First master the basic skills
 

Leslie,

In the Cafe Geurbois section there is a thread entitled, "Critiques and Anger, A Lethal Mix". In that thread I posted my opinion on the steps one should take to try to achieve some mastery. These, I feel are important for a professional or a serious amateur.

You are jumping way ahead of the gun in attempting a painting technique that requires a great deal more knowledge then you presently command. Your artistic underpinnings need to be strengthened first. You need to make simple black and white drawing of objects, figures, then drapery, before you attempt anything in color. All of these have to be done from life, not photos.

Once you master the basics you will find you can add techniques and your attempts will be far more successful and less frustrating. This will take time. There are no shortcuts.

Sincerely,

Reworking
 

Hello !

Thank you Sharon! True, true. I have only two projects in progress. Afterward, I'll return to the roots.

I made some changes on this, in the hair and face. Not satisfied, but a little bit better, I think. This weekend, I'll glaze the skin and more put gold on the robe. I'll try to make her "smile" a bit more.

EDITING:
Excuse me, I was a VIP (very inattentive person)! I lent my camera to my boss (an other technic-genius), and the white balance had a totally wrong setting.Now I post the last 2 pictures.Colors are better now. Sorry for my crazy-head!

Underpainting
 

I don't know the book but one of the best reasons for underpainting is to nail down your drawing, design and values before painting. It ought to be very accurate to have the most worth to you later. You simply must take more time on it than you might wish, then you must retain that as you add color.

It's important to learn in a wise order. One does not learn to hit a curveball to the opposite field before learning to grip the bat. If you'll paint from life the hair and color issues will come to you better than from copying a copy from a book. This is a lot of generations from a living human being. Paint a person directly from life. It need only require a mirror.

Hello Tim!

Thank you for your effort to help me. Now I'm in a hibernate-mode :) To order all the things on my mind. I have to work on my basics, time-consuming detail-work etc.. But I can see better the way for the next future.

Thank you again,

P. S. I'm still angry about "no shortcuts" ;C :D

Ciao!