Thanks Mischa for all the effort put into your critique! I do appreciate it. I'll get to work on those improvements. After I had posted the painting and photo I could see a few things that hadn't been evident to me before then. I know the mouth is at a different angle than the photo, but I thought it looked too sad otherwise. She has such a solemn expression. My family and friends love the painting as it is, but how often do I get honest criticism from them? They're just impressed because they aren't artists.
Susan