I think it's purely a matter of personal choice whether to throw in some bravura strokes of high chroma color in the flesh tones. I don't think artists like Harley Brown actually see those fully saturated tones, they purposely exaggerate the subtler tones that they do see there.
When I look at a model's hand in window light, for example, I may see some greenish and bluish areas, particularly near the veins and as the form turns away from the light and away from me. I also see some dark alizarin and venetian red colors where the fingers come together. I could choose to greatly ratchet up the saturation of the colors in those areas if it served the overall purpose of the painting.
Some reasons for doing this could be that I wanted to bring attention to certain areas, or to create an overall high energy, high chroma effect.
Seeing the subtle colors that are really there in the first place is something I think comes with practice, especially in working from life. Subtle color changes are often lost in photos.
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