Abstract

What I wanted to capture in this portrait was the fact that I’m actively trying to rest.
I have always been a stressed person who overthinks everything and lately have begun to try to calm down and breathe a little. I was inspired by Laura Young’s “sleepy self-portrait” I found on Behance. It captured a sense of serenity and calm, which struck a chord with me.

However, I don’t feel as though I have truly achieved rest yet and question whether I ever will, so I included elements showing a hint of unrest, specifically the open eyes. The eyes specifically show how I may have a lingering feeling of discomfort or that something has been forgotten and that causes me to not be able to fully rest. I tried to use soft colours with- out having harsh dividing sections of colours. I didn’t want to overcomplicate or oversimplify. I chose to keep the texture of the blanket behind me because it creates a sense of muffled busyness of the mind or of that that is being blocked out.

Some unique traits are shown, such as moles and glasses, the later of which deliberately cho- sen to not be place on my face as I have been made to feel as though they have become more of an identifying feature to my face than my face itself. While also symbolising how one would take their glasses off to rest.