Hello!
Karin Wells said to do copies from the Old Masters. W. Bouguereau isn't so Old, but brilliant.
Well, here is my second picture. Title: The Prayer. (Very lovely baby.) I experimented with Verdaccio underpainting. Dimensions are 6cm x 6cm (or 2.36" x 2.36") on acrylic base coat. (Yes, that is my fingernail.

)
Painted with #000 (and a few hairs pulled out), #00 ,#0 ,#2 sable brushes and thick paint direct from the tube. Okay, I have no practice, therefore found it extremely difficult (particularly the eyes!)
This was done without tracing.
How can I keep the surface smooth?
Does anybody have experience with miniatures?
Does anybody know what palette he used?
The reference picture is here:
http://www.artrenewal.org/images/art.../La_priere.jpg
I printed out a piece with slightly more brightness because there are more details on the right (dark) side.
This digicam macroshot isn't perfect (yellows on the hair -- why?).
Any comments are welcome.