School Portrait Update 2

I know there's not much progress, but that's about all the focus I have this week. Plus it is fairly big. 18 x 24"

I worked on the background mostly now mixing yellows, blue greys, greens, and a pinky grey to get the colors I wanted. On the left side I used the gold yellows first so when I put the other colors on top and blended with a blending brush the gold shimmered through. I actually didn't expect this, but like it nonetheless. On the right side I used the dark blue grey first and you can see that it has a different feel, which is good because I needed it dark on that side.

I've gotten a couple of emails asking me advice about using pastels. I welcome questions, but this is the first time I've used pastels in any form so I can't really give any advice on them - sorry!

Going back to the color discussion... I have toned down the colors some but I'm hoping to keep a lot of the warmth in the colors to create a cozy atmosphere. The idea is to have the yellowish grey in the background blend with the hair and have the red tones in the face balanced by the red tones in the wood of the desk. We'll see!