Self Portrait - the only time so far

i always felt the idea of self portrait a bit vain to be honest, though i realise that it is a form of rigour as well. all famous artists have self-portraits but doing a normal self portrait seemed just that - too normal (not that it doesnt require special skill - it definitely requires more skill, but the thought never came so strongly to me), and there is that pressure to get it right as well - i would feel odd if someone looked at the portrait and then at me, and then back at the self portrait - and then tell me, dude, this doesnt look like you. So there you have it - the pressure of getting it right kills the enthusiasm probably. But then, one day when we were in  Zara and i felt that i had spent an inordinate amount of time in the mall and was not enjoying the sudden attack on all my senses - bright lights, announcements and people popping out from behind and around the display racks, i saw myself in a mirror - i was wearning a denim jacket and the jacket transformed into a shell in which i wanted to crawl back, switching off the noise and the lights - and that is when the idea of a self-portrait as turtle came. I wanted to cut out the body parts not relevant to the central idea, So while the practice sketch had ears, i cut out the ears in the final work - i was still particular about getting the face right - and i realised that the faster you do it, the better it is.

And here is the painting 

https://kinshuktheartist.com/products/self-portrait-as-turtle