My self portrait was inspired by Pablo Picasso. I was inspired by his creativity on his work. To me it stood out and wasn't like an other portrait pictures. The expressions on the face were yet simple but meaningful. I could think about what mood this picture is and what i think he or she is feeling just by the looks. The way I approached it was by looking at his drawings and spending many a lot of time visualizing. I was constantly thinking what I could put in the background and what expression I should use to best suit my portrait. Every piece of my art has a meaning. That is what I saw in Pablo's pieces as well. After visualizing and thinking I took a picture of myself, printed it out and hung it up next to my paper. I was able to draw for a while then step away to clear my mind. This helped me refocus and draw better. Taking those breaks gave me new ideas which inspired me. When deciding my background I asked myself what do you like, what do you enjoy, why is this important etc. The road to me is there because I enjoy driving and traveling yet also life is a road and a never-ending learning time. There are are always places to see and things to learn along life's roadway. The palm tree is there to show how much I enjoy going somewhere warm. Seeing those creates happiness and peace within me. I can think about warm weather and white beaches relaxing. I put a tequila bottle there with and agave on top of it because on the beaches here are margaritas and evetime I see that bottle I think of warm and sunny days at the beach. Even having the agave plant is there not just to show was tequila is made from but I think those plants are awesome looking and I understand what work it takes to create a plant or a bottle. My pose I chose was to be still, serious and confident looking. Looking straight at you and being focused. It shows that I'm not ignoring you or looking down and always looking ahead. Too many people look down when walking or listening. I believe standing straight and making eye contact is important for life, that is why I chose this pose.