This self‑portrait is a conversation with myself set against the backdrop of chaos and uncertainty. It is painted over an old, half‑finished sheet that already carried someone else’s drawing of a female nude. I chose this “spoiled” piece of paper not for effect or fashion, but because it became a symbol of liberation from my own fears—the fear of ruining a blank page, the fear of making one mistake too many. There is no pristine freshness here; instead, there is the courage and resolve to work with something that already has a history, something that needs no protection but invites rewriting. The intense stare I depicted is exactly the look I meet in the mirror each day. Perhaps I am too serious—perhaps not—but I often furrow my brow, lost in thoughts of the future. That brooding squint is a constant companion to my reflections and concerns. I made this self‑portrait precisely to confront that expression, to understand it and seek its source. A self‑portrait is more than an image of a face or figure; it is an attempt to look inward, to isolate and comprehend one’s own self, to pin down a fleeting inner state—a small personal world filled with thoughts, doubts, and revelations. It is, in a sense, a diary one always wants to keep close at hand.