Jesse, I am another person who really enjoys seeing your life work and I hope you post more of it and discuss the challenges of working with your palette. Sharon is right - all artists are students. And your painting is very good, solid and believable.
You have an excellent instructor and I would like to hear about his teaching methods.
Jesse, I think you have done a fine job with these colors. Just looking at the view of your whole painting, I like the way the figure emerges from the background. Feel free to post more of your work.