[Tom Edgerton]

Steven's critique is, as usual, thorough and very helpful. I'd just reiterate two points.

1) Be relentless with your (dark to light) values. Value is what accurately describes form and what the light is doing on it. The drawing here is pretty accurate, but the few incorrectly observed and stated values are what is flattening the forms and killing the sense of light. In the reference photo, there's this nice feel for high overhead studio light that's lost in the painting. If you haven't already, make a nine-tone value scale on a piece of card stock.(Seven equal gray patches between white and black.) Sometimes the color of an area (or an adjacent area) will cause one to mis-read the value, and the scale will help with accurately reading it. Mine is usually in my hand when I'm painting, or within arm's reach. Check the values again throughout. For example, the light area down the edge of your jaw and neck on the right (our right) defining the outside contour of your head is painted the same color and value as the lights on the forehead. In the photo, starting about midway down, it's actually a middle-value gray-green--more of a halftone.

2) The halftones may need to be beefed-up a little colorwise,too. The halftones--between the shadows and the lights--are the areas where you'll see the greatest variety of nuance beween warm and cool colors, and usually the most saturated colors.

Also, maybe more accurately observe the irregularities and variety of edges where the hair meets the forehead. It's kind of "averaged out" and smoothed in the drawing, and has become a little cap- or wig-like.

With just some tweaking, this painting will really take off. The basics are solidly there now.