Painting a fleeting expression from life

I want to make a self portrait that has the spontaneity of a momentary act, like a hearty laugh or caught mid-expression.  So I did this quick study from life to see what could be done.  It has some drawing issues that can be fixed just by slowing down, but I find the biggest problem is that a laugh devolves within seconds into a pained expression. It has no half life that even remotely expresses the excitement of a true laugh.  Maybe the trick is to have Monty Python or Something About Mary on in the background to create an atmosphere that promotes easy smiles and unexpected guffaws.  I was listening to NPR (a talk about partisan politics)  on the radio and the smiles weren't flowing.  I will try it and post the results. 

Me, life size study, approx. 12"x16"

I missed class Monday night

To my students, I'm sorry I missed class on Monday.  My nephew was married in Florida over the weekend and the flight we booked conflicted with the class.  By the time I realized the mistake Friday night, it was hundreds of dollars to change it.  I will let you know when the make-up day will be. Thanks.

In the meantime, here is a painting of my back deck, 12"x16".  My studio has a rectangular main space with a triangular space attached to it.  That triangle space comes into the picture from the left. It then flattens out (where the wall sculpture is) and ends with a natural stone wall.  The design is 1970s passive solar. The dark rectangle on left side is a sliding glass door which lets sun light in all day to heat up the concrete floor.  At night the floor releases the heat back into the room.  Of course the first thing I did when I moved in was to completely block it off.  My neighbors must have thought I was cutting up bodies.