This is the first "portrait" I've ever painted. I love it, but I'm looking at it as a practice run. It is not completely finished, the white areas toward the bottom are where a nameplate will go. I wanted to concentrate on the portrait and the emblem. This is the first draft that I'm posting for critique. All comments, suggestions and constructive criticism are highly encouraged. This painting is a big learning process for me. I've noted several things I want to change, as well as several things I really like and want to make a point of repeating. A few self-critique ideas: -I want to go larger (from 6x9" to 9x12") so I can do more with detail work. -I want sharper lines around the emblem. I think I'll try the next draft on hot press paper rather than cold press and see what difference it makes. I'm also going to switch from liquid frisket as a mask to frisket film (the stuff airbrush artists use) but I don't know how that will perform with watercolors. I guess I'm gonna find out. -Liorah's face does not have much shading detail because I've not decided where the light source is going to come from. These are just a few of the things I've jotted down. Don't worry, there are plenty of things I love about this, such as the color scheme, the way the hair and the jawline pop off the paper and the vine work, just to name a few. Yes, there is a story of who this character is. I am developing a body of characters, and she is the first. She is Liorah - Spirit of Goodness, my personal representation of the general realm of the positive attributes of the personality. What does this mean? It means that there will also be character representations of the positive attributes that fall into that realm such as love, contentment, trust, etc. And, yes, negative attributes such as anger, hate, jealousy, i.e. monsters! Yay! So yes, you will be seeing them all right here on my ArtWanted Portfolio.