Thanks again Steven! Great advice and now I understand it better. Being inexperienced I didn't have the ability to make the choice of staying with charcoal, if that makes any sense. Now I'll evaluate the situation first.
Thanks Sharon for your input as well, as for range of colors, I only brought a small selection with me on the off chance of using them.
With regard to the lights/highlights issue, is it better to just lead up to a highlight? I do tend to just plunk them on, so is the better method to blend in graduated colors leading up to the highlight or just stay away from the excessive highlight?
And, I will absolutely keep painting from life whenever I get the chance! Unfortunately I was the only one to sign up for the next session and the class was cancelled, so I'll be hunting for another.
