20x24 oil on canvas. Photo ref. by Soulstealer on Flickr.

 

So this wasn't easy...Underpainting was a cool red this time, unlike the usual burnt umber or cad. red. For some reason, this made the skin tones a lot harder to get right so after a few attempts, I got rid of the background and went for a chromatic black to gauge the colors better. Brought back some warm reds to make it more interesting. Well, I won't try that again!...