My project for course: Watercolor Portraits: Capture a Model's Personality

I decided to paint a self-portrait with a mirror as a final project to the course. I wasn't brave enough to work completly with watercolor, so I've used watercolor pencils to outline basic features and gestures:

I've applied first thin washes to light and shadows, defining general shape of my face. I've used a bit cooler colors for my darks.

Then I've added a general masses for hair and kept adding more shadows to define the form

Then I've got a bit carried away and miss documenting further steps. Basically I've add my warmer colors, defined my darkest darks. In the process I've realized where I've messed up with sketch and fixed it in watercolor (chin and eyes, one eye is definetly higher that it should be!) I've also played with water in hair, without going in too much details.

After that I took a short break, and then added final touches. Overall I'm very pleased how my portrait worked out. It took me several attempts to get it right and I think I still missed some of my features, but overall it's pretty convincing. It was certanly a challenge for me to paint from nature (and expecially myself!!). So I'm really proud of progress I've made in this journey!