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Debra,
I'm liking the drama of the dark purple background next to her face, but I think it is too dark. You are likely to paint yourself into a corner if you continue around the rest of the head. The darkness will "swallow" the wonderful head you have developed. I suspect that is why you have instinctively stopped yourself cold at this juncture. The push/pull of value in the background will pop that head forward in three dimension, so you do want to continue around the head. Personal opinion, but if your aim is to get commissions from this entry, I would present a finished portrait as opposed to a "sketch." The head, with the exception of the hair treatment, is "done," so to complete the painting, you would only need to do the background, hair, and clothing. (I know, I know, Stanka, part of what is really nice about the painting at this point is the freshness--but I think that if you want to commission strong finished portraits, that is what you must show. The trick is to preserve that freshness in a finished product.)
Back to the background, lighten the background to a middle value and continue it around the back of the head and shoulders. A pet peeve of mine, making swirlies of mismatched paint colors and values for the background. All that activity distracts from the head, and never happens in nature, just in those weird camouflage backgrounds they use at Owen Mills Portrait Studios. Make the background color by mixing, say, cad orange, quinacridone rose or alizarin, and viridian. (Dioxazine purple could also be used). If it getts too dark, lighten with, say, a light blue like king's blue. Make all the colors in the background the same value. This will give you a nice muted "brown" which will run towards the purple. Mix the colors on the canvas, not on the palette.
If you are concerned about losing the freshness, leave the clothing the way it is, but I do think you need to complete the background. You can tippy toe in with washes if you feel some trepidation.
An inspired piece! I love the solidity.
Peggy
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