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Hello April
I think you have done a lovely job. I think your handling of pastels is confident and your drawing is strong. The eyes especially are alive and beautifully handled.
Just something I would work on myself if it was my work and which I think is the real problem with the neck (rather than the muscles being too strongly defined):
Compare the tones of the different parts of the face with each other. In other words, look at the whites on the neck's nearest points with the whites on the chin, for example. And then looks at the whites on the neck with those on the forehead. You'll be quite surprised at the differences in types of whites. My feeling is that you'll find the whites on the neck are more subdued than those on the face itself, because of not getting as much light from the light source as the face does.
Also compare the red on the cheek at the side near the ear with the red on the highest point of the cheekbone. You've started to work that well, but the red nearer the ear probably needs to be more purplish - duller because it also is not receiving the same intensity of light at the highest point of the cheekbone.
One last thing is look at the edges at the back of the head compared with the background. There is always next to each dark edge something next to it of equal intensity but lit not dark. In other words next to the lightest of edges you get the darkest of darks. So I think that you'll find that once you are aware of the the light or dark of the background it will start to define the roundness of the head.
And again look at the far side of the head - the hair is probably a duller brown than at the front, giving it feeling of roundness and three-dimensionality.
I've posted a Lucien Freud self-portrait who is a master at tonal relationships. You'll find with his work there is always a peak of white highlight in the most prominent part of the head or figure and which every other light and tone related to and is submissive to. This balancing of lights and tones is the key to convincing realism.
Look at the shoulder and chest on the right. There is a minute difference in light and warmth of tone from the top of the shoulder to the chest area which is just showing above the bottom of the canvas. It is these almost invisible differences that are the most powerful in creating form.
I would not rework this one because what you have already done here will hinder you in trying new things out. And also it is finished as is. I would do another one looking and comparing more totally at the tonal relationships.
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