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Denise,
It was my immediate impression as well that there is a great deal of character well depicted in this piece, one which after a single viewing makes you think that you'd know this person immediately upon seeing him in real life.
I also see a problem with the upper part of the skull. The ever-so-slight concavity to the viewer's left of top center is part of that problem, but only part. I have the sense that the entire top of the skull is shifted over to our right. I think there are two easy things to do to help remedy this:
1-- Look at the top left "corner", if you will, of the skull in both your painting and in the reference photo. In the photo, there is a very definite and distinct curve there, where the upper plane of the skull turns down into a side plane, just above the hairline. That feature is missing in your painting, and so the side plane of the skull seems to be slanted more sharply to our right than it should be. This is exacerbated by having brought the hair up a little too high, so that it almost appears to be headed up over the crown of the head in back.
2-- Related to the "flattened" feature that others have mentioned, part of the problem is that however that feature is described, it ought to be the same on the other side of the skull. From the very top center of the skull as painted, the skull line drops much more quickly on our left than on our right (where it actually bulges out somewhat, the opposite of what you want.) This is greatly contributing to the "shifting" effect I mentioned. You'll see in the photo how the top of the skull falls away from top center in fairly equal manner on each side. Note too in this regard that because the head is turned slightly, the top center of the skull won't be so directly above the centerline of the nose. In the photo it's notably left of that line.
The next thing I'd look at is the sense that the side of the face on our right, and particularly the eye, is advancing slightly when it should be receding just as slightly. I think this has to do with the difficult reference photo you're working with, so that you've kind of had to invent the lights (and darks) over on that side. My recommendations would be:
1-- Slightly lower the value of the lights in that side of the face, and raise the value of the darks, especially along the right edge, so that there isn't such an abrupt dividing line between those value shapes that in turn suggests a flat cheek area protruding out into the light and then a side plane falling away very suddenly.
2-- Don't let the lights -- especially around the eye -- work quite so far around to the right side of the face. That's pulling the face toward us, when it should be rounding back away from us.
3-- Introduce a heavier shadow area cast by the lower part of the nose, above the moustache. But don't obliterate that bit of light that's hitting the lower cheek area, defining the form around that deep crease running each way from the base of the nose and underneath the cheek areas. (Also, make sure that creased form stays as far away from the mouth and moustache on the right side as it is on the lighted left, otherwise it will contribute to the unwanted "advancement" of that side of the face toward us.)
Finally I would agree that one last look at the shape and size of the ear might be useful. In the painting it appears more oval than in the photo. Notably, in the painting, the outside (on our left) edge appears to slope in toward the head as it falls, whereas in the photo it appears to slope away from the head, giving what seems to be a quite character-defining and rather unusual configuration that you'd probably be glad to capture.
Guess that's enough for one go around.
Cheers
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