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June
What wonderfully diverse advice - it is always good to have choices. I think that I am going to do all of the above.
First, I think that I am going to do the full-figure composition - mainly for personal reasons. This photograph was taken shortly after June lost her husband and I really like the fragility of the pose that Sharon pointed out. Mike, I like your cropping idea but I think that it would take away from the sense of this woman being overwhelmed by the world.
Peggy, one thing that I am learning from you (and this may sound so self-evident) is the importance of the face in the portrait. I know that if the surroundings are not going to dominate I am going to have to give the face some enormous clout ("oomph" I think is the term you have used). But I must admit that there are a lot of personal reasons why I am painting this picture, so I will practice head-pieces on other subjects, or, better still, may just try a smaller head sketch as preparation for the larger work. I have really appreciated your feedack on my postings to this forum, especially as you do such wonderful work yourself.
Bill, thanks for your wise and experienced comments. I have an admission to make, when I joined this forum about a month ago I was truly unaware of the talent that existed on this forum. Having seen the work of some of its contributors I am truly honored and extremely respectful of their advice. I also think that soft is the way to go here and thank you for posting the Kramskoy portrait as a guide. With respect to the left hand, I will try and put it in more shadow although until I get there I do not know what will work. Thanks for the heads-up though.
Once again, thank you all for your advice - however it just means that I am going to be coming back for more.
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