Just lovely!

My comment is a wish for you to take care to avoid the "floating bow" syndrome by clearly stating some of the light down along the hair to connect the bow with the rest of the figure.

Loving the drapery as re-posted with horizontal element. Keeping the space between folds varied, dissipating light, and varying edge treatment will help composition also.

The main challenge I see with this strong side light is the difficulty one encounters in making the cheek turn back on the lit side-planes. (This is why I tend to move the light source forward of the figure a tad more and allow some color to return to the cheek.) Keeping it bright and making the turn may require temperature changes and some fancy brushwork in treating edges.

The subject is so charming, I hope you post the painting as it progresses.

Thanks, Jeanine, for the heads up about the floating bow syndrome and the light on the cheek. I have just started the underpainting and will post it when the underpainting is finished.

Maybe
 

I'd think about losing the dark column right of the drape - maybe just more drapes. But you could also just crop some of this dark (wall?) and a bit of the floor to keep your dimensions.

Tim,

The dark space to the right of the figure is just a blank space in Photoshop because I shifted the figure over. I have drawn in the frame of the french doors in that spot and varied the form of the drapes. Thanks for looking.

Here's a portrait by Joy Thomas with drapes playing a dominant role: http://www.portraitartist.com/thomas/ballerina.htm

Cynthia,

This is funny. I actually found this exact same portrait the other night and printed it out for inspiration.

Thanks for your interest.