this went ok

I felt reasonably in control throughout, although I waffled around on skin color
too much. I think I should be painting skin as a two or three value poster before
adding any detail or modeling. 12" x 16" - 3 hrs.

half done

I slowed down because this will be a two session pose. I've started using
flesh ochre instead of burnt sienna for the main skin tone. It's more mid-value
and redder, and makes for more gentle variations. It will be fun to try to
refine this portrait in a couple of weeks. 12" x 12" - 3 hrs.

no charcoal

I switched from sketching in charcoal to directly painting the basic
composition with an egbert brush. It's a great brush shape for gestures
and seems to help me work out overall placement. 12" x 16" - 3 hrs.

rushed

I took my time with drawing and had to rush the painting to finish in three hours.
Used cerulean as the shadow blue which makes a much softer skin tone than
ultramarine. Last thing I worked on was the hand which was looking dangerously
like a claw right up to the end! 12" x 14"