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It hardly needs to be said that this is an extraordinarily well rendered piece. I especially note deft use of cool greens in the shadow areas of the collarbone, as well as interplay of violets and yellows in the "white" garment.
Since Bouguereau's name has been invoked, I'd like to call up his painting, "Temptation", to second Dean's comment about the reflected light on the edge of the shadow side of the arm.
"Temptation" is in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and can be viewed at http://www.artsmia.com/uia-bin/uia_doc.cgi/query/1?uf=uia_rwGQMK.
For all the ambient light in that scene, the shadow sides of the subjects' arms and hands remain in shadow; only the back edge of the child's back has a noticeable lightening of the shadow. Most significantly, this accords with the setting in which they are placed. To that point, the darkening of the background grassy area in your painting, Bart, next to the arm on the left, was artificially required by the lightening of the arm's edge, not dictated by the light source (which in fact is very brightly illuminating one side of the headscarf, and would similarly illuminate the grass behind the girl). Too, that lighted edge on the arm has the same quality from the top of the shoulder to the bottom of the elbow. My recommendation, admittedly born of infinitely less experience than you already have, would be to re-lighten that area of the background that you've darkened -- in the area of the mid-third of the arm -- and then darken the edge of the arm in that same area. The background would then make "more sense" (as being in the full light), and the variation in the arm's shadow edge would add interest. The light on top of the shoulder makes perfect sense, by the way, as we'd expect the sky to "backlight" that area, just as we accept some reflected light on the elbow, even from the dark fabric.
The blue skyhole is interestingly reminiscent of Bouguereau's painting as well; perhaps it needs the counterbalance that Bouguereau used, an even brighter flash in the far background on the other side, the lighted side of the scene.
Last note: the centerline of the nose doesn't seem to have quite the same tilt as the head. For example, compare a line drawn from corner to corner of the mouth, with a line drawn across the base of the nostrils. There would be a presumption that these would be close to parallel, (though for all I know, they are not, in your subject.) Just something to have a look at.
These are extremely nitpicky observations, but you're clearly at a level of expertise that suggests that you've survived and profited from far more excruciating examination of your work!
Best continued success.
Steven
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