Diego - thank you very much; I do appreciate your comments and what they do to help guide me along this new portrait learning path. Basically everything I am doing right now is self taught via exploration/variation of technique to achieve a result. Some things work better than others and sometimes I get a pleasant surprise, like the hair in this one. However, the learning curve just became steeper now I have looked into 'sharpening' a bit more and found all these technical words/elements I have not dealt with before.

I sympathise with you re unstable hands; I have to use a Hippus mouse, one built especially for arthritis sufferers and which strongly supports the wrist and palm; it is large but it works for me.

These 100% GIMP portraits do take a long time, but also present a significant learning opportunity. As always the hair presents the biggest challenge, so I am trying out some different techniques. Anyway, here is a portrait of Keeley Hawes, who, because i love red hair, is probably my favourite English actor, especially in the TV series Ashes to Ashes. Her mesh dress was also an interesting exercise and I gave her my own style of ear rings too.

Lovely works OMG Especially love your Keeley portrait, can really see the likeness. AtA was a good series, although Life on Mars edged it IMO.

Excellent, absolutely excellent OMG !
The eyes are "speaking", the skin chiaroscuro is perfect.
Only the light and shadow on the right ear ring (right in the image, left on the face) is IMO wrong, it looks like a mirror of the left one (which has correct lights and shadows).
Congratulations, painter !

Diego - thanks very much; it is with your support and constructive critiques that I keep learning in this portrait mode. I also love that word 'chiaroscuro'.

that is soooo good! I really like the sparkle in the eyes.

OMG, I really have nothing to add to the comments already given regarding your portraits! They are so amazing! I can only stand up and applaud.

I don't know what else to add to all those laudatory comments.
Only that I agree with them.
Beautiful portrait, oldmangrumpy

I didn't know Keeleys Hawes but did a search on the internet.
What a beautiful lady she is.

I am happy to have followed the evolution of your portraits. What a progress in short time.
Although I realize too well how many hours, days, weeks, months ... you must have spent on it.

I am also amazed by Diego's remarkable, professional view on shadows, light and perspective.
I also learnt a lot from it in the meantime. And has given me a different view on my own work.
Objective and relevant comments remain necessary and welcome.

Teapot, Erisian, Wallace, Pat and Ella - thank you all so much for your kind words. I've started another couple of portraits but this production line moves at a slow pace

#22 is amazing OMG...Right nose wing (left from our POV) shape and shadow looks like something to fix but wonderful work.

Nidhogg - thanks for your comment; already my short experience with this form of painting tells me that the image is never really finished

My latest attempt at somebody I admire and have painted before, Maminydjama (Magnolia) Maymuru, a local indigenous model and active campaigner for indigenous rights.

Great!
Here my (hopefully constructive) critics:
- composition would look better if BG is blurred (simulate distance from foreground)
- skin is a bit too "plastic", there is no skin texture
- the ear is too blurred: ear has usually also some "hard" internal contours (see attached example)

Diego - thank you; your astute comments are noted and have been added to my list of improvements for the next attempt. However, I'm not quite sure about skin 'texture' ... help me out a bit please.

EDIT - OK, I've just found a couple of web tutorials on digital painting and skin texture ... some videos, each taking an hour or so. More learning for me

Likely among the tutorials you found already this one (no video, I hate video tutorials...)
https://3dtotal.com/tutorials/t/paintin ... skin-tones

Diego - yes already found it, thank you. I was thinking I had done OK so far, but it was all self taught and now it seems I have only just started; there is so much more to learn if I want to take this painting/portrait journey seriously. I'll sleep on it.

Don't feel alone in this, OMG. Skin texture is one of "the" most hardest tasks in portrait painting because it forces the artist to work outside the box of filling lines with colors/shading/compositional techniques. This is where you'll find yourself examining and using new and different brushes to apply texture. Bob Ross was a master at this in landscaping via trees and water scenes. Basically, you're just taking to task of experimenting with brushes that help you obtain skin pores effects. You will discover on that journey how much easier your painting becomes when you find these "AH HA" moments.

Has anyone seen or heard from Griatch? He's a good person to talk to about texture painting.

Oldmangrumpy, as I said before, I'm truly surprised by the evolution of your portrait works.
From rather flat faces they have evolved to 3D images with speaking eyes, depth in the face,
a beautiful complexion with light and shadow, hair that is more real, and so much more ...
They evoke emotions. The faces themselves and to the viewer.

Painting portraits in Gimp is something I will never be able to do.
I admire you for it.

Whether you should go for perfection with the skin texture is up to you.
But even if you stick to the more "plastic" skin. Your portraits remain refined.
And I love them