – still felt a little flat. I couldn’t help but laugh at the intense expression I’d given myself, thanks to furrowed brows from concentrating too hard! But hey, that’s part of it. This stage was all about capturing what I saw in the moment, not smoothing it out into something artificial.

Stage 3: Refining and Bringing It to Life

By the third stage, I felt much more at ease. The drawing had started to feel more like me, so I focused on refining the shading around the eyes, glasses, and hair. Adding darker tones helped to balance the lighter areas and made the whole thing feel more grounded.

It wasn’t a polished, flawless version of me, but it felt authentic. The hair (still a bit rough around the edges) had movement, the glasses framed my face naturally, and overall, the structure felt much more solid. I even started to enjoy the imperfections, seeing them as part of what made the portrait unique.

I showed it to my family who said they could see my features, but felt that I might have overly emphasised the jowls and “sagginess”. This made me giggle, but also made me wonder if we are more inclined to notice and exaggerate features we are less enamoured with.

Reflections on the Process

Letting go of my preconceived notions about how I “should” look and focusing on what was actually there was both humbling and rewarding.

Of course, there were challenges. The proportions weren’t perfect, and some areas, particularly the hair and neck could do with a little more work. I can see where I would improve upon the image, and I might go back to finesse it further, however I took the challenge of working on the piece for a relatively short time in the hope I could get a likeness without overworking it which I have a habit of doing. The lines are rough but I enjoyed drawing them with a purpose and trying not to feel fear of getting it wrong.