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Hi Jean,
When I think of "brutal honesty" I think of the (now deceased?) painter Alice Neel, who painted her first self portrait at the age of 80, in the nude.
So far, I have painted self portraits when I've been unsuccessful in talking clients into "unorthodox" portraits that I'm just dying to paint. For example, nobody seems to be as thrilled about kimonos as I am, so I painted myself wearing one. I personally believe they are a timeless garment in which to be painted, but most people seem to think they are just old bathrobes.
Other must-paints (for me) include giant hats, turbans, long gloves, bizarre animal skins, and half-in-and-out-of-water poses... though maybe not all in the same painting. Also, wouldn't it be interesting to be painted, as, say, a centaur or a harpy? The mind boggles. I may have to just get models for this kind of thing.
You are very attractive in your photo, so I guess I'm just encouraging you to push the envelope a little. But heck - who needs to be "attractive" to push the envelope, anyway? [Insert long, harranging screed about society's false notions of "attractiveness".]
I can't leave off without posting a self portrait by one of my favorite artists, Gustave Caillebotte. I had to be pulled away by the arm after I stood in front of this painting for 20 minutes a few years ago. He just knocks my socks off.
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