What better way?

Marina, this is awesome!

It somehow reminds me of those classical paintings of Christ with John the Baptist (?), but with much more "umph". I love it!

Michele, Tom ,Enzie,
thank you.
Tom, yes the concept is something for me as important as the technical execution. During the Portrait art festival in Toronto, a sculptor listed four types of artists:
Those with technical skills but no creativity.
Those with creativity but no technical skills.
Those with both.
Those with "business skills"

Really lovely, thanks for the close-ups!

Oh how beautiful, Marina! That red-gold hair against the blue skintones of her temple...wow....

So, so lovely.

Daring composition, well executed - brava!

Enzie, Julie, Chris,
thank you very much, your comments mean a lot for me.

Thanks for the close-ups Marina. That hair is amazing, and the whole painting is beautiful.

Thank you, Heidi,
I was very excited with this project even before I began to paint : I knew the skin tones and the hair would be fun to paint. And it was !

Oh, what a treat!

jean