I agree with Sharon. Julie, this is beautiful. It's dramatic, full of emotion, energy, and vivid life.

I wouldn't change a thing. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Thanks, Cindy. I'm going to be VERY careful, and only do a little bit here and there. I stayed up too late last night, and don't do good work when tired, so I'll post it again somtime in the next few days.

I like the painting very much, but there's someting about the eyes...
Is this a Dejavu for you?
I think about the dark line under her left eye, it should be 1 or 2 milimeters above the one in the painting.

If you are using black to paint these details, try to mix raw umber (or natural shadows) and ultramarine blue to get a natural and dark effect. You can try also to add a little of emerald green. I almost never use black because the values become too strong.
But remember, that's a great painting!

Thanks, Claudemir. I'll fix that and try your colors. I was trying to use a limited palette, but the black is awful stark.

Claudemir points out an interesting problem with the eyes: the lower lids need to be more horizontal and not curve down so much to the left. The way they are painted makes the eyes bulge out too much.

Otherwise, this really is a "wow" painting. It reminds me of the feeling in the Sargent portraits of theatrical actresses.

Thanks for your kind comments and input, Michelle -

It's taking me a little longer to post the revisions than I wanted 'cause I got a bit sick, but hope to post again by tonight.

Hope you're fine.

Revised portrait
 

Thanks, Claudemir. That was sweet! It was nothing much - just a bug and had to rest for a while.

Here's my changes.....one thing that jumps out at me, at least in this jpeg, is that the right cheek is too red.

Yep, that's right! But that's a great portrait Julie! Very beautiful.