I was trying to portray that I am a bright and interesting person. I did this by including the ornate top of the mirror and making the whitest area be the area around my head and body. I also wanted to portray that the eye sees light. When we look at things they are divided into sections and planes of color and light of differing intensitys. I put the lightest section, the mirror with my face, off to the side to make the picture more interesting. I also included the mirror and the drawers behind it to keep your eye focused on the picture. the dimmer section in the large mirror is just to emphasise the intensities of lights and darks in other areas. It is focused on my face and I can see the light on a stool in my mirror. This is placed there to give a sense of place. I created form by carving light out of the dark charcoal. I took a risk by showing a 3/4 view of my face. I couldn't even start the portrait till I had done some preliminary drawings of my face.
