refection painting 3

Painting in progress. Questions to myself.

Should the figure have hair? Why are the facial features bigger than normal? why are the eyes closed? what's happening In the background?

In order for me to get to know my paintings I need to have an outsiders perspective, I have been asked frequently about my decision whether to include hair or not for the figure, I have always intended for the figures I paint to have elements of mystery to them, I draw and paint all my portraits based on photographs of myself, I have always thought of myself to not have strong facial features, I have quite a small nose and mouth. 

I don't feel as though my face is interesting enough to produce portrait after portrait from, so I decided it would be fine to produce portraits which resemble my face but are also on the boundary between being me and being someone else. 

I have started to think about the idea of the painting being a character I'm creating in my paintings based on myself, and im putting this character in situations to explore the concept I'm working with. I started to think that since im making a character in the paintings based on myself that I should use hair as this is a distinct feature I should include, it separates the confusion with the viewer that the portrait is not human. 

I used to want to take the hair of the figure away to leave the figure to look vulnerable and exposed and more masculine, and I wanted the viewer to question who it was and interpret it themselves. 

The larger facial features are intentional, I want the portrait to be the focal point of the painting, and I want the features to be exaggerated. I never want to get too caught up in traditional structures of the face and start to paint portraits too realistically, I still want there to be a playful side to my portraits and to draw the viewer in not because its a pretty painting but because there's something unusual going on. 

I decided I would close the eyes as I want the painting to show a dreamy relaxation side. the environment which surrounds the figure is going to be busy yet unusual and dreamlike, I would hope the environment not to seem too intense. in regards to painting 1 and painting 2 I aim for this painting to seem less unsettling and move the theme forwards towards the character settling into the new environment. 

The background should include ideas from hotel décor, plants, and two windows which display the night sky, I want it to represent the idea of the new society in nature. The hotel décor, still to resemble an environment posing as a familiar environment,- when a hotel room is posing like a bedroom to make you feel as at home as possible.