Thank you Mari and thank you Josef, for the in-depth critique and appreciation of this piece. While I still feel strongly about maintaining this additional level that we're basically debating here, I certainly will consider all the opinions received so far.
As I see it, in my portraits I raise questions, I do not give answers.
Also, I often have more than one main character. In this case, I have three. If I have to paint, say, a mother, a father and a son, should I choose to only show one of them, with a loving expression,and assume the viewer understands the family ties in detail? Here are three entities, the sum of which is more than each one separately... but then what do I really know?
I understand Mari's desire for a more subdued message, though - take a look at the winner of the latest Portrait Society of Atlanta competition,
http://www.portraitsocietyofatlanta....al_jessica.jpg
there you have a whole story that is only suggested; or Vermeer... ok, I'll think about all this.
As for the technical solutions, thank you both! I guess the mouth area can benefit from some additional color saturation indeed, and Josef's suggestion about the depth of field and the blur - fabulous! I'll jump back to my easel and will soon let you know where all this led me.
Until then, thought you might find interest in another painting of mine ("Soleils") that clearly follows the same steps debated above. Now that I opened Pandora's box!... The quality of photo is poor, but you get the idea.
Thank you again for your comments, this is anew experience for me and I enjoy every bit of it!
Oana
http://www.artoujours.com/soleil-det1.jpg
http://www.artoujours.com/soleil-det2.jpg