The comfort of doing what you know best

I am doing my own head in with attempting a self-portrait.I cannot "see"myself clearly. So, I have decided to approach it differently by painting something that I am comfortable with and then going back to the self portrait with a hope of some clarification. Above is a painting of Bourbon, beloved pet of my schoolfriend, Fiona.I enjoyed painting this lovely doggy portrait.
I am now trying to get a good 3/4 pose of myself on film so I can paint form a photograph . Perhaps distancing myself from the immediacy of "me"staring back from a mirror wil allow me to see past the familiarity to the basic shapes of my visage. I am suffering from a classic case of "can't see the wood for the trees"!!
Now, to get a decent photo......